Only One Life

What can you do to make a difference in the world? Have you been waiting for that moment when you can create change and do something positive to help others? Well, I’m here to tell you that moment is now. Not to get overly metaphysical here, but regretting the past and dreaming about the future in lieu of doing something in the present would seem to result in a sedentary dreamer with regrets. If you are waiting for one specific moment to change the world, you already missed the chance. The good news is that you will likely have many more opportunities to create change during the rest of your life.

Maybe the better question is to ask: what is the “world” in which I can make a difference? I’ve observed that many people believe you need to be a Ray Croc, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, or Mother Teresa in order to create change. Why is that? Maybe it’s the belief that if a person is going to make a difference in the world, that person must actually affect the whole world – but nothing could be further from the truth. I ask: What is the “world” with which you interact? Isn’t it your family, neighbors, work, e-mails, text messages, postings, friends, your faith, and community? There are blatant opportunities to make a positive difference in the lives of people with whom you interact and communicate – every single day. Here’s one suggestion. It’s inexpensive and yet, one of the most powerful actions you can take. Try a smile and a square look into the eyes of the person with whom you’re speaking and say something nice about them, or about what they’re wearing, or at least wish that person a good day and I’ll bet you the nice thing that you said (along with the look and the smile) will make that other person feel better than they did before. Here’s that idea once again in two words: “be nice.” It doesn’t cost anything. And presto, you have made a positive difference in someone’s world.

That’s just the beginning. Do you contribute to your community, your place of worship, make donations, help your neighbors or give your time to those who need it? Any one of these actions could make a difference but the trick of it is the actual doing of things that make a positive difference in this world. It’s not sleight of hand or silver of the tongue; it’s the actions that speak louder than words.

Notably, there’s not an actual obligation to create positive change. That’s one of the wonderful freedoms we have as Americans. In my humble observation, it does seem that charity and goodwill is currently in short supply and subject to seasonal fluctuations, respectively. Granted, people have noble aspirations to change the whole world for the better, but maybe for today it would be a little easier for a person to make a difference by taking the action of being the next good Samaritan rather than passively dreaming of being the next Mahatma Gandhi.

Like it or not as a member of society, during your lifetime, you will effect change in your family, local community and through your daily interactions. When everything is stripped away and health is the only thing a person has left to value, most people would prefer to reflect upon their lives with appreciation and not regret. Death visits every family and the transitions, though painful, can either leave behind an unplanned mess for the grieving family or a worthwhile legacy for generations to come. Good or bad you will leave behind some sort of legacy. What will it be? The choice is yours.

Robert S. Meyring, of Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Meyring Law Firm is located 200 feet east of the railroad crossing on Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. More information atwww.MeyringFirm.com.

10 Worst Lawyer Views & 10 Great Things About Being a Lawyer

By Robert S. Meyring* 

Attorney at Law

March 2011

When I was younger, I thought lawyers were bottom feeders; thought they were professional liars, had no morals, and generally caused more problems than they solved. That’s actually what I thought about attorneys for most of my life. From what I’ve heard and seen, I would think most people would agree with my younger view of the legal practitioner. I understand how many people feel about lawyers because I felt that way too. I thought that lawyers were mostly interested in money; that people went to law school to become politicians and that lawyers charged too much per hour. I would avoid lawyers believing they were arrogant, always argumentative and that was the last thing I’d ever want to be.

Now, I’m older and of course…I’m a lawyer! I’ve had an about-face about being an attorney. Even while studying at Emory, I was ambivalent about going to law school. The point is, by the end of law school, I saw that a lawyer can be a force for good.

Here is what I like best about being a lawyer with my Vinings law firm:
1) Helping keep families together through tough times and transitions with a full service Trusts and Estates practice
2) Helping start a client’s business
3) Practicing under an earned privilege as a sworn litigating attorney before the courts with the legal duty to advocate for the client
4) Delivering legal services with efficient technologies, respecting a client’s time and reducing the fee
5) Believing that my grandfather, role model, and attorney, Arthur Meyring would be proud of the general practice I’m building
6) Working less than a mile from home
7) Building up the local community through pro bono legal and volunteer business services
8) Having my own corner office, setting my own hours, choosing my practice areas and clients
9) When clients say: “Thank you for explaining it in plain-speak so I can understand it the first time you tell me.”
10) The opportunity to break every bad lawyer stereotype and in the process help the greatest number of people in the best possible way.

