Welcome to the Blog

If you are engaged to be married, divorce is probably the last thing you and your fiancé want to be thinking about. Yet you might be rightfully concerned about what would happen to your assets should your marriage end in divorce or in the event of your death. One option you might be considering for protecting your assets from these events is a prenuptial agreement. However, even bringing up a prenup can be a romance killer that creates friction and distrust before the marriage even begins. And if it’s not properly created and executed, a divorce court can invalidate the asset protections offered by a prenup, so such agreements don’t exactly provide airtight protection. Plus, a prenup would do nothing to keep your family out of court and out of conflict should you become incapacitated or when you die, which is something everyone who gets married needs to consider.

That said, prenups aren’t your only option. With proactive estate planning, for example, you can structure your assets in such a way that not only protects them from being lost to divorce, but also provides for both your future spouse and any children you may have from a previous marriage in the event of your death or incapacity.

Last week in part one, we discussed some of the benefits and drawbacks associated with using prenuptial agreements. Here, we’ll look at different estate planning vehicles that could provide similar—or even better—protection than prenups.

Revocable living trust created by you

By setting up a revocable living trust and funding it with your separate assets before getting married, those assets would likely be considered non-marital property and not subject to division by the court upon divorce—as long as you never commingle any of those assets with your spouse after your marriage. To ensure your separate property assets stay separate, it’s vital that you create and fund the trust with your assets before the marriage and never add any assets acquired or created during the marriage.

If you commingle assets acquired during the marriage in a trust containing your separate non-marital assets, a court could declare all of those assets as marital property subject to claim as part of a divorce settlement. To this end, a revocable trust only protects your separate assets from divorce if they remain separate from marital property throughout the whole length of your marriage.

You can also use a revocable living trust to provide for your surviving spouse and children from a previous marriage in the event of your death or incapacity. Unlike a will, assets held by a trust are not subject to the court process known as probate, so those assets would be immediately available to your spouse and kids, sparing your family the time, expense, and potential conflict of probate.

Note that since a revocable trust is “revocable” by definition, there is no asset protection for assets in your revocable trust, meaning that a revocable living trust will not protect your assets from creditors during your lifetime. If you want to achieve protection from both a future divorce and future creditors, you may want to consider one of the irrevocable trusts below.

Irrevocable trust created by your family

You can protect your assets from divorce by having your parents (or another loved one) establish an irrevocable trust for you before your marriage. Then, the Investment Trustee of the irrevocable trust (who could be you) could purchase all of your existing assets in an arms-length transaction and manage those assets inside of the trust, where they are totally protected from a future divorce and any future creditors.Note that this strategy does require special provisions to ensure you cannot make distributions to yourself from the trust without the approval of an “independent trustee.” This trustee could be a best friend or a professional trustee, but cannot be anyone related or subordinate to you.Your parents or grandparents could also leave any future inheritance you are to receive to this irrevocable trust, ensuring that your inheritance would also be protected. If this irrevocable trust is properly established and the terms are well-counseled and well-drafted, all assets the trust owns—and any assets left to you in the future—will be fully protected from a future divorce, future creditors, and even from estate taxes and probate upon your death. Yes, we like these trusts a lot.

Irrevocable trust created by you

It’s also possible for you to establish an irrevocable trust for yourself and gift your assets into the trust to keep them safe from divorce. However, this strategy is not as airtight as having a parent or grandparents establish the trust for you. When you gift assets to an irrevocable trust, there’s a risk that a spouse or future creditor can claim fraudulent conveyance, if you gift those assets within a certain number of years (the exact time frame depends on the state) of the trust being set up. That said, if you are looking for asset protection and an alternative to a prenuptial agreement, and do not have a parent or grandparent available, a self-settled irrevocable trust can be a great second-best alternative.

Start your marriage off right

If you are getting ready to tie the knot and would like to ensure that assets you bring into the marriage don’t end up being lost in a future divorce settlement or are protected for your kids from a prior marriage, meet with us for trusted counsel and guidance on all of your options well before your marriage. Once you are married, many planning options are off the table.

And regardless of your concerns about divorce, you definitely need to create or update your estate plan to protect and provide for your soon-to-spouse and any children you have in the event of your death or incapacity. Schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session™ today to get this planning started.

​Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. Are you ready to protect your loved ones and legacy? Check out my next presentation.

“Labor is a lousy time to learn,” says April Freer, Owner of Mother Nurture Birth services, Doula, Childbirth Educator, and Lactation Counselor. Listen in as April divulges the comforting techniques she uses to empower families by reminding them of a simple truth: There is no right when it comes to giving birth, it’s just a variation of normal.

April’s uplifting tone celebrates the natural process of birth while tapping into the symbiotic relationship between mother and baby. Breakthrough and deconstruct the cold medicalized birthing process with April as she expresses how the world’s greatest machine, the human body, leverages the brain to remove fear and let the body do what it does naturally.

Your journey on April’s path begins as she shares her feelings on being inadvertently launched into birth work by the presence of her infant daughter. April discovered the emotional freedom that hypnobirthing brings and today she imparts her wisdom to families which helps them navigate through the choices they have to make. Learn about April’s five-week childbirth education program that provides spiritual and emotional support and explores the physiology of the birthing process.

Further, April reveals how she helps families reframe their mindsets by tapping into the emotion of joy. She also explains how hypnobirthing has enhanced her work as a doula by bringing more peace while decreasing the effort that’s needed to support mother and baby. This results in the birthing process taking less time as mothers learn to work with and not fight against their bodies. Everything about pregnancy and birthing shifts.

In this episode, you’ll hear April discuss the differences between the hypnosis most are familiar with and how self-hypnosis is a skill many unknowingly use every day. Hear how families have used hypnobirth, hypnofertility, and hypnomotherhood as an aid to restoration and relaxation. Society may teach that we are fast-paced people, yet, April teaches the gift of relaxation and how to carve out time for meditation and learning.

Later, April tells birthing stories that you won’t see on TV. These calm birthing stories make really lousy media but it makes healthy humans. April also addresses how to overcome challenges and trepidations of being pregnant during a crisis and shifts to a positive focus on what moms and babies were literally created physiologically to do. “The world can go crazy”, says April, “but two people are showing up: mom and baby.”

Quotes:

• “Your body knows what it’s doing if your brain can get out of the way.”
• “I don’t speak in absolutes, I speak in ‘ish’ because as soon as I tell you something in absolute, your baby makes me a liar.”
• “When parents have a different mindset going in, it’s so empowering.“
• “Regardless of what language you speak, birth functions pretty much the same.

Links Mentioned:

Email or Call April 970.405.2626

Visit Mother Nurture Birth Service’s Website

See Upcoming Classes

Listen to Jamie Sarche’s path to her calling in Episode 3

Pamela Maass on Linkedin

Maass Law, Law Mother

Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing

If you’re counting down the days to your wedding, divorce is probably the last thing you and your fiancé want to be thinking about, and yet you might be rightfully concerned about what would happen to your assets in the event of a divorce—or your death. You may also be worried that suggesting a prenuptial agreement could hurt your future spouse by making him or her feel as if you don’t trust them, thereby creating friction before the marriage even begins.

While such concerns are valid, you should know that prenups aren’t your only option for shielding your assets from these scenarios. With a well-designed estate plan, for example, you can structure your assets in such a way to keep what you have safe, provide for your future spouse in the event of your death, and also protect your assets in the event of a divorce. In this way, you can avoid having the prenup conversation all together.

We do recommend talking with your future spouse about your assets, what would happen in the event of your death, and also making plans in advance so you can feel confident that any children from a prior marriage (or an expected inheritance) are well-planned for no matter what happens. In this two-part series, I’ll first discuss the pros and cons of prenuptial agreements, and then in part two, provide estate-planning alternatives you may want to consider.

Prenups

Sets clear financial expectations: For many couples, not openly discussing money and the partnership’s financial expectations can lead to big problems down the road. In fact, money problems are one of the leading reasons that marriages end, right up there with infidelity. A well-counseled prenuptial agreement could be an opportunity to start your marriage with complete transparency and clearly establish the financial and property rights of each spouse should a divorce occur or in the event of the death of either spouse.

