Bridgeriver LLC - October 2020

Bridgeriver LLC - October 2020

Nest Egg

THE

OCTOBER 2020

Wills, Trusts, & Probate Is Your Nest Egg Exposed to Creditors and Predators?

Most people know estate planning is an important step in planning for the future. At the same time, most people put it off because they don’t want to think about their own death. It’s a scary thought. But here’s another scary thought: If you don’t plan for the future of your estate, your assets could end up in probate. Probate is the process in which the state determines where your assets go after you die. Depending on circumstances, it can be out of the hands of your family. The big reason why you want to avoid probate has to do with the fact that going through probate court is a public event. It goes on public record for anyone to look up — and that includes predators and creditors, people who want to take advantage of your death to get their hands on your assets.

changed. Having a trust is one of the best ways to avoid probate (and the fees associated with probate) and ensure your assets are divided precisely as you wish. While probate isn’t the worst thing in the world, it has many downsides that cannot be avoided. For one, it’s time-consuming. Each state has slightly different rules, and you can expect your estate to be tied up in probate anywhere between nine months to three years. Once the estate enters probate, you can’t touch any assets in the estate until terms have been finalized. So, if the family house is in probate, it cannot be sold until after the process is completed. If the housing market takes a turn for the worse, you’re out of luck. The house will sit there until a judge says otherwise. The same applies to any investment accounts that might be part of the estate. If the market crashes, those accounts may not be touched. It’s completely out of your hands and it can be frustrating. The other thing to note is that probate is not free. Payment comes out of your assets. Your family may end up losing 5%–15% of the value of your estate due to probate fees, along with accounting fees, court fees, attorney fees, and so on. Probate can be expensive. You might think having a will helps your family avoid some of these costs. When it comes to upfront costs, yes, there is truth in that. Many attorneys are more than happy to draft up a will for next to nothing. But those same attorneys also know there is a good chance your estate will end up in probate. And whom is your family going to call when that happens? That same attorney who drafted the will. Another way people try to save money is to list their son or daughter as the executor of their estate. That’s fine, but you still have to hire an attorney if the estate goes through probate, so the cost savings won’t last long.

There are three ways people can handle their estate planning:

1. Do nothing. Yes, this is an option, but it’s risky. There are zero guarantees that your assets will be passed along according to your wishes — especially if your wishes don’t exist in writing. Essentially, if you don’t have a will, the state will provide you with one. It will be in the hands of the judge to decide how your estate is divided. By doing nothing, there is a high probability that your estate will go through probate. Your assets could wind up in the hands of people you don’t approve of. It’s definitely cheaper now but could cost you more in the future. 2. Draft a will with various powers of attorney. This is what many people do. They do it because they want to save money and because it’s fairly easy. However, a will still needs to be probated. By definition, a will is a letter to the probate judge. It instructs the probate judge how you want your estate divided. They may respect your wishes — or they may decide to do something different. If your children decide to contest, the judge or whatever child has the best attorney, could get the lion’s share of your assets. Predators (often distant relatives) may come out of the woodwork as well and contest the contents of the will. Also, a will only is in effect when you die. There are no incapacity clauses that can help when you’re alive. For instance, if you have a stroke, car accident, etc., you might not die, but you can no longer speak or sign your name. Most remember the Terry Schiavo case. She was incapacitated for 15 years while her husband and family fought. 3. Establish a trust. When you and your spouse are alive, you can establish a revocable trust. This type of trust can be changed at any point during your lifetimes. You can add or subtract assets and instructions. Once you both die, the trust becomes irrevocable — the terms cannot be

The bottom line: Having a conversation about your estate and developing an estate plan is crucial. If you have specific desires about how you want your

assets handled, get it in writing and set up a trust. You don’t want to take any chances. Probate is a headache and helping your family avoid probate is one of the best things you can do once you’re gone.

