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January 2023
RESOLVE YOUR FAMILY CONFLICT THIS NEW YEAR With Help From Our New Estate Planning Guide
I hope your new year starts on a happy and productive foot. However, I know at least a few people who aren’t looking forward to 2023. Why? Well, because they see it as just another year of the family drama that peaked over the holidays. You can solve most family conflicts with a bit of discussion. However, not every feud is on the same scale. Here at Sierra Crest Business Law Group, we help to litigate one of the worst types of family arguments out there: fights over trusts, wills, and estates. These feuds are often between siblings or other close family members. Typically, they follow the same trajectory: Mom or Dad passes away, and their estate
reading it before your loved one passes away. It includes proactive advice, like the four primary duties of a trustee and how to carry them out, how to protect yourself during the process, and when it’s time to contact a trust litigation attorney like me for help. If you’re already in the middle of a trust, will, or estate dispute, it’s not too late to read ”Avoid or Resolve a Family Feud.” In fact, you may want to skip right to the section “What Is a Trust Litigation Attorney & When Should You Contact One?” It will help if you’re battling jealousy, feelings of injustice, and perceived unfairness from all sides. Fighting an inheritance dispute is emotionally challenging, whether that fight is in court or in the kitchen. Dealing with unfamiliar laws and procedures can leave you feeling alone and lost. If you are in the trustee or executor position or might end up in it
AVOID OR RESOLVE A FAMILY FEUD 5 Things Every Trustee and Executor Needs to Know When Administering a Family Trust or Estate
ends up in the hands of a trustee or executor. This is someone the deceased chose and relied on to carry out their wishes. However, other family members don’t share their confidence! In their grief, those people attack the trustee or executor for their late loved one’s decisions — making the whole family miserable. I truly feel for executors and trustees in this position. It can be overwhelming and isolating to fend off attacks from your entire family simply because you’re trying to do the right thing. To help these folks out, my team and I have put together a new guide called “Avoid or Resolve a Family Feud: 5 Things Every Trustee and Executor Needs to Know When Administering a Family Trust or Estate.”
in 2023, scan the QR code on this page to download our free guide today . It should provide you with relief and reassurance. There’s hope yet for a drama-free 2023!
Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous new year,
We designed this guide for anyone with the trustee or executor responsibility. If you’re one of those people, I highly recommend
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Providing Rides and Saving Lives Meet an Uber Driver Turned Hometown Hero
We all like to imagine we would do whatever it takes to help others if we witnessed a tragedy, such as a house fire or car accident. We see it all the time when watching our favorite shows and movies, but these random heroic acts rarely happen in real life. When they do, they’re awe-inspiring. One New York City man was faced with one of these harrowing situations and showed tremendous courage when he helped save lives, all while on the clock.
the building and found a woman who was hesitant about leaving. He convinced her to go and brought her to safety, and then he returned to help another man get out of the building. Once he saw firefighters on the scene, Sam returned to his vehicle and proceeded to drop his passenger off at the airport. She still made her flight, even with their impromptu stop. In a statement to TODAY, Uber said, “We’re incredibly grateful to have such a heroic and thoughtful member of our community in Fritz. He went above and beyond to keep his neighbors in New York safe — and still managed to get his rider to the airport on time.”
Fritz Sam works as an Uber driver in New York City. He had just picked up a passenger and was taking her to LaGuardia Airport when he noticed a hectic scene in a Brooklyn neighborhood. He soon saw flames and dark smoke emerging from a second-story window of an apartment building. He asked his passenger if he could pull over to offer help.
When talking to TODAY, Sam stated, “You’d be surprised what little things we do that can be impactful. Because, trust me, those little things are going to make a big difference for somebody.” It’s safe to say that very few people consider Sam’s actions a “little thing.” He acted heroically and is an inspiration to many.
He approached a group of bystanders, yelling for people to get out of the residence. As people fled the building, Sam asked if everyone was out. Someone said there were
still people inside. Without hesitation, Sam ran through
Celebrity Lawsuit Calls TikTok ‘Breeding Ground for Scams’ Are the Ads You See Real or Fake?
Imagine you’re scrolling through your social media feed when an ad pops up starring one of your favorite celebrities. Maybe it’s quarterback Tom Brady talking about his favorite brand of beer or actress Julia Roberts showing off her new shoes. You’re intrigued enough to buy the product. But when it arrives, your jaw drops. This isn’t the hottest new luxury item! It’s just a cheap knockoff of Budweiser or Jimmy Choo. How would you feel about your celebrity “friend”? According to Page Six, this exact situation happened to fans of “Real Housewives of New York City” actress and Skinnygirl founder Bethenny Frankel. A scam artist stole clips of her promoting a designer product and edited them, making it appear as if she were selling knockoff cardigans. Frankel posted her own video decrying the scammer, only to watch TikTok remove it for “abusive content.” In a last-ditch attempt to protect her reputation, she sued the platform for failing to protect her reputation and allowing users to post fake ads, calling it “a breeding ground for scams.” If you use TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, Frankel’s story should serve as a warning: The ads you see sliding by on your smartphone screen may not be legitimate. To protect yourself from scammers, take these three steps.