Helps protect your separate assets: If you have any tangible or intangible assets you are bringing into the marriage that you don’t want to risk losing, a prenuptial agreement can help shield that property from divorce proceedings or from a future “elective share” of a spouse upon your death. This can be vital if you have significant assets like a business, real estate, intellectual property, vehicles, or family heirlooms. And, if you know you’ll want to ensure your assets go to children from a prior marriage, a prenuptial agreement can protect those assets for your children.

Helps prevent a lengthy, contentious, and expensive divorce: Divorce is never fun and can often be both emotionally and financially painful, but putting a prenuptial agreement in place could make it less so. Clearly establishing the financial and property rights of each spouse when the relationship is at its most loving—and putting those parameters in a legally-binding document—can greatly reduce the chances of you two duking it out in court later if your marriage doesn’t work out. A long, expensive court battle is the last thing you need when dealing with the painful emotions and often-hefty legal fees associated with a divorce.

Helps prevent disputes over debt: Not everyone is equal in their ability to manage their money. As mentioned earlier, disagreements over finances are a frequent reason marriages fail. Therefore, it could be a good idea to use a prenup to identify who is responsible for taking care of specific debts and liabilities. You don’t want to be stuck paying for your ex-spouse’s credit card debt when you had nothing to do with racking it up.

Prenup Cons

It’s not exactly a romantic gesture: No matter how untrue this assumption may be, people often perceive creating a prenuptial agreement as expecting the marriage to fail or that it indicates a lack of trust. Such concerns should be respected and addressed as tactfully as possible. But the reality is marriage involves lots of issues that aren’t romantic, and dealing with such delicate matters up front could bring the two of you closer (or expose hidden red flags), regardless of whether an agreement is actually created or not. Whatever you do, don’t wait to have the discussion until right before the ceremony. It’s not only extremely rude, but it could lead a court to invalidate an agreement put in place at the last minute as being created with undue pressure.

It might not be necessary: What a prenuptial agreement can cover depends on what kind of assets you have and where you live. Given this, existing divorce laws might already split your assets up in a way you think is fair. For example, in community-property states, the court will divide the property you and your spouse acquired during the marriage in an equal 50/50 split, while each spouse gets to keep his or her separate property. As your Personal Family Lawyer®, we can talk about how the laws in your state apply to you and your particular asset profile.

It can’t resolve issues of child custody, support, or visitation: It’s important to note that prenups can’t address certain issues related to children and divorce. For example, though prenups can help ensure your children from a prior marriage are able to inherit assets you want to leave them, these agreements cannot be used to address child support, custody, or visitation rights. Those issues must be resolved by the court, so a prenup would be useless if that’s what you’re hoping to achieve.

It may require two lawyers to be valid: Prenuptial agreements may be invalidated if both parties are not represented by independent legal counsel. And depending on the lawyers you each work with, lawyers who are not well-experienced with counseling, care, and conflict resolution can inadvertently escalate or intensify conflicts, rather than supporting you and your future spouse to get on the same page.

Alternative

If you plan ahead, certain estate planning vehicles can be used to protect your assets from divorce settlements and ensure that assets pass to your children from a prior marriage in the event of a divorce. There are different types of trusts, for instance, that can be set up to allow you to protect assets for yourself in the event of a divorce, and for your children in the event of your incapacity or death.

In fact, such planning vehicles may prove much more effective at protecting your assets and providing you with more control over how your assets are distributed than a prenup. In part two of this article, we’ll cover the various ways to use estate planning vehicles to proactively protect your assets, so you don’t need to have multiple attorneys or risk losing assets to a new spouse in the event of divorce or death.

Meet with us for additional help deciding whether a prenuptial agreement is the right choice for you and to discuss other estate planning alternatives that could achieve similar protections.

​Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. Are you ready to protect your loved ones and legacy? Check out my next presentation.

Does anyone really love law school? Small Business Attorney Allie Moore loves law school but she loves photography even more. While Allie’s law career started in 2017, her passion has always been rooted in photography. She even met her husband in a high school darkroom in 2006. Even though Allie worked for a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court as well as the Colorado Attorney General’s office, her mindset shifted when she learned that she was going to be a mom. Today, Allie embraces the freedom and flexibility of entrepreneurship as she and her husband raise their two-year-old daughter. Allie’s business, Creatives Learn Law, produces an avenue for her to creatively use her law degree to help people find fulfillment in getting paid to pursue their passions.

