Regardless of the reason, these living arrangements should not be entered into without careful thought and several honest discussions between everyone involved. If the arrangement is entered into with similar expectations all around, living in a multigenerational household can offer a rich experience for everyone.

If your adult children are considering moving back home, consider these tips for a smooth transition:

• Have an agreement that outlines the living arrangments and household responsibilities.
• Decide what household expenses children will be responsible for (for example, paying rent or a portion of utilities).
• Require that the children have a specific plan for paying down debt and adding to their savings, and make sure that they follow this plan.
• Agree on a date when children will move out.
• Consider alternatives to your child moving in, such as: (1) can you loan your child enough money to pay rent outside of your home for a specific period of time; (2) can your child find employment that provides housing; or (3) is there another family member or close friend who is looking for a roommate or who has rental properties available at rates your child can afford?

If your aging parent(s) is considering moving in, have a discussion about the following to help your family live in harmony:

• What are the expectations of everyone in the home?
• How will the bills be paid (for example, will the parent contribute to rent and utilities)?
• How will the housework and cooking be divided?
• What are the parenting issues that may arise with grandchildren?
• How will everyone in the home maintain privacy?
• Discuss and consider any alternatives to moving your parent into your home, such as:
  • Can your aging parents employ you or other family members to provide care for them in their home?
  • Can family members/friends work together to share responsibility for assisting aging parents in their home, such as creating a schedule that includes regular visits to parents to help with home repairs, cooking, errands, and doctor visits?
  • Can family members share equally in the expenses necessary to allow aging parents to remain independent?
  • Does it make more sense to move parents to an independent living community or an assisted living facility?

If your parents need help managing personal finances or need full-time care (or expect to need this type of help in the future), discuss with them these additional issues:

• What type of assets do they have?
• How do they want to live as they age?
• What kind of health care and lifesaving measures do they want? What kind don’t they want?
• Who should make any legal, financial and medical decision for them if they are no longer able to handle their own affairs?
• If your parents require full-time care, are there other family members or friends who are willing to step in at times to provide care (for example, when you need to run errands, handle personal appointments, and take a vacation).

After you speak with your parents about the kind of care they want for themselves, get a durable power of attorney, living will, and a power of attorney for health care in place for your parents.

In addition, you should think carefully and get professional advice before you decide to help your parents by combining their assets with your own (such as adding your name to bank accounts, deeds and titles). Doing these things could jeopardize your parent’s eligibility for government programs such as Medicaid, which may be needed to help pay for any long-term care expenses.

A final word of advice is to remember to put yourself first. It is important in any situation to remember that your needs are critical. In your efforts to make circumstances better for your adult children and/or aging parents, don’t forget to care for yourself. Don’t put your own needs after those of your aging parents and adult children.

If you have the proper discussions beforehand, the benefits of living in a multigenerational household can far outweigh any burdens. By living with your adult children, you can develop your relationship as adults and friends rather than as parent and child. You get the opportunity to get to know and be proud of the person that you raised and molded as a child, and to help guide them into a financially stable adult.

Living with aging parents can be a rich and rewarding experience. You get to show your parents that you appreciate the start they gave you in life, and that you welcome the opportunity to give back to the people who worked hard to provide for you. Also, if grandchildren are in the home, they can benefit from the love and attention of a grandparent who can impart much-needed wisdom and who can spend more time with them than most busy parents are able to. Also, your aging parents can have the peace of mind of knowing that they are safe in family surroundings, and that they have the support of people who love and appreciate them.

 Business Plan

Before starting your business, you should spend a considerable amount of time creating a business plan. A business plan is essential because it gives you a framework for starting. Also, it shows banks and other possible lenders that you are serious about success, and that your business has what it takes to make their investment in it worthwhile. The business plan will also help your team of professionals (business attorney, accountant, etc.) understand your goals, making them better able to properly advise you.

Your business plan should include (1) a summary of the services or goods you will offer; (2) an analysis of why you plan to offer those particular goods or services; (3) the benefits your clients or customers will receive for choosing your goods or services; (4) an analysis of your business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (a “SWOT Analysis”); (5) an analysis of your competitive advantage; and (6) a summary of the marketing strategies that would be beneficial to your business.

Team of Professionals

You should surround yourself with a strong team of professionals that can help you plan for the future. At a minimum you should consult a business attorney and an accountant. Your attorney and your accountant can work together to make sure that you choose the right business entity (corporation, limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.) and that you meet the legal requirements for setting up your business. Also — especially important if you will have business partners — the attorney can help you create an operating agreement that will dictate the responsibilities each partner will have in the business, and outline how your business will continue to operate in the event of any unexpected events. Your accountant will also make sure that your business reports income properly and files the correct tax forms.

You should also build relationships with people in your community who also own businesses. These business owners can share their own experiences with you and inform you about what did and did not work for them. Also, business owners can be a good source of referrals for your product or service.

If your budget allows, you should hire a web designer to build a website for your business. A good website is essential because it adds legitimacy to your business and gives potential customers a resource for learning more about what you offer. Other professionals that can help you succeed: an advertising professional (who can help you build a brand that includes a logo, business cards, letterhead, advertisements, etc.); a marketing expert (who can tell you where you clients are and how to reach them with your services); an employment lawyer (who can help you put in place the proper procedures to hire and manage your employees); and a financial advisor (who will help you manage your personal finances).

Marketing/Networking

Once you have started your business, get out there and promote it. It is important to build an awareness of your business, because you can only be profitable if people know that your business exists. A low cost ways to promote your business is through social media (Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn). Building a presence through social media helps potential customers get to know you personally, which may help them choose your business over a competitor. Just be careful that you are tasteful in what you post on these sites. Once posted, embarrassing photos and comments are on the internet forever.

