Shoup Legal - August 2022

Shoup Legal - August 2022

Plan today for peace of mind tomorrow. AUGUST 2022

TO REACH OUR GOALS Climbing Mountains

Throughout our lives, we come face-to-face with many hurdles, sometimes as vast as mountains. Those who love adventure and the outdoors may hike to incredible elevations, but other times, the metaphorical mountains are what we must overcome. Examples of these types of mountains might include life changes such as starting a new job or going to college. In early August, we celebrate National Mountain Climbing Day, and it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on some of your greatest climbs, whether literal or figurative. My family loves to hike whenever we get the opportunity. Every time we go camping, we search for exciting trails or mountains to scale. Yosemite National Park is one of our favorite places to hike. You can never go wrong when exploring the Half Dome Trail. It’s full of beautiful scenery that leaves us awestruck. If you enjoy hiking or being out in nature like we do, you have to check out the Half Dome Trail if you’re ever around Yosemite. One thing I’ve found most intriguing about hiking is that the journey is often much more exciting than the destination. Think about it for a second: You only spend so much time at the top. When we’re hiking at Half Dome, we’ll spend hours and hours climbing all the way up. It’s a step-by-step process. The journey is all about taking in various sights and having conversations with your friends and family along the way. Once you reach the summit, you’re only there for about 20–30 minutes to take in the scenery before starting the descent. Occasionally, I’ve only stayed on the summit for a couple of minutes before starting the hike down.

Once you reach the top of a mountain — both literally and figuratively — you immediately begin to think about your next climb. Figuratively, a new growth opportunity may appear once you start climbing a new mountain. For example, if you were to head back to school, the bulk of your climb will be spent in class learning about new topics and ideas that interest you. You could be dreaming of graduation, but most of your gain is through the experience of going to school rather than graduation itself. Reaching that summit, be it graduation or something else entirely, and having success is great! However, you can only celebrate for so long before tackling the next mountain. This process is even part of creating estate plans for our clients. They’ll come in and work with us for 6–8 weeks. We’ll talk, pass ideas back and forth, and really get to know each other on a personal level. Once we’re all done and everything is taken care of, they’ll look at the completed product as their summit. Going forward, they’ll only look at it when they need to make changes but will always remember the journey of creating their estate plan.

There’s so much to gain by staying determined while climbing your mountains. When we work to reach the summit, we grow to new heights and become stronger in the process.

–Andrea Shoup

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Something’s Phishy 4 COMMON FINANCIAL SCAMS TO AVOID

Fraudulent Retailers On social media websites, you may have noticed suspicious online stores featuring deals that are too good to be true. At checkout, instead of being directed to a trusted third-party payment process, these merchants may ask for wire transfers or gift cards. Some of these online stores might not even provide contact information!

Work-From-Home Scams As working from home has recently become the norm for many, this hoax has become even easier for criminals to pull off. Cybercriminals will contact you, stating you can make hundreds of dollars a week doing nothing more than shopping online as a mystery shopper or another enticing task. They will then tell you that to get started, you’ll need to pay upfront for training materials — but once you do, you’ll never hear from them again. As a general rule of thumb, stay clear of any offers that seem too good to be true. Likewise, avoid transactions that don’t use a trusted third- party merchant, and always do your research! If something seems off, trust your instincts! In today’s world, you never know what hoaxes exist!

From dating swindles to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency hoaxes, it’s hard to tell the

difference between honest offers and scams. Even worse, scams are becoming more creative every day. Here’s a list of some of the most common financial scams to be aware of. Cryptocurrency Scams Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have taken the world by storm. Because many people don’t understand how cyptocurrency works, it’s easy for cybercriminals to pull a fast one — or attempt to, anyway. To trick unsuspecting victims, scammers set up fake websites that mimic legitimate cryptocurrency platforms. These sites then either urge you to make investments or they will steal your information outright.

Fake Debt Collectors Criminals will claim to be government

representatives and urge you to settle a debt putting you at risk of being arrested, losing your home, or forfeiting your Social Security benefits. These scammers will ask you to pay the fake balance upfront to avoid any serious repercussions. Remember, government entities do not cold call, so you know to hang up or hit “delete.”

ON NATIONAL ROLLER COASTER DAY! GET YOUR ADRENALINE PUMPING

One of the most fun and exhilarating experiences we get to enjoy is going on roller coasters. In our area of the country, we’re blessed to have so many amusement parks nearby with some of the best roller coasters in the world. Between Magic Mountain, Disneyland, and Universal Studios, you can easily find a thrilling ride that gets your adrenaline pumping. It’s a little- known fact that National Roller Coaster Day is on Aug. 16, but it’s the perfect occasion to get out to your favorite amusement park and ride some thrilling roller coasters.

rides thrilling enough. When we took our first trip to Magic Mountain, I realized this was the amusement park for me. We would go at least once a year and stay from the moment the park opened until it shut down for the day. Plenty of roller coasters of all shapes and sizes gave me a rush. I loved going on X because it was such a unique experience to ride with your legs dangling, but I also enjoyed riding Revolution, Viper, and Colossus as well as some of the old-school amusement park staples. I haven’t been to Magic Mountain since I had kids, and my trips to amusement parks are few and far between. My sons aren’t really into roller coasters, but there’s still hope as my daughter really seems to enjoy them. We recently took a trip to Disneyland to celebrate her 5th birthday, and she had the time of her life. As soon as we finished riding Space Mountain and the Matterhorn Bobsleds, she wanted to hop right back on. It’s pretty cool she inherited my love for roller coasters. I love the excitement and adrenaline rush that comes with these thrilling experiences. It’s not just roller coasters, either; I’ve gone skydiving and whitewater rafting. If you have a favorite roller coaster or thrill-seeking activity, I would love to hear about it the next time we talk!