Listen in as Allie describes how she and her business partner Ashley, help clients overcome their fears of some of the scariest words for small business owners such as contracts, taxes, and legal. By channeling her own experience as a young entrepreneur in law school, Allie empathetically provides the right resources to help “Bootstrap” businesses meet their legal obligations with less stress.

Next, Allie navigates through the difficult path of not being able to say no. What do you do when your priorities shift and your top concern is your child’s well being? Allie explains how being an entrepreneur helps her to meet challenges as she raises her daughter. Even during the present global crisis, Allie describes the rhythm she’s set to ensure she spends quality time with her daughter while focusing on high yield activities for her business.

Later Allie discusses the ins and outs of prioritization. When flexibility gives you the freedom to manage all aspects of your business, how do you decide between which tasks to work on and others that could be outsourced or delegated? Allie recalls facing the insecurities that come with letting go and where she found the inner confidence to let others into her world so she can be more present in her daughter’s. Allie also dovetails into a discussion about how she and Ashley have managed a business together while preserving a beautiful friendship.

Tune in as Allie deep dives into the interpersonal side of business and how having the right business partner can add value and energy. Allie disproves the rumor that friends do not make good business partners by revealing the flow of their management and communication style. Learn about their management document and how it targets potential risk areas for feelings of resentment. Allie also expresses how their partnership makes her feel refreshed and energized, especially since she’s not alone.

Don’t miss out on Allie’s answers to the questions you sent in on Facebook:

“What are the advantages and disadvantages of different business structures when you are starting out, Sole Proprietors vs LLCs?”

“Should my customers and clients sign waivers for releases with regard to their exposure to COVID as part of working with your business?”

Quotes:

• “We work with people who are carving their own career path and are following their passion and also trying to get paid and earn a living while they do it.”
• “Your legal obligations are not as impossible as you think they are.”
• “I’ve never been good at saying no, and I’ve never been good about quitting things.”
• “Not being alone is great.”
• “ the easiest thing ever to own and to operate.”

Links Mentioned:

Connect with Allie on Instagram for great legal tips

Join the Creatives Learn Law mailing list

Listen to Episode 2 for more tips on organizing work and spending time with family

Pamela Maass on Linkedin

Maass Law, Life Legacy Firm

Podcast production provided by FIRESIDE

In the first part of this series we discussed the vital importance of having updated advance directives in place in light of COVID-19. Here, we’ll look at several additional provisions you should consider adding to your directives to address potential contingencies related to the pandemic.

With new cases of COVID-19 currently surging in dozens of states, doctors across the country are joining lawyers in urging Americans to create the proper estate planning documents, so medical providers can better coordinate their treatment and care should they become hospitalized with the virus. The most crucial planning tools for this purpose are medical power of attorney and a living will, advance healthcare directives that work together to help describe your wishes for medical treatment and end-of-life care should you become unable to express your own wishes. While all adults over age 18 should put these documents in place as soon as possible, if you are over age 60 or have a chronic underlying health condition, the urgency is paramount.

COVID-19 considerations

What’s more, in light of COVID-19, even if you’ve already created these documents, you should revisit them to ensure they are up-to-date and address specific scenarios related to the coronavirus. In the first part of this series, we discussed some unique circumstances related to COVID-19 and its treatment that you should be aware of when creating or updating your directives. Here, we offer several more provisions you should consider adding to your directives to ensure the documents address as many potential contingencies as possible during the ongoing pandemic.

3. Permission to undergo experimental medical treatments

Since there is currently no proven vaccine or other effective treatment for COVID-19, you may consider adding provisions to your directives authorizing your agent to consent to—or withhold consent for—any experimental treatments or procedures that may be developed. Seeing that it could be years before an effective vaccine or cure will be available on a widespread basis, such a provision could be particularly important if you contract the virus while such treatments are still in the trial phase.