*Robert S. Meyring is the managing attorney of Meyring Law Firm and offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm’s practice areas include Litigation, Trusts & Estates and Business start up and support. The website at MeyringFirm.com has articles, details and planning forms. The Law Firm is located 200 feet east of the railroad crossing on Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. MAP.  The office is wheelchair accessible with elevator.

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A Trust Could Help You Now

A Trust Could Help You Now

By Robert S. Meyring* 

Attorney at Law

February 2011

Trusts are powerful instruments that have many good uses; but Trusts are also the most misunderstood and exploited instrument in the Trusts & Estates attorney’s toolbox. Wills are a close second. In both cases there are scads of lawyers, professionals, and websites that will promise to help write a Will or establish a Trust. Problem is, just because your cousin is a lawyer, that doesn’t mean your cousin will draft a good Will or an effective Trust. A cheap Will is not always an effective Will. Just because the operators of a financial seminar sold you an expensive “Revocable Living Trust” as your super-planning probate-and-lawyer-avoiding document, that does not mean the Trust will work for your planning needs.

Trusts are great, if utilized correctly. Here are just a few examples:

●    If you’re entering an upper tax bracket this year, congratulations. You’ll probably have to pay more income tax, unless you reduce your taxable income before filing your tax return. A Trust could help here.

●    When a life insurance policy pays out to beneficiaries under age 18, a Trust must be created by law for management of the Minor's insurance monies.

●    When the in-laws or step-family is ready to pounce on the possessions and divide the assets of the soon-to-pass family money-maker, a private Trust agreement to handle the distribution is often the best way to keep out the greedy brood. A Trust agreement is private whereas a Will is public once it’s filed for Probate.

●    If your friend needs to qualify for assistance, like Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or Supplemental Income, a Trust can often be the recipient of enough income to lower the reportable income of the applicant to qualify for the assistance.

●    If a person receives a lump sum settlement check for disability insurance, often there is a big income tax IRS bill that comes with the check. If the check is paid to a trust for the person’s benefit and with specific standards, then the tax bill may be deferred or never assessed.

●    If you are under creditor attack and are about to receive an inheritance or other lump sum, a Trust benefiting you, would be the better recipient of the inheritance because the creditors cannot touch it.

●    Other purposes include sheltering monies for a surviving spouse; Management of monies for surviving children; benefiting a charity; creating a legacy.

Trusts are not just for the management of a wealthy decedent’s estate. They can help people just like you and me.

*Robert S. Meyring managing partner of Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm’s practice areas include Litigation, Trusts & Estates and Business start up and support. The website at MeyringFirm.com has articles, details and planning forms. The Law Firm is located 200 feet east of the railroad crossing on Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. MAP.  The office is wheelchair accessible with elevator.
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Success or Failure - Your Call

Success or Failure - Your Call

By Robert S. Meyring* 

Meyring Law FirmAttorney at Law



With the stagnant malaise of 10% unemployment and the fall of the career employee, it seems more people recently are becoming “free agents” or independent contractors by choice or by force. As a free agent you may be hired temporarily by another; or you may be the person hiring free agents to help you deliver a product to your customers. Either way, there are some basics to know, so you can protect yourself.


Point: If you do something that earns a fee or if you make something that people buy, then organizing your activities into a business corporation is smart for professional, legal and tax reasons.


What do you think about a business partner paying an employee from the partner’s personal account? What about a charity represented by a person who says, “Just make out that donor check to my personal account…?”  Neither scenario seems very professional. Rather, there is an immediate higher level of professional identification when a person represents their business dealings separate from their personal dealings. The personal/professional separation helps the public make a reasonable distinction between the person delivering the product and the business from which that product came. Once you grasp and achieve that personal/professional separation (or distinction) you can begin to build your professional image and brand identity.


The tax reasons for business incorporation are summed as follows: tax deductions, reimbursements, tax credits and perks; the legal reasons: liability protection. Meaning, if all else fails and the business becomes a money pit or serious liability, the financial disaster can be contained to just that business’s activities. The business incorporator’s personal assets are not “infected” and lost with the business liability.


For the full array of tax and legal issues relevant to your business, talk with a CPA or attorney. Like it or not, they are usually well worth the fee.

_________________________

*Robert S. Meyring managing partner of Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm’s practice areas include Litigation, Trusts & Estates and Business start up and support. The website at MeyringFirm.com has articles, details and planning forms. The Law Firm is located 200 feet east of the railroad crossing on Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. MAP.  The office is wheelchair accessible with elevator.

