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Newsletter Title
t Volunteering, Family, and Lots of Food What I’m Most Excited for During the Holiday Season
Happy holidays! It’s hard to believe we’re already nearing the end of 2021, and as we prepare for holiday celebrations, make final legal changes before the new year, and plan for the next 365 days, I’m taking a few moments to reflect on the traditions my family has this time of year and the value I find in each one. Starting with one of my favorite traditions, longtime readers of our newsletter may remember that my family spends Christmas Eve volunteering with Meals for Hope. We were first introduced to this Florida- based group through our children’s elementary school, and we have made it a priority to volunteer each year that we can. event of the year. It’s always humbling to package so many meals, all of which go to helping those in need. It’s a great lesson for my children, and it just wouldn’t be the holidays without volunteering at this event. Travel is another prominent holiday tradition for my family. Both Jamie’s family and my parents live in rural Nassau County, so every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we make the six-hour trek to visit each of them. When the kids were little, this drive took a long time because we had to stop every hour or so. Now, we can usually make it to our destination in one shot, giving us more time with the family. We join thousands of volunteers as we pack meals for homeless families at Holidays Without Hunger — the organization’s biggest Once we’re with our relatives, it’s the perfect opportunity to relax. We usually have a barbecue of some kind if it’s not too cold, and we eat a ton of food while we’re up there, too! Our main goal is to spend time with the family, so we don’t bog down our days with too many traditions or big events. We just enjoy each other’s company.
It’s also nice to see my kids interact with their cousins on Jamie’s side of the family. She has siblings who also have children, so our gatherings are a little bigger, crazier, and louder than the time we spend with my parents! Regardless, we enjoy our holiday celebrations on both sides, and we spend about a week visiting with everyone. It’s a great way to cap off the year. However, this is one big change I am looking forward to this year: I won’t be so stressed about work! If there was one silver lining to the horrible COVID-19
pandemic, it has been the prevalence of remote work. More people are willing to jump on a Zoom call or use shared drives to monitor and manage work. It’s made it possible for me to ensure I can take a holiday break with my family while also allowing me the freedom to step away for important meetings or stay on top of the end-of-year work.
Inevitably, the end of each year is incredibly busy for our firm. We always encourage clients to contact us with yearly changes sooner rather than later — this ensures there won’t be a mad dash to finish your requested work — but as we wrap up each year, we understand that there will always be changes that sneak up on our clients or last-minute updates as people prepare for the new year. This year, I’m incredibly grateful to be able to spread out that work while also spending time with my family. We have another great lineup of traditions in store, and I can’t wait to do each one.
Wishing you and yours a great holiday season,
–Mike Hill
P.S. Check your mail! We sent out our annual Client Care Program mailing recently, and it has important updates. Thank you!
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DECEMBER 2021
Spending the HolidaysAlone? Boost Your Mood With These Tips
Plan ahead. If you know in advance that you’re going to be spending the holidays alone, planning ahead can prevent negative feelings. While being spontaneous can sometimes keep things fresh, it could leave you with a feeling of hopelessness about what to do next. There’s no need for your list to be extensive or highly detailed, but even just planning to watch a movie or cook some of your favorite dishes can give you something to look forward to. Take care of yourself. Just because you’re not seeing people during the holidays does not mean you should forgo your basic needs. Stick to your regular hygiene habits and do not let them get away from you. The same goes for eating and sleeping. Staying clean, well-fed, and well- rested goes a long way toward improving your happiness. As with all mental health advice, what works for some does not work for everyone. Do what you think will work best for you and help you keep your thoughts happy.
Many Americans spend the holidays alone every year, and the pandemic has only made it more difficult for people to see their loved ones, as travel has become more restricted and strenuous. If you’re one of these people who are spending their first holiday season alone this year, here are a few strategies you can try to make the situation a little easier. Don’t hold yourself to the usual standards. One of the best things about spending the holidays alone is that you can do things your way. You don’t have to worry about meeting everyone else’s standards. Instead, you only have to make yourself happy. Simply telling yourself that you are not going to have the usual holiday environment can slightly help, but redefining what the holiday means to you can remove a huge weight. Trying new things or looking toward the future are great ways to reduce the stress of spending the holidays alone. Keeping up with old traditions may remind you of what you’re missing out on, so it can greatly help to create your own traditions.
s t a t e P l a n s H e l p T h
For people who lived their whole lives as fully-abled, the onset of a disability — like hearing or vision impairments or difficulty walking — can be challenging to navigate. This December, we will pass another International Day of Persons With Disabilities, and we would be remiss if we didn’t examine the ways in which your estate plan can help you if you have (or later become) diagnosed with a disability.
behalf when you cannot. Often, these documents work tangentially to ensure you receive the care you want.
‘Medical’ Trusts
After age 65, your health insurance falls under Medicare or Medicaid, which can cover a number of disability or age-related types of care. However, your eligible funding may not fully cover the treatment you need. An irrevocable living trust can change that. Trusts can be set up to cover some expenses that government health care programs cannot. There are limits to this of course. For example, an irrevocable trust cannot pay medical bills, but it could help you purchase medical equipment for your home. Furthermore, payments above the IRS’s annual gift tax exclusion could result in more taxes. Be sure to discuss this option and other potential solutions with your attorney. If you have questions about how your estate plan can protect you after a disability diagnosis, please contact our team today.
Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney
A living will and designation of durable powers of attorney ensure that you have the protection you need should you become incapable of providing that for yourself. If you have a disability that is progressively degenerative for your mental capacity, or if you were to slip into a coma, a living will would serve as your voice in making medical decisions for you. It outlines your wishes in these scenarios and can protect your family and you from rash decisions made by doctors and nurses. Likewise, durable powers of attorney provide a support system. These are people who are given the responsibility of managing your financial affairs and making medical decisions on your
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‘You Can’t Get Everything Online’ We’re proud to have a few specialists at The Sheppard Law Firm — but what does that mean, exactly? In his 2021 Sanibel Island Sun column, “You Can’t Get Everything Online,” Attorney Craig Hersch explains how it works. You can read the full version of Craig’s column and others at FloridaEstatePlanning.com. Certified Specialists Have the Education to Back Their Advice
Generally speaking, board certification recognizes attorneys who must display the highest degree of professionalism and ethics. Additionally, one must have a minimum of five years of law practice and substantial involvement in the field of law. We must also obtain a satisfactory peer review assessment of competence in the specialty field, including character and ethics assessments. Board-certified wills, trusts, and estates attorneys must also meet stringent continuing legal education requirements (90 hours in advanced estate planning topics in the three years leading up to initial certification alone, then similar amounts every reporting period) and be recertified every five years after passing an initial rigorous board certification examination. That’s why there may be a difference between what your northern attorney may have told you about updating your will and trust to Florida law and what a board-certified specialist here in Florida tells you. It’s kind of like asking your primary care physician a cardiac question that you should actually ask your cardiologist.
When choosing a doctor, lawyer, or other professional, the right certification can mean all the difference in the quality of care or service. To differentiate between those who may have superior skills, many professional regulatory agencies offer board certification credentials. The Florida Bar offers such a program. Estate planning, for example, has become so complicated through myriad laws, rules, and regulations that there could be a big difference in skills between a “generalist” — someone who might do a little divorce work as well as prepare wills and trusts — and those skills of a “specialist” who works solely in estate planning. A Florida lawyer is not a “specialist” without becoming board certified in his or her respective field. I happen to be board certified by The Florida Bar in wills, trusts, and estates, earning my certification back in 1996. John Sheppard, one of my law partners who retired some time ago, was one of the first to do so in Florida, and Michael Hill, one of my current law partners, became board certified in 2008. Today, Mike and I are two of about 315 attorneys throughout the entire state with such a distinction.
You can look up The Florida Bar board-certified attorney specialists in various fields at FloridaBar.org/certification.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Inspired by DreenaBurton.com
Set out these vegan cookies for Santa!
INGREDIENTS
• • • • • •
1/4 tsp salt
•
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup maple syrup 1/4 tsp molasses 1 tsp vanilla extract
• • •
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
Referrals are the lifeblood of our office. If you had a tremendous experience, please do share it as a five-star Google Review, adding a few words as a description. It takes less than a couple minutes. We appreciate our clients so much and hope that our new clients are just like the ones we commonly attract. You can also leave us a review at FloridaEstatePlanning.com/review.
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. 3. In a smaller bowl, combine maple syrup, molasses, vanilla, and oil. 4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry mixture. Mix in chocolate chips. 5. Place large spoonfuls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 11 minutes.
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INSIDE this issue
What Makes Mike Hill Excited for the Holidays? ....................................... 1
Tips for Spending the Holidays Alone......... 2
Estate Planning Can Help People With Disabilities — Here’s How!. ......................... 2
The Value of Board Certification. ............... 3
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. ................. 3
Make the Perfect Snowball in 3 Steps. ....... 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.
H o w
With and Without Snow!
If you live in a snowy climate, you’ve likely made at least one snowball — but how good was your technique? It turns out the process of snowball-making is more complicated than grabbing a handful of powder and squeezing it. To understand the nuance, Popular Science asked both a NASA astrochemist and a director from Montana State’s Snow and Avalanche Laboratory to weigh in. According to the astrochemist, a truly perfect snowball would need to be made in a lab or outer space. Those are the only places where you can achieve pressure high enough to melt the snow and refreeze to make a “meniscus” (aka “snowball glue”) throughout the ball. But if you don’t have a private lab or rocket ship, here’s the next best thing.
2. Keep your gloves on . There’s no need to go gloveless if your snow
passed the squeeze test. You may be tempted to try turning dry snow into wet snow with your body heat, but ignore the urge — at best you’ll create a fragile snowball with only a thin shell of snowball glue. 3. Crank up the pressure. The tighter you squeeze your snowball, the better it will be! At the annual Japanese snowball fight Yukigassen, players use molds to make extra- tight snowballs. You can buy one on Amazon for under $10.
The Snowball You Can Drink
3 Steps to Snowball Perfection
If your backyard is snowless, we have good news: You can still make snowballs — the drinkable kind! The Snowball is a classic Christmas cocktail named for the dome of froth that appears when you stir it. It’s made by mixing one part lime cordial and two parts Warninks Advocaat Liqueur with ice, then straining the mixture and adding six parts lemonade. For more details and snowball trivia, visit GoodHousekeeping.com.
1. Test the snow for “free water.” Your snow can’t be too soggy or too dry. You want what The International Classification for Seasonal Snow on the Ground calls “wet” snow, which is 3%–8% water by volume. To see if your snow is worthy, try the squeeze test. If it sticks together when you squeeze it without gushing water, you’re set!
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