4. Express your wishes about intubation and ventilators

In severe COVID-19 cases, patients often require intubation, which involves putting you into a medically induced coma and inserting a tube into your windpipe, allowing oxygen to be pumped directly to your lungs using a ventilator. However, some directives specifically prohibit intubation, since such measures are often a last resort and used primarily for life-support purposes. Indeed, some people’s greatest fear is being hooked up to a machine just to keep them alive.That said, some coronavirus patients have successfully recovered after being on a ventilator, so you might not want a blanket prohibition of intubation in all cases. While the exact survival rates are still unknown, early reports from New York City health officials found fewer than 20% of COVID-19 patients ultimately survived after being placed on a ventilator. Reports from China and the U.K. found similar rates.You’ll also need to weigh the fact that even if you survive after being placed on a ventilator, you’re likely to require months, or even years, of rehabilitation and may never regain the full quality of life you previously enjoyed. And if you’re elderly or have an underlying condition, the prognosis for full recovery is especially slim. For these reasons, you should carefully review your directives’ provisions regarding intubation and ventilators with us and your doctor to be certain your documents accurately reflect your wishes. There is no right or wrong answer here, so it’s critical your loved ones and medical professionals know what you would want. To help you make more informed decisions, read What You Should Know Before You Need a Ventilator, a doctor’s perspective about intubation’s potential health consequences for COVID-19 patients. Additionally, you can find a more comprehensive discussion of coronavirus treatment decisions at the non-profit Compassion & Choices resource page, COVID-19: Understanding Your Options.

5. Consider a liability shield for doctors and hospitals

Due to fear of getting sued, some doctors and medical facilities are hesitant to honor living wills and work with healthcare agents. To deal with this, consider including language in your directives that “indemnifies” medical providers, facilities, and your agent from any liability incurred as a result of following your directions. People and institutions will be much more likely to fully honor your wishes if they understand they likely won’t get hit with a lawsuit for doing so.

6. Make sure everyone knows about (and has current copies of) your directives

Even if you have the most well thought-out and professionally prepared directives around, they won’t be worth the paper they’re printed on if nobody knows about them. Both medical power of attorney and living wills go into effect the second you sign them, so you should immediately deliver copies to your agent(s), your alternate agents, your primary care physician, and any other medical specialists you’re seeing. And don’t forget to give those folks new versions whenever you update the documents and have them tear up the old documents. This is a standard part of our practice when serving clients, so when you work with us on your legal documents, we’ll ensure that everyone who needs to have your documents always has the latest version.

Pandemic planning

The tragic reality of the pandemic is that far too many Americans are at risk of becoming seriously ill and even dying from COVID-19. In light of this dire situation, it’s vital that you and your loved ones take all possible precautions to not only mitigate your chances of catching the virus, but also having the best possible chance of surviving if you should become infected.In the event you become hospitalized with COVID-19, having updated advance directives in place can make the medical decision-making process for both your healthcare providers and family much safer and easier, while helping ensure your treatment is carried out based on your personal wishes and values. Given the overloaded state of our healthcare system right now, facilitating your medical care in this way could ultimately save your life.

Whether you have yet to create these documents or need yours updated to address COVID-19, meet with us, as your Personal Family Lawyer®, right away to take care of this urgent planning task.

​Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. Are you ready to protect your loved ones and legacy? Check out my next presentation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, doctors across the nation are joining lawyers in urging Americans to create the proper estate planning documents, so medical providers can better coordinate their care should they become hospitalized with the virus. The most critical planning tools for this purpose are medical power of attorney and a living will, advance healthcare directives that work together to help describe your wishes for medical treatment and end-of-life care in the event you’re unable to express your own wishes. In light of COVID-19, even those who have already created these documents should revisit them to ensure they are up-to-date and address specific scenarios related to the coronavirus.

While all adults over age 18 should put these documents in place as soon as possible, if you are over age 60 or have a chronic underlying health condition, the need is particularly urgent. Contact us right away if you or anyone in your family needs these documents created.

And if you’d like to listen in on a training with my mentor on when you can create these documents yourself, when you need a lawyer, what it should cost, and how to get your documents done right, please listen to it now by registering at PersonalResourceMap.com

Advance directives

Medical power of attorney is an advance directive that allows you to name a person, known as your “agent,” to make healthcare decisions for you if you’re incapacitated and unable to make those decisions yourself. For example, if you are hospitalized with COVID-19 and need to be placed in a medically induced coma, this person would have the legal authority to advise doctors about your subsequent medical care.