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The Gift That Keeps On Giving

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

By Robert S. Meyring, Attorney at Law* December 2010

It's hard for most people to handle the subject of estate planning-especially when the handler is the subject. - R. Meyring

Discussing one’s estate plan and the passing on of a person’s legacy and assets is easy for some and difficult for most. Maybe the reasoning is that most people, by avoiding the contemplation of their own end of life, act as if they may live forever. Fact is, writing your will is really about planning for life. 

The planning of your estate is really the planning for the life of your family and friends that come after you. The planning for incapacity, like with a power of attorney or advance directive, contemplates that the incapacitated person will become well again. The will or trust-centered estate plan is created for the financial benefit of one’s surviving relatives and friends. The benefit of drafting your will is "peace of mind;" a quality of life, non-financial benefit. 

Essentially, the creation of your estate plan is a generous, giving act done for the benefit of your family and generally not for your own financial gain. Contrary to the planning involved with finances or investments, estate planning is a gifting act that looks for the later benefit of your family members. 

Would you want to have a plan in place for the financial support of your child or your spouse in the case that you would not be there? Would you breathe easier if you had a plan for the control of financial decisions during your future times of incapacity? Would you sleep better knowing exactly what medical treatment would or would not be applied to your body should you slip into a coma? If you answered yes to any of those three questions, then maybe your focus on the immediate personal benefits of better sleep and increased quality of life will help you finally get the estate plan finished - with the help of a trusts and estates lawyer. 

If you do not have an estate plan (i.e. a will or a trust), the State will dictate how your assets will be divided. If you have no immediate relatives, then the State will get your all your assets. If you want to give some of your estate to non-related friends, without a will, it generally won't happen. If you want to maximize the amount of your estate and minimize the payment of taxes and fees of administration, a little estate planning will save a lot of pain and money in the future. This Christmas, give to your family and friends in a way that will increase your quality of life now, will later enhance your family and friend’s quality of living, and you may even leave behind a legacy that will not be forgotten. 

*Robert S. Meyring is an attorney practicing and living in the Vinings Village. Mr. Meyring's law office provides legal counsel in estate planning, general litigation and business start up and support, serving greater Atlanta and Georgians as the Offices of Robert S. Meyring, P.C., Attorney at Law. The Law office is located at 2931 Paces Ferry Road, Suite 201, Atlanta, Georgia 30339; phone: 678-217-4369; fax: 770-783-6585; email: meyring@meyringfirm.com . The site on the Web, with postings of informative articles, slide shows, and helpful planning tools from the Meyring Firm, is www.MeyringFirm.com

The Ghost of Christmas Future: How Will You Be Remembered?

December 2010

By Robert S. Meyring 

Attorney at Law

Charles Dickens had the right idea when he penned “A Christmas Carol” in 1843.  A morality tale of sorts, it held a dire warning for those individuals who turned a deaf ear to their family’s needs.  It begs the question: have you taken care of YOUR family?

As a Trusts and Estates lawyer and owner of a general law practice, I encounter a lot of people who say they want to get a will and estate plan. There’s a big gap between wanting to do something and actually doing it. The reality is that most people will not get a will. Only 30% of the eligible population has any form of estate planning, but nationally, 70% of people have life insurance. Both are acquired for the same reason. Think about that.

I am talking to the insured 70%. Are you insured, but have no will or no trust? Are you willing to pay 30 to 50 times more fee than the estate planning fee, for the term life insurance that has a 2% chance of paying out to your family? If so, you surely do not expect to be in that 2%. If you have minor children, if you’ve had a divorce, if you have a blended family, or if you have children in college - and you have no estate plan - you really should step up and get one. Not doing so may invite a disaster upon your family and next of kin; a mess you won’t have to clean up.

I understand. It’s hard to talk about the fact that you’ll die. It’s harder to talk about it with your spouse. It was hard for me and I’m an estate planner. So a few years ago I set out to do something about it: I made it easy for you to get your estate plan. My law firm is the only one I know that requires one 30-minute visit to get your will or trust established. After all, who really enjoys visiting his or her lawyer? I know your answer. So, who wants to contemplate their own inescapable demise? I know that answer too. So I’ve made the planning process as quick and as painless as possible. See how at www.MeyringFirm.com and click “Plan Now.” 