I have always loved roller coasters and amusement parks. Growing up, my family tried to take me to

Disneyland, but I never found the

Plan today for peace

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GROWING INTO NEW ROLES OUR CLIENT SERVICES SUPERVISOR, ALASIA

Restaurant-Style Chicken Marsala Inspired by FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

• • •

1 cup flour, for dredging Salt and pepper, to taste 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4‑inch thick

• • • • • •

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced

At Shoup Legal, we pride ourselves on providing the best possible service to our clients. One of the ways we do this is by gathering a team of highly dedicated and talented professionals who want nothing more than to help our community. Our team continues to show growth and prove they can help meet any need that may arise. Alasia has recently become our Client Services Supervisor, and we couldn’t be more excited for her. Alasia started with us nearly two years ago. She was in pursuit of an office job where she could grow her administrative skills. At the time, she was interested in

8 oz mushrooms

1/2 cup Marsala wine 1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp butter

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and pepper until evenly distributed. 2. Add chicken to flour mixture and coat all sides. Shake off any excess. 3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add chicken to the skillet. Work in batches if pieces don’t all fit in the pan. Cook each side for 5 minutes until golden brown. 4. Remove chicken to a platter. 5. Lower heat to medium. Add prosciutto to pan and sauté for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. 6. Add Marsala to skillet. Let it come to a boil, then add the chicken stock and simmer for 1 minute. 7. Stir in the butter and add chicken back into the skillet. Let simmer gently for an additional minute, then serve.

human resources and was taking classes to supplement her knowledge when she found our office. She felt that her values aligned with everything we were doing. She came in for an interview, and we knew it was a great fit! She started as an office assistant, but before long, she got an opportunity to work as an HR assistant for us. Now, she’s become our new Client Services Supervisor! She’s been able to grow within the firm on a professional and personal level. She’s even taken on the role of helping to train our new hires and show them the ropes. Alasia came from a food service background and knows how scary stepping into a new environment can be. With her experience, she’s now able to help all of our new hires feel right at home, even if they’ve never worked in the legal field before. Alasia wears many hats in her new role. You’ll often see her working with clients to make them feel more comfortable as they deal with difficult situations. She enjoys taking time getting to know our clients and helping them throughout the legal process. While away from work, you can usually find Alasia golfing. She played golf and softball throughout high school and college and still likes to play when the opportunity arises. She also loves Greek mythology and ancient history. She spends time reading, listening to podcasts, or even writing her own stories about mythology or history. At Shoup Legal, we’ve put together a team of experienced professionals with unique backgrounds in an effort to provide a great experience for our clients. Whether you talk with Alasia or anyone else at the office, you can expect to be treated with kindness and respect.

TAKE A BREAK

e of mind tomorrow.

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Plan today for peace of mind tomorrow. 39755 Date St., Ste. 203 | Murrieta, CA 92563 (951) 445-4114 | www.shouplegal.com

1 | Celebrating National Mountain Climbing Day 2 | Avoid 4 Common Financial Scams 2 | My Love for Roller Coasters 3 | Learn More About Alasia! 3 | Restaurant-Style Chicken Marsala 4 | Dealing With Negativity? Try These 3 Things! Inside This Issue

3 Ways to Foster a Positive Attitude Choosing Joy Every Day

In today’s society, we are faced with tragic stories and upsetting information, no matter where we turn. This can quickly lead us to a negative mindset where we believe things can’t be fixed and will only get worse, so it’s even more important now to establish a positive mindset. Though it might be easier to bury your head in the sand, fostering positivity in your life will provide you with many benefits. But doing so is easier said than done. If you’re unsure where to begin, try out some of these methods to help you get started. Focus on the silver lining. When something bad or unfortunate happens, we are quick to think about the negatives and how they will impact us in the future. Instead, we should be searching for a silver lining. You can find

a positive in any situation, but you’ll have to put in the effort to flip your perspective.

Keep a gratitude journal. When we think about gratitude and thankfulness, our minds usually think about Thanksgiving. But we don’t need to wait for a special day to show gratitude. Things happen to us every day that we should be grateful for. If you’re struggling to acknowledge your blessings, keep a gratitude journal and write a few things you are thankful for each day. Over time, that thought process will seep into your daily life.

that you can’t accomplish certain things, you will feel worse about yourself — or even believe them. You need to block the negative people from your life and surround yourself with those who think optimistically. Establishing a positive mindset in today’s world may be difficult, but it is not impossible if you develop a strategy and follow through with it.

Surround yourself with positive people.

The people we associate with play a huge role in our mental well-being. If you’re constantly around people who put you down or tell you

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