Author (Guest Blogger): Matthew T. Smith
I recently came upon a podcast that I personally found compelling. I am always looking for new and interesting topics of discussion to listen to as I attempt to occupy my time driving between Columbus,
Ohio, and Lexington, Kentucky, on a weekly basis. I have already exhausted the entire solo attorney field and what things to do in preparing to start your own law firm. I will discuss those functional topics as I approach my final year of law school. But for now, I wanted to discuss a topic that is personally fascinating to me.
Last week, I decided to do a search on yahoo of the best podcasts that were
available. A website brought me to a
list categorized by theme and I found myself being drawn to the subject of
history. I have always been a history
nerd, and had things gone a different way I easily could have seen myself
pursuing a career as a history professor.
Nevertheless, I have always had a passion for the social interaction and
development of society through the vast array of events that have occurred
through history. My search of the best
history podcasts kept bringing me to “Hardcore History” hosted by Dan
Carlin. Here is his Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Carlin,
for those who are interested in getting some background on the author. Whatever your thoughts or feelings about Dan’s
political views, the hypothetical subjects that he poses are some of the most
inspired and thought provoking that I have come across in my short time being a
student of history. On my most recent
trip from Columbus, I found myself listening to his podcast entitled “Old School
Toughness,” and it got me thinking of the application of the question that he
poses on the Baby Boomer Generation and their legal needs in the future. The premise of the show is basically about the
events that occur through a civilization or society’s history and what
ultimately develops their toughness; that once that particular society’s
toughness has propelled it to a level of comfort and wealth there starts to be
a steady decline, the speed of which is wholly specific to that particular
society.
What I began to wonder is if the U.S. has already reached its
peak of toughness through the blood and sweat of our grandparents, and thus we are on
the decline. And what legal protections will need to be in place in order to slow
down the dissipation of wealth from one’s own estate? As most of us will agree, the idea that
programs like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, etc., will be able to
completely provide for future generations, let alone the 70+ million of the
baby boomer generation, has long since been abandoned. While the idea of our government having the
means to provide for the Baby Boomers becomes more and more of an afterthought,
individuals scramble to protect what they have worked so hard to obtain so that
their families might have a higher standard of living than our great
grandparents had. Many Baby Boomer’s are
looking at the real prospect of having to continue to work well into their 70’s, if not full-time then at least part-time precisely because of the changes to
government programs and of the cost of living.
Will you be able to pay for health insurance? Will you be able to keep supplement your
Social Security with an amount that will be consistent with a livable-wage that
keeps up with inflation? Will what you
have earned and saved up to this point be protected through a will or a trust
that will make sure that your family is provided for after you are gone? I pose these questions for two reasons. One, because both of my parents are Baby
Boomers and are reaching retirement, albeit in two completely different
situations, and two if there was tool for estate planning for the Baby Boomer
generation, what is the best recommendation. There
are several tools in an estate attorney’s bag, and based on the client’s
situation and circumstances each tool must be brought out to deal with that
specific problem. What I am wondering is
if the proverbial "crap hits the fan" as it did with my grandparents, who went
through two world wars, the great depression, and disco, what would have to be
the one thing that every Baby Boomer would need in order to protect themselves
and why? As many Baby Boomers are middle
class Americans with 2.5 kids, 5 grandkids, and average to below average
amounts of wealth and do not require elaborate trusts for their
protection. What then is the first thing
that an estate attorney would need to know about a client in order to see if
they are positioned to confront the upcoming tough times and what steps they
may need to take to toughen up?
One current article that I came across comes from estate
attorney Bonnie Lawston, from New York, and her short article, “Protecting Your
Assets and Estate as you Age.” Bonnie
has several free articles discussing some critical issues that Baby Boomers
are facing as they reach retirement. They are available at
In thinking about these questions I decided to pose them to
a few baby boomers that I know so as to see what they believed to be some of the
more important issues that they would want to take care of first and
foremost. Now, to the best of my
knowledge these people are not millionaires nor do they have large amounts of disposable
income, but I would think they do represent the majority of the baby boomers
today (here is what they had to say):
“For me the concern I have is not going into a nursing home, but I would like to leave a little money to my son and his grandchild.”
“I want to leave some money behind to my favorite
charities.”
“If I have to spend down my money to qualify for Medicaid, it
had to be spent several years before I qualify, or the government can go back
to get it. How many years?”
“If I never go into a nursing home, what is the best way to
shelter my money?”
“I am not opposed to paying taxes for my share, I just will
need assistance. Especially when I am
not as sharp as I am now! Is it good to just have the opportunity to discuss
these concerns.”
I would imagine that for a majority of the Baby Boomers
these are some of the top concerns.
Therefore, I believe that almost everyone should initially have a
professionally created will. A well done will, and not one done through a template
purchased at Office Depot, will not only establish who and what amounts the
person’s assets go to, but it will also provide peace of mind in knowing that they
will not be burdening their loved ones or favorite charities with additional
legal fees after they are gone. In terms
of Medicaid and the spend-down, I believe the number of years that the
government is able to look back is three years, but every situation is
different, and based on who you want to administer this money that you are
giving away while you are still alive and who is going to be receiving these
assets, then either a revocable or irrevocable trust may be suitable for you and
your situation. As the last quote from
the Baby Boomers shows, from above, that it is more than anything about having piece of mind
about your monetary legacy, because after all, life is already difficult enough
without having to worry about what is going to happen after you are gone.
So in my practice, that is where I will start. With an open conversation about what is
really important to my client. I learned
this approach several years ago when I was a financial adviser, and the
teachings of my company where that of the “trusted adviser.” Being able to
really drill down to what is most important to your client is the goal of
providing your client with excellent service.
Yes, your client wants to protect their money, but why? They want to not have all of it tax and leave
some for their kids. Well why do you
want to leave money to your children? Because my parents were not able to leave
anything for me and I would like to live the rest of my life with a feeling of
inner peace in knowing that one day I will be able, through my hard work and
sacrifice, to provide economic relief to the people I love. People don’t want to protect money just to
protect money, they want to protect money to provide an education among other things for their
grandchildren so that they can have a better life than they had.
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Mr. Smith's site is http://www.babyboomerslaw.com/ and his email is: msmith2905@gmail.com. If you would like to learn more about the author, please visit the previous post with his bio at http://www.thesololawyer.org/2012/07/matthew-smith-guest-blogger-promising.html.
Mr. Smith's site is http://www.babyboomerslaw.com/ and his email is: msmith2905@gmail.com. If you would like to learn more about the author, please visit the previous post with his bio at http://www.thesololawyer.org/2012/07/matthew-smith-guest-blogger-promising.html.