If you become incapacitated without medical power of attorney, physicians will generally look to someone in your family to make these decisions for you. If no family can be located, they may ask the court to appoint a legal guardian to be the decision maker. In either case, the person given this responsibility could be someone you’d never want having power over such life or death decisions—and that’s why having medical power of attorney is so important.

While medical power of attorney names who can make health-care decisions in the event of your incapacity, a living will explains how your care should be handled, particularly at the end of life. For example, if you should become seriously ill and unable to manage your own treatment, a living will can guide your agent to make these medical decisions on your behalf. These decisions could include if and when you want life support removed, whether you would want hydration and nutrition, and even what kind of food you want and who can visit you. To ensure your medical treatment is handled in exactly the way you want and prevent your family from undergoing needless stress and conflict during an already trying time, it’s vital that you document such wishes in a living will.

Keep your directives updated

Even if you’ve already created advanced directives, now is the perfect time to review the documents to ensure they still match your wishes and circumstances. For instance, is the agent named in your medical power of attorney still the individual you’d want making these decisions? Has your health changed in ways that might affect your living will’s instructions? Are you values and wishes regarding end-of-life still the same?What’s more, whether you are creating new documents or updating your old ones, you should keep COVID-19 in mind. The highly contagious and life-threatening nature of the coronavirus is something medical providers have never dealt with before, and it has strained our nation’s healthcare system to the breaking point.

Coronavirus considerations

In light of COVID-19, there are a few unique circumstances you need to be aware of when drafting these documents to ensure all of the potential scenarios related to the coronavirus and its treatment have been properly addressed.

1. Don’t do it yourself: While you’ll find a wide selection of generic, advance-directive documents online, you shouldn’t trust these do-it-yourself forms to adequately address such critical decisions. This is especially true during the ongoing pandemic, when doctors are constantly tasked with making highly difficult and uncertain decisions for patients suffering from this deadly new virus.

When it comes to your medical treatment and end-of-life care, you have unique needs and wishes that just can’t be anticipated by fill-in-the-blank documents. To ensure your directives are specifically tailored to suit your unique situation, you must work with experienced planning professionals like us to create—or at the very least, review—your medical power of attorney and living will.

2. Open lines of communication: Because COVID-19 is so contagious, family members of those who’ve contracted the virus are often not allowed to accompany them to the hospital. This means your agent likely won’t be there in person to make your treatment decisions. While most advance directives give your agent broad authority to communicate with your medical providers, the documents may not explicitly authorize certain types of remote communication.To remedy this, you may want to consider adding language to your directives expressly authorizing your agent to give directions by phone, Zoom, email, Skype, FaceTime, and other methods. To facilitate this communication, you should bring copies of your directives with you to the hospital to give your doctors, and ensure your agent (and any alternate agents named) have updated copies on-hand as well.

Next week, we’ll continue with part two in this series on the critical need for advanced directives in the age of COVID-19.

​Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. Are you ready to protect your loved ones and legacy? Check out my next presentation.

Give the gift of peace of certainty to the people you love. Join the conversation as Jamie Sarche reveals her passion for dissolving barriers halting authentic conversations about death by channeling the presence of a beloved friend. Jamie believes it’s important to talk about the things our society doesn’t want us to talk about. In this episode, Jamie tells the story of how she, a communications major with a dream of working in television, finds a calling in creating a safe space for people to discuss the tragic reality of death.

Simply put, Jamie’s calling is helping people be less afraid of death. By helping them to provide their loved ones with a planned and funded funeral or memorial service, Jamie works with families to create a path for bereavement, long before it’s needed. Jamie truly helps people live a better, more meaningful life. Jamie is also a seasoned speaker who’s compassionate message extends well beyond death and dying. Jamie’s voice resonates across industries and individuals, bridging her passion to demystify death while enlightening communicators on overcoming challenging conversations.

Jamie begins her story admitting that her background does not match her current calling. However, her natural abilities as a good listener and inborn drive for walking in the shoes of others transformed her initial professional skill set into advantages. Jamie does not agree with the view of society that pain should be “papered over” and yet she applies an understanding tone that leaves people feeling secure. Later Jamie walks through the path she was drawn to when her current calling unexpectedly found her.