Another way to promote your business is to enlist the help of those who already know you well. You have been building a professional network over your entire life, made up of the friends, classmates, coworkers, and church members that you already know. Tell everyone you know that you are in business, because these people can be your best source of referrals. Be sure to give them business cards and flyers about your services, so that when someone asks for a referral, your friends will have what they need to recommend you.

Family Planning

An often overlooked aspect of business planning is family planning. You should talk to your family about how the financial uncertainty of starting your business and discuss how the family will survive the startup phase. If you have young children, you should plan for how they will be cared for while you are working extra hours to build the business. You should also come up with a family business plan if you anticipate that family members will eventually participate in the business.

When I talk to people about estate planning, they usually tell me:

“I’m too young to think about dying. I’ll work on my Will when I’m older.”

Michael Jackson died at the young age of 50. Many of the people who tell me they are “too young” to think about estate planning are close to this age. If you don’t want to think about yourself, at least think about your family. Michael Jackson left three young children, between the ages of six and twelve. If he did not leave a Will to state who he wanted to raise his children, there would likely be a lengthy court battle over it and the children may have ended up being raised by someone that Michael would have objected to. Who will raise your children if you die before they reach age 18? If you don’t have a Will to state who your children’s guardian will be, you need one. Choosing a proper home for your children is not an option, it is a necessity.

” I don’t have much money or property to leave to anyone. I don’t need a Will.”

Michael Jackson left several million dollars in assets and debts. His Will directs how his debts are to be paid and how his assets (money, property, personal items, etc.) are to be distributed among his loved ones. If he did not leave a Will, it would take years to sort out these things, and ultimately, his property may have gone to people he did not intend to benefit from his estate. To those who say, “I don’t have much,” I say this — Do you have a home? Do you have a bank account? Do you have any personal items (furniture, clothing, antiques, etc.)? Everyone has something that they have worked hard over their lives to accumulate. It is important to create a Will to make sure that those things are given to those who you feel are deserving of them.

Hopefully, Michael Jackson’s death has highlighted how important it is that EVERYONE create a Will. The few hundred dollars that you will spend to create your Will is well worth the peace of mind you will gain. It will be comforting to know that you loved ones are taken care of and that you have removed the burden from your family and friends of sorting things out after your death.

1. Caring for all the deceased’s property
2. Receiving payments due the estate, including interest, dividends, and other income
3. Collecting debts, claims and notes due the deceased
4. Identifying all heirs and beneficiaries
5. Paying outstanding debts of the estate
6. Preparing and filing federal, state, and estate tax returns
7. Distributing the assets of the estate to heirs and beneficiaries

Most executors hire an attorney to guide them through the probate process. The attorney will help determine the best method for probating the estate. In most cases, the attorney’s fees are paid from the assets of the deceased’s estate. In some cases, these fees are set by statute and are paid only upon approval of the probate court. In all instances, the fees must be reasonable.

If you have been named executor, immediately following the recent death you should:

1. Make a list of the names and addresses of all persons named in the Will
2. Make a list of the names and addresses of all heirs, even if not named in the Will
3. Gather information on the deceased person’s outstanding debts
4. Gather the following documents: deeds to real estate and cemetery lots; copies of recent bank statements; titles to automobiles; insurance policies; list of known assets; list of any known debts; copy of deceased’s last three tax returns; the deceased’s Last Will and Testament.
5. Get death certificates from the funeral home
6. Keep records of all funeral expenses
7. Change door locks if the deceased lived alone
8. Secure valuable items
9. Notify insurance company of the recent death
10. Avoid paying any outstanding debts or giving away any of the deceased’s property before consulting with an attorney

Will – A Will is a document that leaves instructions for distributing your probate property at your death. It also directs how your outstanding debts are to be paid. Probate property includes real property (land) and personal property (bank accounts, cars, jewelry, etc.).

A Will does not control your non-probate property, which includes property that passes by contract, such as a life insurance policy. In the Will, an executor named. The executor is the person who will manage your affairs and who will ensure the terms of your Will are carried out. Also, if you have minor children, you will name a guardian for them in the Will. A Will can also include a testamentary trust that will provide for the continued care of minor children, elderly parents, or pets.

Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters – The Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters allows the person named in it to manage your finances on your behalf. This is a key component of an estate plan because most financial accounts, such as bank and brokerage accounts, are individual accounts. This means that the account is held in one name alone, and no one else has access to them. This document allows someone you trust to access your bank accounts, but provides protection in that this person may only conduct business on your behalf – and not for that person’s benefit.

Power of Attorney for Health Care – The Power of Attorney for Health Care allows the person(s) named in it to make health care decisions on your behalf, when you cannot make health care decisions for yourself. This is important because if an unexpected medical emergency arises, there is someone available to provide instructions for your care.

Living Will – A Living Will provides instructions for doctors concerning the use of life-sustaining treatment if you become terminally ill or permanently unconscious, and cannot communicate your wishes. The Living Will does not affect the responsibility of health care personnel to provide comfort care to you. Comfort care means any measure taken to diminish pain or discomfort, but not to postpone death.

You should bring any relevant documents to your consultation, such as the following:

• New Client Questionnaire
• Will or Trust Documents
• Names and address of children and spouses, guardians for minor children, and any other heirs
• List of assets and copies of real estate deeds, life insurance policies, etc.
• List of debts
• Copy of death certificate
• Copy of funeral bill
• List of issues and goals that you plan to discuss

If you are unsure of what to bring, call the office to find out what types of documents are relevant to your situation.

Your consultation will last approximately 45 minutes. During your consultation, we will:

• Discuss your needs and come up with possible solutions
• Discuss your goals
• Prepare a fee agreement outlining what legal work is to be completed and the fee for that work.