-Dan Casey

1

248.785.3734

5 STEPS TO A SAFER HOTEL ROOM KEEP STRANGERS AND VIRUSES OUT WITH THESE QUICK TIPS

4. Invest in a rubber door wedge. Viruses aren’t the only risk in hotel rooms — break- ins are another concern. To keep your room secure, bring a rubber door wedge. They cost less than $10 on Amazon and make kicking in a door much more difficult. 5. For maximum security, bring a door alarm. Simple travel alarms hang from the handle of a door and have two prongs that slide between the door and its frame. When the door opens and the prongs separate, that triggers the alarm. These simple devices send thieves running, and Lewis N. Clark makes a model for just $14.99.

on big surfaces as well as features like faucet handles, doorknobs, lightswitches, and microwave buttons. 2. Skip the decorative linens. Many hotels don’t wash decorative bedding like comforters and fancy pillowcases. To be extra safe, strip these off the bed and wash your hands afterward. If you’re chilly, opt for the hotel’s spare blanket (it’s probably hiding in a closet) or bring one from home. 3. Quarantine your remote control. As USA Today puts it, “It’s common knowledge that one of the germiest items in a hotel room is the remote control.” To avoid the ick, pick up the remote while wearing gloves and drop it into a Ziploc. Then, remove your gloves and seal the bag. Now you can use the remote without touching it directly!

Staying home is the best way to

protect yourself and your family from illness, but sometimes life gets in the way. Maybe you need to travel for work, to help a relative, or just to keep your kids from bouncing off the walls. If you have a hotel stay on the books, worrying about safety is understandable. But by taking these precautions, you can protect your loved ones and increase your odds of coming home healthy.

1. Bring a sanitation kit and use it! Most hotels are going above and beyond to

sanitize their rooms these days, but it never hurts to take extra care. Before you check in, pick up cleaning supplies like disinfectant spray, wipes, plastic bags, and gloves. Then, use them to wipe down your room. Focus

Hopefully, these tips give you some peace of mind on your next trip. Happy trails!

3 MIND-BLOWING FACTS ABOUT TACO BELL

THE SECRET LINK BETWEEN HOME DEPOT, THE GOVERNMENT, AND FAST-FOOD TACOS Did you know that Oct. 4 is National Taco Day? Corn or flour tortillas, hard or soft shells, we really love our tacos here in the USA. According to NationalTacoDay.com, Americans ate more than 4.5 billion tacos last year. End to end, that’s 490,000 miles of tortilla-wrapped beans, meat, and cheese. dubbed Taco Kid under its Pizza Hut banner. According to Mental Floss, Taco Bell swiftly stomped out its kid brother. In response, PepsiCo opened its wallet and bought the chain for $130 million.

3. The U.S. government was behind the Quesalupa (sort of). In February 2016, Taco Bell launched the Quesalupa, a taco featuring a shell stuffed with melted pepper jack cheese. It was the chain’s cheesiest offering to date, perhaps because it got a boost from Dairy Management Incorporated, the branch of the United States Department of Agriculture in charge of

By far, the biggest peddler of light-speed tacos in the country is Taco Bell, the fast-food scion of Americanized Mexican cuisine. In 2012, Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco went the food equivalent of viral, selling more than 500 million tacos in just 14 months. It seems like there’s a Taco Bell on every street corner, but how much do you really know about the chain? To celebrate National Taco Day, we’re serving up three Taco Bell facts that will blow your mind. 1. Home Depot helped bring Doritos Locos Tacos to life. After Frito-Lay reached out to Taco Bell to suggest a collaboration, the development team turned to a hardware store for help. To create the famous snack, they “basically went out to Home Depot to buy a paint-spray gun” and blasted a taco with Dorito dust, according to Grub Street.

unloading the country’s 1.4-billion pound cheese surplus . That’s right: The Quesalupa was (kind of) a tasty government conspiracy.

This is just the tip of the Taco Bell iceberg. To learn about the chain’s wacky endeavors (including putting a bullseye in the ocean for astronauts and flying 10,000 Doritos Locos Tacos to Alaska by helicopter), visit TacoBell.com/History.

2. Taco Bell killed Taco Kid. Before it bought Taco Bell in the 1970s, PepsiCo tried to compete with it. The company launched a restaurant

2 www.BridgeriverLLC.com

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people have turned to their four-legged friends for help and comfort . In Nebraska, an 11-year-old girl and her pony, Peanut, cheered up nursing home residents through their windows this spring, while in Pennsylvania, an award-winning golden retriever named Jackson starred in videos that kept thousands laughing. Pets like these have given the national mood a boost, but another four-legged critter deserves just as much recognition. Her name is Winter, and she’s the 4-year-old llama whose antibodies could help us beat the coronavirus. At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Llamas? Really? What will these scientists think up next?” But in fact, Winter wasn’t an outside-of-the- box discovery during the COVID-19 vaccine scramble. Llamas have been helping scientists battle viruses for years. That’s because, along with her fuzzy brown coat and long eyelashes, Winter has a unique virus treatment hidden in her blood: llama antibodies. According to The New York Times, Winter has participated in past studies for both SARS and MERS — diseases also caused by coronaviruses — and her antibodies fought off both infections. Llamas have also helped out with research for HIV and influenza. It turns out llama antibodies

are smaller than the ones found in humans, which makes it easier for them to wiggle into the tiny pockets in virus-carrying proteins. This superpower

