5 Documentaries to Watch on Earth Day
Share the Facts With Your Whole Family!
‘Extinction: The Facts’ — This hard-hitting documentary from famous nature historian David Attenborough is perfect for kids ages 16 and up. It tackles serious topics like species loss, food and water shortages, and the relationship between climate change and pandemic diseases. “Extinction: The Facts” is available on PBS.org or Prime Video. ‘Kiss the Ground’ — Join actor Woody Harrelson on Netflix for an inspiring look at soil, why it matters, and what farmers and activists are doing to save and enhance it — and our food supply. The documentary is family-friendly and rated G. None of these documentaries existed in 1970 when anti-pollution activists came together to create Earth Day, build the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and pass laws to protect our air and water. But they’re a wonderful extension
We celebrated Earth Day on April 22. But do your kids know why we commemorate the holiday? Do you? If you don’t know much about the history of environmentalism — or just want to learn more about the state of our planet — consider watching a documentary as a family. Dozens of fantastic films cover everything from the crusade to preserve our coral reefs to how farmers use soil health to enhance the planet. Here are a few of our favorites. ‘Kids Take Action Against Ocean Plastic ’ — This short five- minute documentary from National Geographic follows a group of Hawaiian students determined to clean up their local beaches. It’s available for free on National Geographic’s YouTube channel! (If you watch it and love this documentary,
check out the PG-rated flick “Plastic Island” on Netflix, which tackles the same issue in Indonesia.) ‘ Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis’ — This PG-rated documentary about water security takes place on five continents and stars celebrities Liam Neeson, Matt Damon, and Jaden Smith. Check it out on Netflix.
of that spirit! Hopefully, you’ll be able to find time to watch at
least one of them this month. After watching, consider taking action and volunteering for a green project near you.
FUNDING YOUR TRUST: OFTEN OVERLOOKED ASSETS
If you’ve set up a revocable living trust in the past, hopefully your attorney has explained the importance of funding the trust. Basically, if something isn’t properly funded, that asset could end up going through probate or unintentionally passing to the wrong person due to an outdated beneficiary designation. We include a checklist with our trusts to make the process easier, but we still find certain assets are often overlooked. The main ones include safety deposit boxes, home and auto insurance policies, and savings bonds. First, for safety deposit boxes, we often advise clients to add their trust as an additional owner. That way, even if they are incapacitated, the trustee can still access and manage the contents of the safety deposit box. This also means all the contents of that safety deposit box
will bypass probate, which can keep the contents of your safety deposit box from being subject to final creditors’ claims. Second, your homeowners insurance and vehicle insurance should have your trust listed as an additional insured. That way if something happened to you at the same time something happened to
your home or vehicle, those proceeds would also bypass probate.
Finally, don’t forget to have any savings bonds retitled into the name of the trust. These can be a huge pain to probate and can have significant value, especially if they’re well past their maturity date. While it may take a little bit of effort to have these re-registered, your heirs will be thankful for it in the future. Keep in mind that this advice is generic and may not apply to your particular situation. If you have any funding questions or want advice regarding your particular situation, feel free to give us a call and schedule a time to meet with one of our attorneys so we can review how well your trust has been funded.
–TC
2 • www.strattonreynolds.com
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