Marguerite Lorenz, Luck or Control? Why Estate Planning Matters Before Crisis Strikes

Returning guest Marguerite Lorenz is here to talk about all things trust and estate related. She has a new book, Luck or Control, The Life-Improving Power of Estate Planning,” reflecting on how a rushed, outdated will during the host’s husband’s terminal cancer diagnosis made planning urgent and life-easing.  Lorenz argues estate planning is not about wealth or only death, but about documenting preferences for incapacity, healthcare, and distribution to avoid confusion, family conflict, fraud risks, and costly probate (noting a $46,000 minimum in California for a $1 million estate). They discuss choosing qualified estate-planning attorneys, updating plans, naming multiple healthcare agents, tracking fiduciary actions, avoiding “early inheritance” ambiguity, and real cases involving elder financial abuse, safe deposit boxes, life estates, pet trusts, no-contest clauses, and special needs/public benefits concerns, directing listeners to planforthis.com for a free toolkit.and you need to go and get it!   https://planforthis.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/californiatrustee/ Previous episode with Marguerite: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-21-marguerite-c-lorenz-ctfa-clpf-master-trustee/id1530413097?i=1000510372491 0:58 Why Estate Plans Matter 03:14 Cost Versus Probate 06:17 Free Toolkit And Hiring Help 07:28 Fiduciary Duty Explained 08:37 Family Caregiving Gray Areas 12:43 Document Everything As Trustee 15:31 The Black Box Problem 17:52 Choose Your Three People 20:35 Agency And End Of Life Choices 24:42 Mabel Casino Cautionary Tale 27:23 Preventing Inheritance Fights 29:46 No Contest Clauses And Spite 32:17 Leaving Love Not Destruction 33:26 Fairness Between Children 34:02 Fairness Can Flip 34:37 Needs Based Trusts 35:39 Love Not Punishment 37:46 Planning for Incapacity 41:04 Life Estates and Marriage Myths 43:51 Pet Trust Pitfalls 46:53 Sign the Documents 48:44 Wills and POA Basics 50:28 Stop Clever Workarounds 52:05 Safe Deposit Box Chaos 55:35 Special Needs and Flexibility 01:00:34 Fund the Trust and Wrap Up