Returning guest Marguerite Lorenz is here to talk about all things trust and estate related. She has a new book, Luck or Control, The Life-Improving Power of Estate Planning,” reflecting on how a rushed, outdated will during the host’s husband’s terminal cancer diagnosis made planning urgent and life-easing. Lorenz argues estate planning is not about wealth or only death, but about documenting preferences for incapacity, healthcare, and distribution to avoid confusion, family conflict, fraud risks, and costly probate (noting a $46,000 minimum in California for a $1 million estate). They discuss choosing qualified estate-planning attorneys, updating plans, naming multiple healthcare agents, tracking fiduciary actions, avoiding “early inheritance” ambiguity, and real cases involving elder financial abuse, safe deposit boxes, life estates, pet trusts, no-contest clauses, and special needs/public benefits concerns, directing listeners to planforthis.com for a free toolkit.and you need to go and get it!  https://planforthis.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/californiatrustee/Previous episode with Marguerite: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-21-marguerite-c-lorenz-ctfa-clpf-master-trustee/id1530413097?i=10005103724910:58 Why Estate Plans Matter03:14 Cost Versus Probate06:17 Free Toolkit And Hiring Help07:28 Fiduciary Duty Explained08:37 Family Caregiving Gray Areas12:43 Document Everything As Trustee15:31 The Black Box Problem17:52 Choose Your Three People20:35 Agency And End Of Life Choices24:42 Mabel Casino Cautionary Tale27:23 Preventing Inheritance Fights29:46 No Contest Clauses And Spite32:17 Leaving Love Not Destruction33:26 Fairness Between Children34:02 Fairness Can Flip34:37 Needs Based Trusts35:39 Love Not Punishment37:46 Planning for Incapacity41:04 Life Estates and Marriage Myths43:51 Pet Trust Pitfalls46:53 Sign the Documents48:44 Wills and POA Basics50:28 Stop Clever Workarounds52:05 Safe Deposit Box Chaos55:35 Special Needs and Flexibility01:00:34 Fund the Trust and Wrap Up