D on ’ t L eave Y our C hildren ’ s F uture up to C hance Why Estate Plans Are Crucial for Young Families
As the school year kicks off, one important task is often overlooked amidst the hustle and bustle: creating an estate plan. For families with young children, having a comprehensive plan is crucial. It ensures your loved ones are protected and provided for, regardless of the future. This month, we’re exploring what families with young children need to know about estate plans and why it’s one of the best tools to provide for your family long into the future. A PLAN GIVES YOU MORE CONTROL. The last thing you want if something happens to you is for the courts to decide with whom your children will stay and how their money will be spent. When you create an estate plan, you get to make the best and most important decisions for your children. First and foremost, you can name a guardian of your choice to raise your children with the same values you have and adhere to your wishes. You also get to pick someone to manage any money you leave to your children according to how you want their inheritance dispersed.
Without these directions, the court will decide, and a judge doesn’t know your child’s unique needs as you do. An estate plan provides peace of mind. A PLAN SHOULD BE REVIEWED AND UPDATED. Any estate plan is a living document you must review and update, at least when your family has significant life events or changes. You should review your plan every few years to ensure it accurately reflects your wishes. This is especially important regarding your designated guardian for your children. You might pick a best friend as that person, but if they move thousands of miles away or are no longer in your life, they might not be the best caregivers for your children anymore. Creating an estate plan is essential to ensure your family’s future stability and safety. No one knows your children better than you, and you don’t want to leave their well-being in the hands of a court. By setting this foundational document up now, you give the gift of certainty and security to the people you love most.
Balancing the Books and Building Relationships M eet J eff W ilson At The Manely Firm, we are incredibly grateful to our incredible team, whose passions and skills shine through their daily work. Not all law firms have a chief financial officer, but we couldn’t imagine the office without our During his time here, Jeff has been instrumental in understanding our data and providing it to our attorneys and paralegals. He said he cherishes the quiet of the office and all the kind staff members.
CFO, Jeff Wilson. As the person responsible for our accounting, Jeff manages all the nuts and bolts of our operating budget. Along with maintaining our books and payroll, Jeff delivers excellence and true attention through his quality of service to everyone. “I learned that in this business, even the accounting people need a high degree of client care. That’s probably how it should be,” he says. Jeff has a wealth of experience in the financial world, having worked in various financial roles for 36 years. While he’s a pro at operating funds and understanding all the data tied to a business’s finances, he said he loves learning something new at The Manely Firm daily. “It’s really very enjoyable,” he says. “It’s different enough from previous roles that there are facets to the financial/ business side of it that I’ve never run into before.” Jeff joined the firm in October during a period of tremendous growth. We doubled in size, and he was part of this wave of outstanding new team members.
One of his favorite things about being part of The Manely Firm is working with younger folks around his youngest daughter’s age. She’s attending law school, which happened before Jeff joined the legal field with us. Jeff has two other children, one of whom just finished his Ph.D. at Duke and works at NASA, and another who works at Georgia State in their sports communication department. When he’s not working, Jeff enjoys time with his family and pets, two adopted hound dogs and a stray cat their daughter adopted while in college. He loves reading, especially history, and participating in dynamic pistol competitions that bring him to different parts of the state. “We do road trips for these,” he says. “It’s less expensive and time-consuming than golf. Noisier though. I hate loud noises, so somehow, this is my hobby, and I have loud basset hounds.” Jeff has helped us grow in an amazing way and brings an innovative approach to his work. We are proud to have him on our team.
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