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Finalizing the Details Meet Deborah Shannon!
Hi everyone, my name is Deborah Shannon, but most people call me Debbie. I never imagined my career would take me to the legal field, but almost three years ago, I found my way to Sheppard Law Firm as an asset alignment coordinator. I love helping our clients view an unfamiliar process as less scary than they thought. After taking my first accounting class, I decided to become a certified public accountant (CPA) in college. But once I did, I decided to walk away to do the most essential job in the world: caring for my two children. I went back into accounting after 11 years as a stay-at- home mom, but once my children were grown and my husband and I divorced, I went through what I call “my midlife crisis” and started working for financial advising firms. Eventually, my fiancé and I decided to escape our harsh Maine winters and move permanently to Florida in 2017 — a decision we’ve never regretted! The job listing for Sheppard Law Firm intrigued me because it was something I’d never done before, and my role provides a service not every estate planning firm offers. Many estate planners help you set up a trust, leaving you on your own to fund it. The process can seem daunting to those unfamiliar with it, so many procrastinate in getting it done — which can undo all the hard work you put into your estate plan. On the other side, Sheppard Law Firm offers a full-service experience for our clients, and that’s where I come in. My job is to help clients complete this last step in the process, walking them through the paperwork and steps they need to take. We have two levels of service: “done with you” and “done for you.” Most clients choose to let Sheppard Law Firm get everything “done with you,” but the help we provide is still crucial. Not everyone is financially savvy, and many people find dealing with money overwhelming. I love that I can help make the process easier. Our clients love having someone to explain the process to them and a place they can go with any questions. When they finally have their trust funded and beneficiaries complete, it’s a massive weight off
their shoulders to know that, barring any changes, their estate planning is truly resolved. Outside of work,
my fiancé and I love traveling when we can — and at home, we love living a Floridian lifestyle full of beaches, boating, and pools. We’re also big music fans and love going
to concerts for acts that were popular in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. We’ve seen Cher, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Eric Clapton, among others. We even repeat acts when we can, having seen Elton John and Chicago multiple times! Living relatively close to Tampa and Palm Beach means we’re in the perfect location to see all the live music we want. And when I’m not at a concert, you can usually find me curled up with a good book. The best thing about working at Sheppard Law Firm is the clients I interact with daily. Customer service is vital to me, and nothing brings me more satisfaction than helping others with things they
find difficult or frustrating. I love being able to make anyone’s life just a little easier. Getting to do that every day with some of the best people I’ve ever met is like a dream come true.
–Deborah Shannon
1 (239) 265-9779
NOVEMBER 2022
Impress the Guests With These Holiday Hosting Tips
The holidays are rapidly approaching, and soon,
pantry, refrigerator, and cupboards with your guests’ favorite foods and drinks. If you don’t know what they are, ask ahead of their visit! Your guests will appreciate your conscientious gesture and have a much more enjoyable time if they can eat their favorites while visiting. PREPARE A GUEST ROOM. If your guests are staying with you, you need to prepare somewhere for them to sleep. Make sure you make up the bed, have plenty of pillows and blankets on hand, and provide adequate closet space for their clothes. Even if they aren’t staying in a traditional bedroom, their sleeping area should still be ready when they arrive. Clear off a table for them to use as a nightstand and put sheets on the couch or mattress where they’ll sleep. USE REAL DISHES. When we have company over for a meal, especially a large gathering, it’s usually easier to use plastic or paper options — saves on cleanup, too! The holidays are not necessarily the time for this shortcut. Break out the fine china if you have it, or use regular dishes for your guests. It’s okay for the kids to have paper plates, but if you want to make a good impression on visiting adults, nicer dishes will dress up the table setting and meal.
we’ll share laughs while enjoying the festivities with our
loved ones. Before the celebrations begin, you must prepare your home for visitors, especially if they stay overnight. It can be stressful whether it’s your in-laws, best friends, or distant cousins coming to stay
with you. You want to leave a good impression, but how do you ensure
everyone’s needs are met, including yours? Here are three tips for setting yourself up
for a successful holiday, regardless of who stays with you. STOCK UP ON YOUR GUESTS’ FAVORITES. Have you ever stayed with someone who didn’t have extra food for their guests? Don’t put your guests in this situation. Load up your
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Legal Implications for Snowbirds
The snowbirds are quickly arriving in Florida, looking forward to another warm winter season down south. Some will be making the journey for the first time and discovering why it’s such a popular lifestyle. While making their arrangements, an estate plan is usually nowhere near these travelers’ top concerns. But living across multiple state lines can have significant implications for your estate. Some believe moving to a new state will invalidate their old estate plans. That’s false — your will, trusts, and power of attorney remain legally binding documents. But while many provisions of your estate plan won’t be affected, others may be. No state will enforce a contract that violates its own laws. So, failing to update your estate plan can have unintended consequences, and your assets may not be dispersed as intended. A carefully planned trust created in New York may have entirely different results in Florida. For example, a person may intend for their home to go to their spouse upon death. But a failure to incorporate Florida law into the plan can cause it to end up in multiple different sets of hands instead. The fallout can financially devastate the people they intended to protect and strain family relationships beyond repair.
