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July 2026
Legacy Ledger: Where Law Meets Life
(978) 653-4092 | MonteforteLaw.com
Your Estate Plan May Be Outdated (Even if It Was Done Right the First Time) Why ‘We Already Have a Plan’ Can Be a Dangerous Assumption
Now is the time to schedule your three- year checkup, learn what has changed, and join us for our Aug. 12 dinner seminar with financial advisor Ryan McSheffrey. Every so often, we meet with a family after something has already gone wrong, and the conversation usually starts the same way: “We thought everything was taken care of.” Mom or Dad may have met with an attorney years ago, signed the documents, put the binder on the shelf, and felt the relief that comes from finally getting estate planning done. The plan may have been perfectly fine when it was created. The attorney may have done a good job. The documents may have said exactly what they were supposed to say at the time.
So, when the family finally needed the plan to work, it just … didn’t. We fixed the problem, almost $20,000 in probate fees later. That is exactly why we offer our three- year checkup meetings. The best time to schedule your checkup was yesterday. The second-best time is today. Even if it has not technically been three full years, we are allowing clients to come in early. I would much rather review your plan too soon than have your family discover a problem too late. The checkup meeting lets us review your plan while you still have time to make smart decisions. We can talk about changes in your family, finances, and the law. If your plan was created more than three years ago, then you do not have some of the newer planning options we now use, including our Hindsight Trust. In my opinion, every client with older documents should at least understand what the Hindsight Trust is and how it’s the best protection tool available today. That does not mean every older plan needs to be thrown out and replaced. Sometimes, the foundation is still strong, and only a small update is needed. We are also offering summer preferred pricing for existing clients who come in for their three-year check-up. That pricing is only available through July, so now is the time to get on the calendar.
On Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m., we are hosting a special dinner seminar with financial advisor Ryan McSheffrey at Teresa’s Restaurant, right here in our building. I will be speaking about what is new in estate planning, including options that may not have been available when you first signed your documents. Ryan will be speaking about the financial side, including opportunities he sees in the market, particularly in the energy sector, given the enormous energy needed to power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. This is also a great event to bring a friend. Your friend will benefit from both presentations: estate planning and financial planning. And even if you do not need a brand-new estate plan yourself, you can still learn something valuable from Ryan and hear from me about what has changed in estate planning.
The problem is that “at the time” and “right now” are often different.
We recently saw a situation where older estate planning documents created problems for a family after a parent became seriously ill and later passed away. The documents were not bad. They were not some cheap online form or a do-it-yourself disaster. They probably made sense when they were signed. But years had passed, and during that time, life had changed. Assets changed. Family relationships changed. A son passed away. The people named in the documents were no longer the best people to serve. The law changed. Better planning options were available. And certain protections the family assumed were in place simply were not part of the plan.
There is another reason this summer is a good time to reconnect with us.
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THE MYTH OF PERFECT PARENTING When Good Enough Is Better
Most parents have found themselves in a situation with their kids where they stop and think, “I’m messing this up.” It usually happens in the middle of an ordinary day. You get short with your child when you meant to be patient, or you realize too late that they were trying to tell you something while you were only half listening. Maybe you were distracted or tired, maybe your mind was already on the next thing. In those moments, it can feel like good parenting depends on getting everything right all the time. It doesn’t. Kids tend to benefit much more from a parent who is emotionally available and engaged than from one who is so concerned with getting everything right that they neglect the relationship itself. That lines up with the older idea of “good enough parenting,” a research-backed approach that dates back to the 1950s.
Being a “good enough” parent isn’t about lowering the bar you’re working toward. The point is to recognize that kids can thrive with parents who are responsive and involved, even though they are also imperfect, distracted, and human. Research shows that this approach is actually more beneficial for our kids than over-parenting, which can leave them more anxious and less confident. It also helps to remember that when parents make too much of their own mistakes, kids can start absorbing that same kind of pressure and self-criticism. So, what does this type of parenting look like in real life? It basically comes down to staying connected with our kids without acting like every moment has to be handled perfectly. Often, that can be as simple as pausing before reacting or stopping to give kids our full attention a photo shoot.” Although the law might sound absurd, it gets at a bigger point. Alaska doesn’t deal with the same day-to- day problems as the rest of the country. You can see that clearly in laws across the state. Local code in Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula prohibits what it calls “attractive nuisances,” which is just a codified way of saying people shouldn’t leave food or other tempting things around that invite bears into town. It’s another rule that sounds funny on paper, but it starts to feel a lot less funny when you imagine a bear wandering your neighborhood because someone got careless with their trash. Under Alaska law, it’s also illegal to view moose from an airplane, although that only tells part of the story. The restrictions are tied specifically to using an aircraft to spot moose for same-day hunting. That says a lot about how common small planes are in the
when they’re trying to tell us something. It might also mean going back to a moment we handled poorly and trying again. Responses like those can do more to build resilience and trust than parents sometimes realize. No matter how much effort we put in, parenting will always be challenging. The goal isn’t to get it perfect, but to keep showing up, learning, and growing, while letting go of the idea that every imperfect moment means we’re doing something wrong.
The Strange Laws of Alaska DON’T WAKE A SLEEPING BEAR!
In Alaska, it is illegal to wake a sleeping bear just to take its picture. The fact that this law exists means that, at some point, someone looked at a sleeping bear and thought, “You know what this bear needs? To wake up for
state and how seriously it takes fair-chase hunting to protect local wildlife.
