Afterlife: Nurture a Good Cause with Your "Stuff" By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi November 22, 2024 Earlier this month I read a short novel that explored the issues of sudden loss, grief, and human connection.  Afterlife by Julia Alvarez focuses on the newly retired Antonia who suddenly finds herself a widow.  A former English teacher, Antonia routinely pulls quotes and phrases from literature to apply to the situation at hand – and through the course of his novel she faces plenty of challenges.  In the year following her husband’s accidental death she is confronted with a sister ..read more

Middle Class Philanthropy: How anyone can leave a legacy By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi November 8, 2024  "Predating democracy, capitalism, organized religion, and as old as humanity itself, philanthropy exists because things often go wrong, and things can always be better". I wrote these words back in 2013 in a small book titled Middle Class Philanthropist: How anyone can leave a legacy.  Eleven years later I find myself pulled back to those sentences.  When life takes a wrong turn, we can lean into our own power and push to improve our world.   Image by M. Gustaf ..read more

Don't Forget to Plan for Your Pets: An Estate Planning & Probate Attorney Takes Cats to the Vet By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi October 28, 2024 Artemis Plays Hide-and-Seek in the Wall Cabinet - image by M. Gustafson Gervasi Normally my household responsibilities are clustered on nights and weekends, leaving my weekdays available for clients.  Today was not one of those days.  A previously scheduled annual vet visit for two of our four cats was crowded out of my weekend calendar due to my high schoolers’ cross country commitments.  Fall is a busy time in our home.&nbs ..read more

A Lesson From The Bard On Estate Planning October 14, 2024 By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Red taillights sprawled in front of us as we headed east along Wisconsin’s Highway 14.  It was after 10pm on a Sunday evening, and we were one of the many couples who had made the annual journey out to American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin.  As the road entered into the more populated suburbs it widened into two lanes and my breathing eased just a bit, as it always does when I leave a highway known for its deadly accidents.  High speeds, deer running about at night, and an undiv ..read more

An Important Reminder When Setting Up 529 Plans -- Name a Successor Owner By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi May 27, 2024 Writer's need inspiration.  Combing the online "National Day Calendar" website gives me creative insight for blog posts, including todays.  Did you know that May 29th is National 529 Day -- a day to remind us of the ease and importance of saving for a child's post high school education. Funds in a 529 savings plan can be used to pay tuition for 4 and 2-year college programs as well as trade schools and accredited apprenticeship programs.  Within weeks of their birt ..read more

Want a Stellar Estate Plan?  Have These 4 Conversations!  September 23, 2024 By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2024 September is National Preparedness Month, which aims to remind the general public about the importance of being ready for disaster and emergencies.  In 2024 there is a specific theme, conversation.  The title “Start the Conversation”, is a campaign that nudges the public past its resistance about addressing potential risks and dangers. It encourages the public to have regular talks with loved ones about how to handle emergen ..read more

What's More Important Than an Estate Plan?  The Act of Planning! By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi September 16, 2024 OMG! Austin, in AUGUST! Are you both nuts???? My teenage son scoffed. It will be hotter than Hades, this is crazy! Yelped my soon-to-be high school daughter.  And so began our family discussion of driving from Madison, Wisconsin to Austin, Texas. In August! It was early summer, and my husband and I had decided to chip away at our goal of taking our children to all 50 states. By Fall they would both be in high school.  The window for family vacations was narrowing. So ..read more

Lesson From Fisk, Season 2: Work Out Your Wishes Before Meeting the Attorney September 9, 2024 By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Season Two of the Australian comedy show Fisk ends with an all too frequent storyline -- the married couple that erupts into an argument as the attorney asks delicate questions about what happens when you die. In this episode Helen is working with a couple where there is a significant age difference, a baby from the union, and adult children from his prior relationship. As Helen asks questions the wife grows increasingly upset, objecting to the very notion that she might ..read more

Lesson From Fisk, Season 2: Get The Name Correct September 2, 2024 By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Episode 5 in Season Two of the Australian comedy Fisk takes the viewer on a tour of the probate landscape when a will mentions a nonprofit that no longer exists.  The show opens with Helen attempting to find the Australian Cat Welfare League.  Through a conference call with an American nonprofit of a similar name, she learns that in the 1970s the American nonprofit forced an Australian nonprofit with the same name to change its name.  However, a recently deceased client who did a will ..read more

Lessons from Fisk, Season 2, Don't Be a Dumpster Diver August 26, 2024 By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Most families have them -- unique and quirky belongings that mean the world to us, but to others they are nothing more than rubbish.  Episode Four, Season 2 of Fisk has Helen overseeing the purge of a home as part of probate.  Out with the old before the property is sold and the new moves in.  Unknown to Helen and the crew she hires is the beloved Polish recipe book.  It's added to the trash, but only when the granddaughter comes into the office does Helen realize she mistake ..read more