LOVE EDITION

February 2019...happy valentine's day!

February 2019 Edition includes:

• Greatest Love of All and Smile Challenge!
• 100 Nice Things to Do For Your Wife on V-Day and Best Chocolate's Ever
• The Final Act of a Great Love Story

• Community Workshop: End Epilepsy
• Meier Law Firm 2019 Workshop Calendar
• Thank You For Your Referrals
• The L.A.P.T. is the LOVE Trust
• Just Call Bonnie

Greatest Love of All and Smile Challenge!

Dear Laura,

Happy Valentine's Day! If you're in the camp that thinks V day is way too commercialized, and way too close to Christmas, I completely agree. But this year I'm treating it as an opportunity to focus on a different type of love that kids have seemed to master, and us adults need to remember...

I teach the fourth graders on Sunday mornings for religious education (pictured above on Superbowl Sunday). Honestly, I don't know what the world has come to if I'm the one teaching religion. It has been a great opportunity for me because I get to experience certain principles through the simple lenses of children. Our lesson a few weeks ago was on loving our neighbor, and it had all these great ideas for kids on how to be a great neighbor—smile, wave, say hello, lend a helping hand, have a listening ear, pray for others, make everyone feel loved and welcome. I thought, ahhh, I need to be doing this more around town myself!

So I thought I would start with smiling at everyone when I'm around town, and I'm happy to report that I've received a 50% smile return rate, which is great! And of those people, I can tell many of them were caught off guard at first when I smiled, but returned the smile and looked happy. I know it's just a smile and doesn't seem like much, but hopefully the video above shows how simple things make all of our days so much better.

Maybe this V day when we hear the phrase "the greatest love of all", we won't just think of our loved ones (and the Whitney Houston song). Maybe the greatest love of all is just showing love to the person in front of us, even if it's just with a regular old smile at the store.

Wishing you all a lot of love this Valentine's Day!

100 Small Nice Things To Do For Your Wife on Valentine's Day and Best Chocolates Ever!

Let's be honest. Valentine's Day is really all about the wife—at least in our house lol. I'm only kidding, but it is nice when the day comes and I see Josh has planned some sweet stuff for the day. If you need some good ideas for your wife, you can click here for 100 small nice things to do for your wife on V day! Husbands are much easier. No googling required.

Also, I am happy to hear how many of you were really into the chocolate chip recipe I shared last time! I have a great suggestion for you if you want to send the absolute best chocolates to someone special for V-Day! Jonathan, Bonnie, Josh, and I discovered this gem during a food tour in Seattle recently and apparently it was also the official chocolate of the White House when Barack Obama was in office. Click here to view Fran's Chocolates. It's also our official thank you gift we send for referrals as well so let us know if you love them as much as we do! If you want a recommendation for which box to order, I suggest starting with the Champagne Box. Now I'm wanting chocolate and champagne!

The Final Act of a Great Love Story

As an estate planning lawyer, I've seen my fair share of goodbyes when people lose someone they love. It's an emotional role to serve in, but also a great privilege as I get to witness so many great love stories between spouses up until the end.

But I'm going to tell you about the first time I experienced what the final act of love looks like of a great love story, before I began practicing estate planning.

When I was a new attorney, we had a partner at my law firm who was married with two young children. I remember going to lunch with her one day when she got a call from her husband, and she lit up. She told me how we was away on a work trip, and he was just calling to say hi. I could see their relationship was very special.

Sadly, her husband passed away around that time in an accident. Needless to say, we were all heartbroken for her and her two young children. I remember at the funeral hearing how meticulous the husband was in making sure his wife and children were not only taken care of during their lifetime, but also in death. The husband had everything in order for his wife and children, including a full estate plan, life insurance, and instructions. This was conveyed to us so we knew just how much he loved his family, and had prepared for them just in case anything were to ever happen to him.

I learned in that moment what a comfort it is knowing that someone you loved took time to plan for you and make sure you'd be well taken care of if they were no longer there. To me, that husband's act of ensuring his wife and children would be completely taken care of when he was gone was the final act of their great love story. It brought everyone comfort knowing their family was all set up.

If you need help taking care of your family and formalizing your wishes for them, we warmly invite you to talk with your Newport Beach estate planning attorneys at the Meier Law Firm by calling us at (949) 718-0420 or scheduling a planning session with us. Talking with us is a great first step for planning for those you love.

Important Community Event: End Epilepsy

Our friends at OC Care and Cure are hosting an upcoming workshop on February 9th that provides important information to families affected by epilepsy. Please share with anyone who may be interested. Click here for more information or to make a donation to help support this important cause.

Meier Law Firm 2019 Workshop Calendar (through end of March)

Please join us at an upcoming event! If you would like us to host a workshop for your company or group, please contact Bonnie at (949)718-0420.