Meyring Law Firm, and Robert S. Meyring, offer free 10 minute phone consultations with an attorney at 678-217-4369.

The Wrongful Practice of Law

May 2010
By Robert S. Meyring*
Attorney at Law

People do not like lawyers. The opinion polls on lawyers and law firms are generally not good. The numbers say lawyers are not much respected among most of the populace. The polls continue to get worse.


When I have asked people why they have ill feelings toward lawyers, the answers are: "Lawyers charge too much. They get paid to lie. Lawyers are often arrogant. Anytime I've ever talked to a lawyer I've ended up angry or poorer." Fair enough. There is a lot of truth to it. For every quoted transgression, there's an attorney who will commit it - but it's also true that most lawyers would not overcharge, lie, or be anything less than a zealous advocate for their clients.


The trust and estates legal practice offers a good illustration of where some of the frustration concerning lawyers comes from. I have found that the "non-probate" or "non-estate planning" attorneys consistently mess up estate plans and the postmortem probates of estates. The most common mistakes are often made by a decedent's advisor, friend or lawyer. Often, the problem is that the lawyer had no business practicing in the planning or probate of estates.


The estates practice is a unique area of the law, where a small mistake can lose millions of dollars, years or even decades after the mistake. The litigation side often deals with trying to reach the original goals of the now-deceased will-signer or trust-maker. A lot of estate plan repair and interpretation work is litigated in the courts.


Many lawyers seem to think that they will "one-off" a will, or a trust or the probate of a family friend's estate. What they are really doing is called malpractice, because the later legal fees paid to correct the first lawyer's mistakes, are the monies and valuables from that family's legacy or estate that are now being paid to the later litigating probate attorney.


Accordingly, a good portion of my law practice is based on the mistakes of other lawyers. Some common examples of estates-related lawyer mess ups include wills that lack signatures, trusts that do not work, accidental disinheritances, and incorrect probate petitions filed by nonprobate attorneys.


The point is not to point out attorneys for practicing outside their field. Rather it is to show that you should really go to a lawyer that is practiced in the specific legal area where you need help. With legal services, or with anything, you get what you pay for and you should always talk with more than one attorney when you are looking.


* Robert S. Meyring, Attorney at Law, offers free 10-minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The office has moved to 2931 Paces Ferry Road, Suite 201 Atlanta, GA, 30339. The website is now MeyringFirm.com.

Honest Lawyers: Is that a Joke?

For Bright Side News
By Robert S. Meyring*

Attorney at Law

When it comes to lawyer jokes, I must admit, I love them! I love the stories, the jokes and the general taking the "air" out of the lawyers' mystique. Being a lawyer, I know I shouldn't take such pleasure in the seeming derision of the legal practice or myself by association, for upon my swearing in to the Bar and admission to the practice of law, Cobb Superior Court Judge White first gave a stern speech and said: "Now, most attorneys I know, know that I do not like lawyer jokes! I find the jokes are undeserved and I have found in almost every case, lawyers are the most honest and honorable people I know…"

Little did the judge know that the 30-year practicing lawyer, fellow Emory alumni and my sponsoring employer standing next to me had a big book of lawyer jokes in his lobby, available to all clients, less than a mile away. Seeing the lawyer joke book before interviewing with my soon-to-be-boss let me know that the honest and honorable veteran lawyer to my side was a man with a sense of humor; a man who could see the lighter and more joyous side of things. And Judge White was right too: my sponsor and most all of the lawyers I have known before and since that time are honest and honorable people.

I've tried my hardest and have done everything possible to be a lawyer of integrity and honor and in the process honor my lawyer grandfather, and emulate what he did during his career summed up by his sister-in-law, my great aunt who said: "Your grandfather! He was a real man of the people! People knew that if they came to him, he would be able to help. He was a real man of the people!" I wish my granddad could see the practice I've built and the people we help. My dad did choke up when he said it, but he said he knows his dad would be proud.

Though I know he's right, I also know I will always push to make my granddad proud of everything I do as a lawyer and every way in which I, through my Firm and the practice of law, can help other people. And that's no joke.

* Robert S. Meyring, Attorney at Law, offers free 10-minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The office is moving across the street to 2931 Paces Ferry Road, Suite 201 Atlanta, GA, 30339. The website is now MeyringFirm.com.

