I was sharing stories with a group of young moms and moms-to-be who are lawyers. It brought back a memory: my daughter was a bit over a year old, and I was pregnant with my son. I had gone through my day—work, doctor’s appointments, daycare drop-off and pickup—when the red light on my car’s dashboard went on, indicating my gas tank was almost empty. Indeed, the needle was in the red. I barely made it to the gas station in time. It could have been a disaster.
I wasn’t paying attention to the basics. I forgot to get gas when I left for work that morning, even though I knew I needed to. I see people doing the same thing with their Estate Planning. They know they need to do it, and they know that going to court would be awful for their family, but they don’t pick up the phone, or worse, they forget to come in for their signing appointment, reschedule multiple times, and never finish. Their families are always surprised to learn that unsigned Wills and Trusts aren’t valid legal documents. Unsigned documents are like a car out of gas—ready to run but missing the one essential thing needed to make it go.
If you’ve been “forgetting to call” or, worse, ignoring my reminders and rescheduling your signing, give me a call. And if you’re not feeling well, there’s no excuse—I make house calls.