10 Legal Protections for Children with Special Needs

Mission Hospital Laguna Beach – NAMI-OC

February 7, 2019 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm

31872 Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651

RSVP to Bonnie Johnson at 949.718.0420 or [email protected]

How to Protect Your Home and Savings From Nursing Home Costs! The Hidden Secrets of Medi-Cal and V.A. Benefit Planning

February 26, 2019 | 6:00pm-7:30pm

February 28, 2019 | 6:00pm-7:30pm

Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92692

RSVP to Bonnie Johnson at 949.718.0420 or [email protected]

10 Legal Protections for Children with Special Needs

HOAG Hospital – NAMI-OC

February 27, 2019 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Hoag Center for Healthy Living Conference room 105B 307 Placentia Ave Newport Beach, CA 92663

RSVP to Bonnie Johnson at 949.718.0420 or [email protected]

10 Legal Protections for Children with Special Needs

Warrior Hearted Special Children’s Foundation

March 2, 2019 | 9:00am-10:30am

2221 Argonne Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815

RSVP at www.WarriorHearted.org

How to Protect Your Home and Savings From Nursing Home Costs! The Hidden Secrets of Medi-Cal and V.A. Benefit Planning

City of Seal Beach

March 5, 2019 | 6:30pm-7:30pm

March 6, 2019 | 12:00pm-1:00pm

March 7, 2019 | 6:30pm-7:30pm

3131 N Gate Rd, Seal Beach, CA 90740

RSVP to Bonnie Johnson at 949.718.0420 or [email protected]

Estate Planning Basics

Tax & Financial Group

March 9, 2019 | 9:00am-11:00am

City of Newport Beach Civic Center Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 RSVP to Bonnie Johnson at 949.718.0420 or [email protected]

Estate Planning Basics

Sunshine Preschool

March 20, 2019 | 7:00pm-8:00pm

Boys & Girls Club of Costa Mesa, 2131 Tustin Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Private Event

Kids Guardian Workshop

Concordia University

March 28, 2019 | 11:00am-12:00pm or 1:30pm-2:30pm

Concordia University Irvine, 1530 Concordia, Irvine, CA 92612

Grimm Hall

Private Event

Thank You For Your Referrals and Hosting Our Workshops!

Referrals: Irene Daly, Sonny Nguyen, Michael Schoenbachler, Michele Lim, Stephen Stafford, Peter Szurley, Steve & Betty Lai, James Hardin, Doris Farinacci, Cuevas Family & Mina Kim and Dominic Riccabona.

Workshops: Oracle (Santa Clara Campus)

Your referrals really are the best valentine's day gift any family trust attorney can receive :)!

THANK YOU For All of Your Online Reviews!!

Google Review Highlight: "Laura, you are Best. Laura is very ethical and moral, Best at what she is doing & competent. Thanks for all your help." —Naran Patel

Thank you Mr. Patel and everyone for your gracious online reviews! We really feel so lucky to have such wonderful clients and friends.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could help other people like you find us by sharing your experience online:

Click here to leave a Yelp Review.

Click here to leave a Google Review.

If there is anything more we could have done to make your experience with us a 5 star experience, please click here to let me know. Your feedback is very important to us.

The L.A.P.T is the LOVE Trust Every Family Should Consider

Imagine if you could protect your child from being harmed by third parties for the rest of their life! And in some cases, even protect them from themselves if necessary?

While no one wants to "control" their child from the grave, many of us parents want to "protect" our children from ill intentioned people who do not have their best interests at heart.

In California especially, we have way to many unfair lawsuits, failed marriages, addictions, and predators that can financially wipe out our children. No one wants to leave their hard earned money to their children one day, only to have it taken from them.

This is why we offer the Lifetime Asset Protection Trust (L.A.P.T.), which is really a LOVE Trust. It allows you to leave money behind to your children while protecting it from ill intentioned third parties. Here are some key characteristics of the L.A.P.T.:

1. Protects From Outside Parties: The L.A.P.T protects the money you leave behind for your children from being taken by lawsuits, creditors, predators, and divorce.

2. Provides Responsible Support: The L.A.P.T. provides for your child's health, maintenance, education, and support needs but also offers an option to encourage your child to have a strong work ethic, and not become a "trust fund" baby dependent on just the trust.

3. Provides Control For Child: The L.A.P.T allows your child to manage the trust themselves upon turning a certain age, as chosen by the parents (commonly age 35), however there are options to block a child from managing their own trust if they develop an addiction or have other situations that put their judgment at risk.

4. Keeps the Money in the Family. The L.A.P.T. allows you to ensure that the money left in the L.A.P.T. at the end of your child's lifetime will continue down the family line, but does allow you the option to allow your child to leave it outside the family if you want them to have that option.

If you want to learn more about whether the L.A.P.T. makes sense for your children, talk with us today about how it works and how we can customize it to fit perfectly for your family's needs. Call your California family trust lawyers in Newport Beach at the Meier Law Firm at (949)-718-0420 to learn more.

Just Call Bonnie to Meet With Us!

Another unplanned twins day Wednesday for Laura and Bonnie! These two are always in sync and love their cozy sweaters!

Give Bonnie a call at (949)718-0420 to talk about your estate planning needs. You can also schedule your initial planning session online.