Feel BadAbout ThrowingAway Photos? 4 Rules for Guilt-Free Photo Downsizing
Rule No. 2: Tell a Story When you look at a photo, does it make you want to tell a story about the people or places in the image? Could you share plenty of stories about riding around in Dad’s old truck or about how funny your best friend from college was? Keep those photos. Pictures of people whose names you can’t remember or blurry photos you can’t make out can all go. Rule No. 3: Edit Well If you have a lot of photos from a specific event or part of your life, think about how long each “chapter” of your life story would be. How much time would you spend writing about your cousin’s wedding or high school prom? If a certain event didn’t have that much meaning in your life, why dedicate pages and pages of a photo album to it? Rule No. 4: Throw Photos Away If a photo isn’t important enough to put in an album or frame on the wall, then it doesn’t need to stick around. Don’t put them in a box you’ll have to sort through later. Let the rejects go.
If you’ve reached a point in your life where you’ve started to downsize, then you’ve likely grappled with the difficult task of getting rid of photos. After decades of life, how are you supposed to choose which memories are important enough to keep and which aren’t? These four rules can help make this daunting task easier. Rule No. 1: Cut Scenic Views You don’t need dozens of photos of that campsite you went to on vacation one summer. If a location was really meaningful, like the beach at your honeymoon, then
keep a few, but pictures of the
places you’ve been to are far less special than pictures of the people you love.
After all that hard work, treat yourself to a photo album shopping spree so you can start organizing the meaningful photos you have left.
RemoteWill Signings Now Allowed Under Florida Law
While it was heartbreaking for senior students to miss their chance to walk across the stage and difficult to spend holidays like Easter and Passover without our families this spring, COVID-19 also prompted and strengthened some helpful changes. Legislators created and passed new laws designed to aid their communities, and we witnessed the influence of bills signed into law prior to the pandemic. In Florida estate planning, one of the most timely law changes has been the ability to legally sign will-based documents remotely as of July 1. This is an adaptation to previous legislation that went into effect in January 2020. With this addition, we can now authorize the signing of will-based documents, including the signing of your trusts, living wills, and power of attorney. The original law allowed remote notarizations and was put into effect prior to public knowledge of COVID-19 in the U.S. This legislation’s history actually stretches back to 2017 when the first version of this bill was vetoed by former Florida Governor
Rick Scott after critics claimed it didn’t effectively protect vulnerable populations and even the slightest mistake could invalidate the will.
After updates to the 2017 bill —which set limitations for vulnerable adults using this process and worked directly with the Florida Bar’s elder law section — Florida Governor
Ron DeSantis signed the Electronic Transactions Act into law in 2019. This paved the way for remote notarization of many estate planning documents, including affidavits or long-term care documents, starting on Jan. 1, 2020. However, this did not allow for will-based documents to receive the same treatment. Physical signings and notarizations were still required. This changes on July 1, as these remote practices are put into place. There is no telling how influential this legislation will be for our community and clients, but it’s progress toward accessibility, especially during this uncertain time. Our team at The Sheppard Law Firm will continue to monitor this law change and will notify our clients of any changes that concern their documentation and signings.
Learn more about our digital service options at SBSHLaw.com.
2 floridaestateplanning.com
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