1. Go to the source for celebrity endorsements. Visit the celebrity’s official social media page and/or website. Any products they’re advertising should be visible there. 2. Avoid in-app purchases. It’s easy to buy products on Instagram with a single click — but should you? To avoid scams, leave the app and visit the company’s official website to ensure you’re purchasing the real thing. 3. Look for signs of photoshopping, editing, and manipulation. Does the celebrity’s face look tacked onto another person’s body, or does their phrasing sound broken and clipped together? Is the celebrity sponsoring the ad, or is the brand just using their name (perhaps misspelled) for cachet? Look for these signs before you buy. Ultimately, when buying online, just remember to think before you click. Skepticism is a TikTok user’s best friend.
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DOES A LIVING TRUST PREVENT PROBATE COURT?
If someone has a living trust, does that prevent their family from going to probate court after the person who had the living trust dies? There’s really only one answer to that: A living trust doesn’t always prevent people from going to probate court, and here’s the reason why. You have to think of a living trust as a special vehicle that holds and protects the assets you’ve accumulated during your life. The thing about special vehicles is they must be used for their intended purposes. Imagine you’re a bank, and you buy an armored truck — a Brink’s truck — to carry cash from your bank to another bank. It’s great that you spent $150,000 on this armored truck, and you have an armored guard on the truck. But what if you don’t actually put the cash in the truck, and you just send the truck empty to the other bank? And then you put the cash in your own vehicle, and you drive yourself to the other bank? But what happens if you get in a car wreck or you come under attack and someone steals the money from your personal vehicle? It’s because you didn’t use the Brink’s truck you bought. With a living trust, it’s the same thing. For it to work, you actually have to get your assets into the trust. And for every type of property, there’s a different way to get it into the trust. For example, if you have a house or real estate, you need a deed. You deed that over to the trust. If you have a bank account, you must go to the bank and change the name on the bank account
to the name of your trust, and so forth. In the legal world, the attorneys call that trust funding. If you heard the phrase funding, that’s a technical term used by lawyers to describe the process of getting your stuff into the trust. Sometimes this can be done retroactively after you die. But it’s always better to do it now.
“You definitely want to take necessary actions to put your assets in the trust instead of relying on that will or a probate proceeding, because that adds an extra layer of time, difficulty, and expense.”
I will say that our office does not write trust agreements. We don’t prepare living trusts. We litigate issues that come up when there are problems with the trust. But I will say that a responsible attorney who prepares your trust
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will assist you in getting your stuff into the trust, and you should insist on that assistance. Even if you think it’ll cost you a little bit more, you should use that attorney’s expertise to get your assets into the trust. The other thing to say about that, though, is sometimes you pay money to an attorney, you prepare a living trust to protect your assets, and maybe two years later, you go buy something new. You go out and buy an airplane. It’s on you to make sure that when you buy that airplane, you buy it in the name of the trust as opposed to in your personal name. Another really prudent thing to do is update your trust attorney every couple of years just to tell them what’s happening in your life, any new things you bought, any new accounts or investments that you went into, or any changes in your family situation. That’s all just prudent stuff. On the one hand, it’d be nice if you waited for your attorney to reach out to you and say, “What’s new?” But since you’re the person whose assets are on the line, you should take the initiative and reach out to your attorney and say, “It’s time to talk, because some things have happened in my life. I’ve
bought new stuff. I have new investments. My family situation’s changed.” One more thing to say about all of this is that there is a backstop. When your attorney helps you put together a living trust, the attorney will also have you sign a will. A will is different than a trust. A will does go through probate, but it’s basically to catch everything that you didn’t get into your trust. And the will also says, “Everything that didn’t make it into the trust, take this all over to probate court and have the judge order that it goes into the trust.” It sounds simple, but it is an expensive process when you go to probate. All of that being said, you definitely want to take necessary actions to put your assets in the trust instead of relying on that will or a probate proceeding because that adds an extra layer of time, difficulty, and expense. If you have any questions about whether you’re protected, feel free to reach out to our office. We’re the Sierra Crest Business Law Group. We can assist with questions and controversies involving a living trust or a probate matter, and we’d love to answer your questions.
