Learning estate planning law is easier than understanding, and speaking or, heaven forbid, writing Spanish. Yet, trying is slowly changing my brain. I consider myself reasonably open minded.
How Spanish Does it (Idioms)
How Spanish Does It (Idioms)
Spanish does not kill two birds with one stone, it uses a gun, which you must admit is more efficient depending on the gun.
Spanish believes that a picture is worth MORE than a thousand words.
These are minor variations from the way I would describe something using English. But describing as a party in which “hardly anyone showed up” as “four cats” is a huge leap in circuitry.
How could “it ain’t your aunt” possibly come to mean “no way!” The comparison to finding a path to describe something incredible is far more accurate than describing your aunt. However, I guess it depends on the aunt.
These differences aside, there are three words that I hear more than any other words. I hear them in songs, conversations, and when I try to read anything in Spanish.
How All Humans Think
Quiero. Necessito. Ahora.
I want. I need. Now.
In my job, I constantly need help remembering the cardinal rule of marketing. Do not sell the hammer and the nail. Sell the family picture hanging on the wall. Do not sell a feature pillow, describe the good night’s sleep. Do not sell a testamentary supplemental trust for the benefit of a spouse, envision the inheritance left to your spouse protected from brutal Medicaid spend-down rules. Even that is really just about a beloved spouse having the life she deserves after you are gone.
How the Law Views It
Ahora is a problem. The Law could be better at instant gratification. It is the long game. Many can fun a marathon. Few can run a 50k. The closest estate planning law to “ahora” is “living”. That’s pretty good, right? The Law solves many problems with the use of trusts funded while you are living.
Which applies to you when asked to complete this sentence “I want …”
to have enough money for my entire retirement and that of my spouse
my disabled child to share equally in the family’s wealth
my child who struggles with addiction to have his needs met without financing their self-destruction’
my wealth to bring the family together rather than fighting over the will
to avoid paying the stinkin, greedy, kinda rude state Department of Revenue one red cent that I don’t have to (ooops… was that outloud again?)
I have more. A lot more. Some want to make sure their choice in guardian is appointed if, heaven forbid, they shall pass when the kids are kids, i.e., minors. Some want to make sure that their kids don’t blow their inheritance at the Audi dealership the day after the funeral.
For Fun
When hired, my job is to build an estate transfer or an asset protection plan *two different things) that transfers title to your assets to the people you love rather than Medicaid spendowns, the IRS or Department of Revenue, your kids’ debt collectors.
In Spanish, you need a plan that takes the chestnuts out of the fire when you make like a vampire, a plan that is not your aunt so that your kids do not get into a chicken because your spouse, their mom, is now of bad milk because she is bald. You want everyone to make good crumbs.