Watch or listen as Jamie seamlessly outlines principles and guides that can be followed when approaching this sensitive subject with your children, parents, or grandparents. Jamie highlights the “Sarche family rule” and addresses sensitive questions such as: How do I talk to my children about death? Is it ever too soon to create a path for bereavement? Jamie outlines a healthy way to identify family values and leave families intact.

Later, Jamie addresses how COVID-19 has impacted her support of families who have been led by current events to shift their viewpoint of planning for bereavement from the theoretical to practical. Jamie also provides information about how shes designed her process to be a comfortable way to provide your loved ones with the path to walk on knowing that it will meet your wishes.

Stay tuned to find out how Jamie has helped families ease stress and worry so they can refocus on other family values.

Quotes:

• “We have the opportunity to change this culture.”
• “The dead person is fine, but the people they love are not fine. This isn’t about you, this is about the people you love.”
• “Stop lying and acknowledge that things have a life span.”
• “It’s such a gift of love to have the path already paved.”

Links Mentioned:

Find Jamie Sarche on LinkedIn

Like Feldman Mortuary on Facebook or visit their website

Watch TEDx Talks: Breaking the Taboos About Death

Reach Jamie by phone: 720-404-6772

Send Jamie an email

Pamela Maass on Linkedin

Maass Law, Life Legacy Firm

Podcast production and marketing by FIRESIDE

“Don’t be afraid to start something new in a crisis; reinvent yourself.” These words are the tenor of Andrea Vahl’s story as she was affected economically by the 2008 “big bubble” and propelled into a surreal rhythm as a Social Media Consultant, Strategist, Speaker, and Co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies. Andrea really is living proof of how a downturn can be crafted into an opportunity.

Tune in to this episode as Andrea describes how she weaved her love for art, expression, and comedy into her business. Andrea shares insight that breaks the mold of old school brand strategy by infusing and embracing passion, hobbies, and all things “weird”. Learn how Andrea’s unique sense of humor and her entrepreneurial spirit led her from running a wine tasting side gig to being named 50 Favorite Online Influencers of 2014 on Entrepreneur.com, 21 Best Blogs That Will Help You Grow Your Business on Inc.com in 2016, and Top 30 Women in Social Media by Boom Social.

Andrea is passionate about helping businesses understand and leverage the power of social media to actually grow their business. Andrea’s proven ability to make social media marketing easy to understand and implement has directly impacted the bottom line of thousands of companies through her training and one-on-one consulting. Andrea was also the Community Manager for Social Media Examiner, for over 2 years.

Andrea unfolds the secrets and best practices of how to reinvent yourself by overcoming fear and embracing your unique voice. See how to leverage your unique talents, such as comedy, to grow your own platform. Additionally, she provides reassuring guidance that perfection isn’t a requirement. Take note of tips Andrea provides to move your audience off of various social media platforms and bring them into something you own. Later, Andrea identifies how to position your brand to help you reach new milestones such as becoming a book author.

There are techniques to overcoming the challenges that come with owning a business, raising a family, and honoring and defending your own personal time. Andrea shares her views on work-life balance and how she’s shown her kids how they can strive for something and pursue passions with fervor. Andrea is sure she’s scared her children, but she’s used her business to expand their minds beyond “it’s all about me” and embrace the world.

Watch as Andrea gives advice for those who are struggling with trying to start something new during these uncertain times and how to pursue your own identity and goals. Enjoy a laugh with Andrea as she describes how the world of improv and stand up comedy has enhanced her speaking assignments and her overall joy.

Quotes:

• “This is something that everyone should be doing, showing up as you.”
• “Don’t worry that the market is saturated, it needs your voice.”
• “I’m sure I’ve scared my children.”
• “Don’t be afraid to niche and focus your business.”

Links Mentioned:

Visit Andrea’s website

Stay connected with Andrea by subscribing to her blog

Download Andrea’s eBook (PDF) – Top 10 Blog Posts

Like Andrea on Facebook

View stand up clips and sign up to be notified of Andrea’s Virtual show coming up in July 2020

Pamela Maas reveals her baby bump in Episode 1

Pamela Maass on Linkedin

Maass Law, Life Legacy Firm

Podcast production and marketing by FIRESIDE

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”

Quotes:

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”

Links Mentioned:

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”