Alaska’s odd laws don’t stop there. Fairbanks has ordinances covering issues such as unnecessary horn use and excessive shouting in public places. It’s also illegal to ride a motorcycle or operate heavy equipment at night in Fairbanks. Unlike the other laws mentioned here, these have nothing to do with wildlife, but they say something about how much Alaskans value peace and quiet. And at some point, someone clearly decided the nighttime motorcycle situation had gone far enough. Some of Alaska’s laws may be good for a laugh, but most of them feel oddly practical once you understand the circumstances behind them. It’s one thing to read about a sleeping bear law from far away. It’s another to realize somebody apparently needed a reminder.
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(978) 653-4092
“Boneless wings” may be one of the strangest names given to a fast food item. Everyone knows that they aren’t really wings with the bones neatly removed, but one customer still took that question to court. In a lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings, a man argued that the chain’s boneless wings were really just chicken breast pieces, more like nuggets than wings, and that calling them “wings” was misleading to customers. It made it to court, but in February 2026, a U.S. district judge in Illinois dismissed the case. Judge John Tharp’s basic argument was that most people aren’t ordering boneless wings because they believe someone carefully deboned a pile of tiny chicken wings. That may sound silly, but it involves a real legal test. Courts often ask what a reasonable customer would understand from a label or the name and description of a menu item. The judge in this case ruled that the name “boneless wings” works more like a common restaurant name than a precise description of the cut of meat being served. He also cited a 2024 Ohio Supreme Court ruling and said diners don’t expect “chicken fingers” to be made from actual fingers, either. Buffalo Wild Wings gets to keep its boneless wings on the menu, but the failure of this specific case doesn’t mean restaurants have carte blanche when it comes to naming their food. A label can still become a problem if it claims something that is flatly untrue or genuinely likely to confuse people. The argument in this case just didn’t hold up to that. Odd as it might sound, “boneless wings” has become normal menu language, even if it isn’t especially logical. From the outside, this seems like a strange thing for a court to have to sort out, but it is all still based on a valid consumer law question. Apparently, some menu debates really can make it all the way to federal court. A BONE TO PICK The Legal Fight Over Chicken Wings
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The event includes dinner and drinks at Teresa’s, so it should be educational, valuable, and enjoyable.
Clients who attend will receive $250 off any changes to their estate plan. If you bring a friend, you will receive $500 off any plan changes. So, if it has been a while since we reviewed your plan, schedule your three-year checkup now. Take advantage of the summer preferred pricing before it expires at the end of July. And mark your calendar for Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. to join us at Teresa’s with Ryan McSheffrey. Sign up using the QR code on the cover or by calling the office.
Your plan may have been right when you signed it. Now, let’s make sure it is still right today.
–Mike Monteforte Jr.
Mango Glazed Chicken
Ingredients
Mango Glaze • 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped • 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce • 1 tbsp honey • 1 tbsp rice vinegar • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger • 1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional) • 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water (for thickening)
Chicken • 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken
breasts, cut into bite- size pieces
• Salt and pepper • 1 tsp garlic powder • 1 tbsp olive oil
Directions 1. In blender, blend mango until smooth. 2. Pour purée into small saucepan and add soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. 3. Stir to combine. 4. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low and cook 5–6 minutes. 5. Add cornstarch slurry and stir until glaze thickens, about 1–2 minutes. 6. Remove from heat and set aside. 7. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 8. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high. 9. Add chicken and cook for 6–8 minutes, flipping occasionally. 10. Reduce heat to low.
11. Pour mango glaze over chicken and toss to coat. 12. Let it simmer 2–3 minutes to fully caramelize.
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Your Documents Might Be Signed … but Are They Still Right?
The Parenting Myth We Need to Let Go Of
Weird Rules of the Last Frontier
Boneless Wings Fly Into Federal Court
Mango Glazed Chicken
The Woman Behind Radioactivity
MARIE CURIE’S LASTING LEGACY A LIFE IN SCIENCE
Most people picture Marie Curie as a scientific legend in a textbook, but long before she became a famous scientist, her life looked a lot like that of many others of her time. The youngest of five children, she was born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. Early in life, Curie faced financial difficulties and the loss of her mother, but she was exceptionally bright and threw herself into her studies. Despite the limitations placed on women in 19th-century Poland, Curie pushed forward. She studied through underground classes, worked as a governess, and saved until she could leave for Paris and enroll at the Sorbonne. In Paris, she studied physics and mathematics and later met Pierre Curie, her research partner and future husband. The two of them began investigating strange rays coming from certain materials.
Curie eventually helped define the field by giving the phenomenon she was studying a name: radioactivity. Her research led to the discovery of radium and polonium, two highly radioactive elements that changed the scientific conversation at the time. That discovery expanded the periodic table and
laid the groundwork for the medical uses of radiation, especially cancer treatment.
In 1903, Curie and her husband were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their work isolating the radioactive elements they discovered. Eight years later, she was awarded a second Nobel Prize on her own, this time in chemistry. That made her the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person in history to have won in two different scientific fields. Sadly, Curie’s work likely also led to her death. After years of radiation exposure, she died at age 66 of aplastic anemia, a blood disease caused by radiation damage to bone marrow. Even with that tragic ending, Curie’s impact is hard to overstate. Through her work, she helped open an entirely new field of science that continues to influence research and medicine today.
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