Wording matters more than intention in legal documents, so using the correct language for your
jurisdiction is essential. In advance directive documents, the words “proxy,” “surrogate,” and “agent” may all mean different things in different states. A failure to clarify can result in your detailed plans being discarded — or at least delayed from taking effect. Also, essential tax and probate considerations come with living in two different states. You can only have residency in one state, but which one will be more advantageous to you will depend on your circumstances. Furthermore, your estate may be subject to probate in more than one state, but careful planning can reduce these problems. Some new clients don’t believe they need significant updates. Often, their original estate planner thinks they’re familiar with Florida law and advises them that their estate plan is Florida-compliant. But being licensed in Florida is entirely different from practicing here every day. A full-time Florida estate planning attorney should review every detail to get your plan right. Otherwise, all your hard work could go as south as the Keys.
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Never Grow Old Attorney Craig Hersch knows there’s more to life in retirement than money. In a recent blog post, he discussed staying mentally young by finding meaning. Read the endless trips to the doctor’s office and spending hours in their waiting rooms beat them down. The New York Times columnist David Brooks may have hit on On Staying Young in Retirement
something remarkable, asking whether our society is too focused on resume virtues as opposed to eulogy virtues. The resume virtues are the skills that you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest, or faithful. I believe building eulogy virtues keeps us young, and they can help us find meaning and purpose. We should spend our retirement years narrowing the gap between our actual self and desired self. Sadly, my former law partner John Sheppard passed away a couple of months ago, but he remained young in his outlook to the end of his days. He awoke each morning not thinking about what he could do
full blog “Growing Older Doesn’t Have to Mean Growing Old” on the Sheppard Law Firm Blog at FloridaEstatePlanning.com. When I meet a new client who has recently moved to Florida, they’re usually very excited. They’ve wrapped up a career. Their kids are grown and on their own. It’s time to relax and enjoy free time. They have a new lease on life. I’m happy for them. For some, however, things change rapidly. Over the next several years, some encounter health problems, occasionally major ones. Others worry about whether the money will run out. Then, one by one, their friends die off. That’s when I see them grow old. When I say “old,” I mean they lose their purpose in life. During our working years when raising a family, there’s plenty of “purpose” to go around. But when you’re no longer needed at the office, and your children are super busy building careers and raising their own families, finding purpose seems to be more difficult. The
for himself, but what he could do for others that day. After my working years are over, I similarly hope to strengthen my eulogy virtues. I don’t plan to die
soon, but I think the process will help me make the most of the time I have and keep me younger than my years.
Lentil Bolognese
INGREDIENTS
TAKE A BREAK!
• • • • • • • •
1-lb box pasta, any kind
• • • • • • • •
1/4 tsp chili flakes 1 tbsp Italian herbs 1/3 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups diced carrots 1 1/2 cups diced celery 4–6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/4 cups lentils 3 tomatoes, diced
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth 3/4 cup hemp seeds 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS 1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until fragrant. Lower heat to medium, add carrots, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and Italian herbs. 3. Add tomato paste and cook down for a few minutes. Now add the lentils, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and hemp seeds. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and simmer until lentils are tender. 4. Cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, then stir in the balsamic vinegar before adjusting the seasonings to your liking. When that is done, pour over the pasta and enjoy.
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9100 College Pointe Court Fort Myers, FL 33919 (239) 265-9779
INSIDE this issue
SUDOKU ANSWER
Deborah Shannon Helps With the Finishing Touches PAGE 1 How to Impress Visitors This Holiday Season PAGE 2 Is Your Estate Plan Florida-Compliant? PAGE 2 Become Older Without Growing Old PAGE 3 Take a Break! PAGE 3 Lentil Bolognese PAGE 3 A Healthy Way to Manage Intrusive Thoughts PAGE 4
The best compliments we receive are your referrals. When you refer us to your loved ones, we do all we can to exceed expectations.
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How to Manage Intrusive Thoughts
Many people deal with unwelcome, intrusive thoughts every day. We’ve all experienced unwanted images or notions racing through our minds, and it can be difficult to concentrate on what we need to be doing. These thoughts can also trigger feelings of anxiety, worry, and shame. But know you’re not alone — some estimate that 6 million Americans are affected, so many can empathize with what you’re going through. Here is some good advice about intrusive thoughts and how to manage them in a healthy way. WHAT ARE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS? Intrusive thoughts are unwanted ideas that occur without warning at any time, often triggered by stress or anxiety, or even short-term biological factors, like hormone shifts. They can come in many forms, and people often worry about what they mean, so naturally, they try to control or stop the ideas altogether. But trying to prohibit these thoughts can make them more persistent. WHAT CAN YOU DO? Instead of pushing these thoughts out of your mind, acknowledge that they are intrusive concepts and allow them to linger. Understand
they will pass, but prepare yourself for other unwanted thoughts. Most importantly, push through and continue to complete your tasks and errands when the thoughts occur. If you try to control, suppress, question, act, or engage with intrusive thoughts, you’ll likely be even more fixated on them. You’ll feel more in control if you allow them to pass through your brain instead of trying to avoid and ignore them.
Intrusive thoughts can feel distressing, but allowing them to freely enter and exit your mind will provide you with ease — even if it doesn’t seem that way. However, if intrusive ideas persist and continually impair your ability to work or do things you enjoy, seek information from a mental health professional. You’re never alone in your struggles, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.
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