Costly Cheap Legal Shortcuts

By Robert S. Meyring* Attorney at Law I am a lawyer, a litigator, estate planner and a general practitioner serving the needs of my neighbors, their families and their businesses through the attorneys at the Meyring Law Firm. As a law practice we draft a lot of Wills, start a lot of businesses, write many contracts and give a lot of advice designed to nip problems in the bud before they bloom into a lawsuit. This “lawsuit minimization” strategy is one of the many things considered when a lawyer drafts your legal documents. People often ask what I think of Legal Zoom (LZ) and other similar online companies that offer wills, contracts, business start ups, and other legal documents. I respond that LZ is a document delivery service and not a law firm. LZ is a good business model and it meets a market demand. Simply put LZ will sell you a document for a price. Not a fee. No advice. LZ is not my law Firm’s competition because LZ is not a law firm. Rather, the law Firm has recently received a number of new clients with LZ documents that were incomplete or flawed. I have a feeling that LZ will be to thank for a lot of our Firm’s future Will contest clients as well. Ultimately, you don’t get much for free; you can buy troubles for cheap but lawyers do cost money for good reason. When it comes to legally protecting yourself, your family and your business, is it worth doing it on the cheap? *Robert S. Meyring of The Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm's website at WillsQuill.com has more articles, details, and planning forms. The office is located at the Vinings Jubilee, Paces Ferry Road. Please Google search "Meyring" for an office map.

Secrets & Revelations: Why Lawyers Keep Original Wills

Have you ever had your Last Will and Testament or Trust-based estate plan prepared by an attorney? Where are those original documents? Are they at the lawyer's office? Is that the safest place for your originals - or it could lead to far more complications than are worth mentioning here? Whether the attorney gives you an "advised" choice to have their firm keep your originals or gives you a choice to keep them in your own safe place makes a real difference; you will pay more with the advised choice and less with the free choice. Estate planning lawyers know that the keeping original documents is the business marketing equivalent to having an invisible tether around the client's ankle. If the original attorney keeps the documents, then the client is forced to go back to that original attorney instead of seeking new advice from a different attorney (that may be less expensive) when comes time to probate the estate. There is really no rule against such lawyer conduct. My advice is to keep your original estate planning documents in a safety deposit box or in a fireproof safe in your home. When these documents are needed, they are easily obtained and one has the freedom to use any attorney they choose. If you want to keep your own original documents and your attorney has them in their files, simply ask for the originals back and they are obligated to return them to you. *Robert S. Meyring of The Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm's website WillsQuill.com has more articles, details and planning forms. The office is located at the Vinings Jubilee, Paces Ferry Rd. Please Google search "Meyring" for office map.

The Throw Momma From The Train Law

 

By: Robert S. Meyring*Attorney at Law
Some people earn their money, others are born into it, most have enough to just get by, and some have almost nothing or less - especially in this economy. Even so, it seems most Americans think there's a chance that they may have the luck or the ability to own or make millions even if by insurance, Lotto, or inheritance.  

The "Throw Mama from the Train Act" is the unofficial name, known in the trusts and estates law practice, for the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. The Act repealed the estate tax (or "death tax") for this year of 2010 and only for one year. So the nickname is a cynical reference to the perverse financial incentive built into the law. The law basically would "allow" the children of wealthy parents to receive all of their inheritance with no estate tax to pay the IRS if, and only if, the parent dies in 2010. 

To illustrate: Jane Bryant Quinn, financial columnist, commented on the Act, "In 2010, ailing parents will keep their bedroom doors locked when their children are in the house. It's going to be a great year to die."

Yes, the "death tax" is currently dead for one year; this year of 2010. Go Jane!

Here is how it works: If you or your parent passes away with $2 million or even $50 million this year, in 2010, the IRS would take no estate tax from the estate. None. But if the death occurs in 2011, the IRS death tax bill would be imposed on the estate after the first $1 million. In the case of $50 million, about $20 million of your legacy or inheritance would be lost, I mean, paid to the IRS.

What can you do? Doing nothing and not drawing up a will or trust is sometimes about the worst thing you can do. Call a trusts and estates or estate planner attorney. Do it for your family. There are many planning instruments that help prepare for the ever-changing laws that affect your inheritance. Don't let the IRS tax away your legacy. A little planning now could save millions later.

*The Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm's website at Willsquill.com has more articles, details, and planning forms. The office is located at the Vinings Jubilee at 29000020fefPaces Ferry Road, Atlanta.