So it became THAT time for a guy who tries to plan as much as I can: time to update our estate plans. We last did some documents in 2012, when the Ds were single and childless, and D2 was barely an adult. At that time, there were different estate tax exemptions, and we meant to take advantage of them by transferring our assets into a trust. Somehow, even though Dan, the estate guy then, did the trusts, we never got around to transferring. Well -- worked out fine -- we lived!
But now the GOP has decided that rich folks ought to keep our money in our families without taxes -- at least up to $30M per couple -- and who am I to object? So I decided to use a new guy, Mark, with whom we have several connections.
Dr. Eric went to junior high with his ex-wife Diane, and Mark has other mutual friends. He practices in Hollywood, and a few months ago Wifey and I met with him on Zoom after filling out a questionaire. Now he had completed the new documents, and asked us to come in for "wet signatures" witnessed by his staff. And so it was off to Hollywood -- my second trip to Broward in just over a week! We saw Stevie Nicks last Wednesday in eye shot of Mark's office.
Mark 'splained everything to Wifey -- pretty simple stuff. This time I WILL transfer assets and Villa Wifey into a trust, so that when Wifey and I are off to that Ashkenazi humor time in the sky, the Ds will have an easier time. Plus, if those pesky Dems take power again, we'll hopefully preserve the tax exemptions. Win all around.
Mark was most gracious -- and appreciative. I referred him a bunch of clients -- including some very close folks. I was glad I did -- he explains everything simply and with great humor. Also, he grew up a Canes fan, and though he prefers the Gators of undergraduate days -- the Canes are number 2 to him. That's a plus.
So we signed off on everything -- he sent out notices to the Miami Dade Property Clerk -- I'll handle the rest of our companies. So if , perchance, the US military mistakes our luxury cruise ship for a Venezuelan drug ship, and blows us to Kingdom Come -- well -- stuff will be easy for the Ds.
I decided we needed to celebrate, and we had beat most of the afternoon traffic, so we went to Tropical Chinese for an early dinner. I ordered a couple of martinis, and toasted Wifey -- let those letters Mark wrote have no real utility for a good, long while. We shared some delicious food, and looked back to our days at the much cheaper and downscale Canton, where we did, as we remembered, a lot of our a-courtin', as Twain may have written.
Wifey drove home, and I directed her to turn onto SW 124th Street -- to keep the whistling past the graveyard party going. We stopped at Chill-N ice cream, and treated ourselves to a few frozen yogurts. In homage to my late Dad, I had butter pecan. Wifey went with Nutella...
And now we're home -- Wifey is playing DJ, and trying to stump me. I'm getting 9 out of 10 correct -- though she had me with some Paul Revere songs covered by the Monkees...
So estate papers are now set...and hopefully we can now forget. For a good, long while...
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