COULD A LLAMA SAVE US FROM COVID-19? MEET WINTER, A 4-LEGGED HERO OF VACCINE RESEARCH

gives them the ability to “neutralize” viruses, including COVID-19. Studies are now showing that using these llama antibodies in humans could potentially keep coronaviruses from entering human cells as well. At least two separate llama studies have shown the effectiveness of these antibodies on coronavirus infections. This summer, a team of researchers from the U.K . discovered that llama antibodies “have the potential to be used in a similar way to convalescent serum, effectively stopping progression of the virus in patients who are ill” when given to those patients in a transfusion. They also suggested that a cocktail of llama and human antibodies could be even more successful at temporarily blocking the virus. Studies of the latter are in the works, and scientists around the world have their fingers crossed for success. In the meantime, Winter will continue peacefully grazing in Belgium, unaware that she just might play a role in saving the world.

HAVE A LAUGH

Spooky Strawberry Ghosts

Inspired by Candiquik.com

These adorable chocolate-dipped strawberry ghosts will be the stars of your Halloween party!

Ingredients

• • •

16 oz white chocolate, chopped

24 strawberries

1 package mini dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the white chocolate at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove it and stir, then repeat the process until melted. 2. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper. 3. One by one, dip the strawberries into the melted white chocolate and set them on the parchment. Allow the extra chocolate to pool to form a “tail” effect. 4. Before the chocolate coating fully cools, add three mini chocolate chips to each berry to form two eyes and a mouth. 5. Let chocolate set, then serve your spooky snacks! 3 248.785.3734

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

40900 WOODWARD AVE., STE. 305 BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48304

248.785.3734 WWW.BRIDGERIVERLLC.COM

INSIDE This Issue

Is Your Nest Egg Exposed to Creditors and Predators? 5 Steps to a Safer Hotel Room 3 Mind-Blowing Facts About Taco Bell Could a Llama Save Us From COVID-19? Spooky Strawberry Ghosts ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Is Finally Here — Yes, Really!

‘WONDER WOMAN 1984’ IS FINALLY HERE 5 Release Dates Later, Gadot Returns to the Screen

When the first “Wonder Woman” movie hit theaters in 2017, it was a box office smash, making more than $821 million. People all over the world fell in love with Gal Gadot’s portrayal of the famous comic book superhero and Chris Pine’s performance as her sidekick Steve Trevor. Globally, they waited with bated breath for the release of the sequel: “Wonder Woman 1984.” Despite the hype, that film has been a long time coming. Incredibly, it has blown through four different release dates: Dec. 13, 2019; Nov. 1, 2019 (yes, they moved it up ); June 5, 2020; and Aug. 14, 2020. First, pre- and post-production issues wreaked havoc with the film’s schedule, then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and slammed movie theater doors shut. When the fifth and (hopefully) final release date of Oct. 2, 2020, was announced, it seemed almost too good to be true. Even star Gal Gadot sounded surprised. “Wow, it’s finally happening, & I couldn’t be more excited!” she tweeted, adding that she appreciated her fans’ patience and was excited for

everyone to see the film. “... It will be worth the wait,” she said.

Award-winning director Patty Jenkins joined in the Twitterfest on Aug. 15, saying, “Wish we were sharing our film yesterday, but there are more important things going on in our world we’d rather you focus on for now. Thank you to our fans for being so great, by our sides. Can’t WAIT for you to see it! Sending love and healing to the world. See you October 2nd!!” Critics and fans are crossing their fingers and their toes that the prophetic October release date comes true and they get to see Wonder Woman battle her nemesis, Cheetah, this fall. The postponements have been a roller coaster ride, but at least consumers can console themselves with “Wonder Woman 1984” merchandise, which rolled out far in advance of the film. Some favorites are the “Wonder Woman 1984: Meet Wonder Woman” children’s book (which includes sneak-peek photos) and the Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah LEGO model complete with a secret bunker, both of which can be found (appropriately) on Amazon.

4

www.BridgeriverLLC.com