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BRAIN GAMES
In 2021, 1 in 7 Americans participated in “Dry January” — a month without alcohol. The concept of Dry January isn’t new, but since its conception in England in 2012, it has taken hold worldwide. If you’re one of the millions of people pouring out your booze after a holiday of overindulging, use these five tips to stay on track until Jan. 31 and beyond. 1. Download the ‘Try Dry’ app. Yes, there is an app for that! “Try Dry” is the official Dry January app, created by Alcohol Change UK. Users can map their Dry January successes on a calendar, watch their “dry streak” climb, and calculate the money and calories they’ve saved by avoiding alcohol. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. 2. Look for a kava bar near you. These outposts sell nonalcoholic drinks made from the root of kava plants that helps imbibers relax without the negative side effects of booze. If you’re worried about missing out on socializing with friends, a kava bar could be a good alternative to your local watering hole. Kava bars are trending nationwide right now, so check Google to see if one is open in your city. 3. Master the mocktail. Kava isn’t your only nonalcoholic beverage alternative. If you find yourself missing fancy cocktails, check websites like FoodNetwork.com , BonAppetit.com , and TownandCountryMag.com for delicious mocktail recipes like Bobby Flay’s Chocolate Martini Mocktail, which is a booze-free mudslide. Then, invite your friends over to raise a glass. Throw in board games and food, and they won’t even miss the alcohol. 4. Scare yourself with the data. Plenty of studies out there warn about the negative side effects of drinking alcohol, including a recent study from The Lancet that found drinking reduces your lifespan. When you feel your resolve slipping, turn to the facts for reassurance you’re on the right path. 5. Partner with a friend. If you want to make a batch of mocktails or bemoan skipping your after-dinner gin and tonic, it helps to have a friend by your side! Find someone to join your Dry January crusade so you can keep each other on the right path. 5 TIPS FOR CONQUERING DRY JANUARY Finish the Month Sober and Thriving
SOLUTION
AIR FRYER ROASTED SALMON WITH SAUTÉED BALSAMIC SPINACH
Inspired by TasteOfHome.com
Directions
Ingredients
• 3 tsp olive oil, divided • 4 salmon fillets (6 oz each) • 1 1/2 tsp reduced- sodium seafood seasoning • 1/4 tsp pepper • 1 garlic clove, sliced • Dash of crushed red pepper flakes • 10 cups fresh baby spinach (about 10 oz) • 6 small tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1. Preheat air fryer to 450 F. Rub 1 tsp oil over both sides of salmon, then sprinkle with seafood seasoning and pepper. In a greased air fryer basket, place salmon. 2. Cook about 10–12 minutes until fish flakes easily. 3. In a 6-qt stockpot, place remaining oil, garlic, and pepper flakes. Heat over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in tomatoes; heat through. 4. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Cook until vinegar is reduced by half, then remove from heat. 5. Arrange spinach on serving dish. Place salmon over spinach mixture and drizzle with balsamic glaze.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Our New Guide Is Out!
How an Uber Driver Became a Hero The Dirty Truth About TikTok Ads
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Air Fryer Roasted Salmon With Sautéed Balsamic Spinach How to Finish Dry January Strong
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A Podcast That Will Inspire You to Make a Change
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With ‘How to Save a Planet’ Reduce Climate Anxiety
If you’re stuck in a cycle of worrying about the planet after a rough year of floods, fires, and hurricanes, we don’t blame you. Most of us have seen that 2022 was full of climate craziness, and constantly dealing with these disasters can leave us feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Knowing where to start when tackling the issues our planet faces can be challenging, and this uncertainty leaves many people feeling more depressed than determined. But that is all about to change with the help of “How to Save a Planet,” a Spotify original podcast that shares good news on eco- friendly trends. Join Alex Blumberg and “a crew of climate nerds” (their words, not ours) as they strive to bring you the positives of our planet, along with real changes you can make in your life that will help move our climate in the right direction.
write them in the middle. That piece between all three circles is what you can do for the climate.
You might want to try a fashion detox. This challenge asks participants to avoid buying any new clothes for 10 weeks and to use that time to reflect on sustainability. The goal is to take a moment and understand the impact of clothing on the planet.
Get in touch with your local meteorologist. If you watch the local news and the meteorologist talks about climate change,
send them an email or message on social media to let them know you noticed it, appreciate it, and want them to keep it up.
To show you what we mean, we’ll share some things “How to Save a Planet” says you can do to be a climate warrior.
“How to Save a Planet” has many more tips where those came from, and after listening, you won’t feel helpless — you’ll be motivated to make a change. So head on over to Spotify, press play, and get started.
Make a Venn diagram to find your climate change superpower! On a piece of paper, draw three circles that overlap in the middle. Each circle will have its own title, and they are “What brings you joy?” “What work needs doing?” and “What are you good at?” Find similarities between all three, and
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