Sheppard Law Firm - February 2021

Sheppard Law Firm - February 2021

Newsletter Title

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From Intern toAttorney

they do here, the clients they serve each day, and the people they get to serve with. I was proud to intern here, and I knew this is where I wanted to be — permanently. I was honored to accept a full-time position following my internships. Sheppard Law Firm’s appeal aside, doing estate planning work felt like a great fit for my financial background and my desire to help. I get to share in golf triumphs and swap jabs about New England sports with some of our northern clients. At the same time, I can use my expertise and technical skills to finesse the needs and wants of my clients into tangible, useful plans for their futures. I also do a lot of work in estate settlement, which means I am trusted with using my knowledge of the client to help families in their time of grief ensure all the pieces of their loved one’s estate are settled swiftly. I love what I do every day. It’s a big change from the jet-setting career I had with the firm in Tampa, but it’s fulfilling and profound. I may work with a grieving family one day and an excited family that is expecting their first grandchild the next. I enjoy hearing all our clients’ stories and getting to use my technical abilities to protect and secure our clients’ assets and families for the future. If it wasn’t evident, I’m an ardent Boston Red Sox fan, and I love to stay active and play golf outside of work. I’m very excited about the course this firm is taking, and I’ve even begun planting my own roots here! I closed on my first house in 2020, and I cannot wait for what the future holds. Thank you for being part of my journey here at The Sheppard Law Firm and for trusting us with your family’s future. If you need assistance with your estate plan — or just want to chat Red Sox glory days — give me a call. –Hayley Donaldson

Hayley Donaldson Brings Experience & Knowledge to The Sheppard Law Firm

While I joined the Sheppard Law Firm as an attorney over three years ago, I actually began working with the firm after my first year of law school. I consider myself very lucky to have even had that opportunity because I reached out via email, and if it’s not a client-related email, Craig Hersch isn’t likely to read it! That first summer after law school isn’t an easy time to find an internship. Many law students are not considered experienced enough to work in a

law firm, so they instead look to fill their summer break with other programs through the school. Luckily Craig saw my experiences prior to law school as an asset and decided to give me an interview. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved to Fort Myers prior to fourth grade. I consider myself a Florida native, having spent most of my childhood here. I’m a proud graduate of the International Baccalaureate program at Fort Myers High School. After high school, I attended the University of Miami, where I obtained degrees in Accounting and Finance. After that, I earned a master’s degree in accounting and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA). That landed me a job as an internal audit consultant with a firm in Tampa. I really enjoyed that job, but it involved a lot of travel. Eventually, I wanted a different lifestyle, so I searched for something new. That’s how I landed at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and found myself searching for an internship after my first year there. I emailed dozens of firms, but I feel incredibly lucky that Craig took the time to review my resume and grant an interview. I began interning with the firm that summer and did so again the summer after my second year of law school. Almost immediately, I knew this was a special firm. After nearly 100 years, Sheppard Law Firm has become a Fort Myers staple, and its longtime employees are undoubtedly part of that. The people who have been here for two, three, four, and almost five decades speak so highly of the work

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February 2021

From Books to …Prescription Drugs? Amazon Launches Amazon Pharmacy

Both the Whole Foods purchase and the failed Haven Healthcare venture foreshadowed the arrival of Amazon Pharmacy. The latter showed how serious Bezos is about diving into the highly regulated realm of health care and insurance. The former revealed the growing importance of Prime membership in an increasingly Amazon-owned world. According to Business Insider, Prime members have access to “discounts of up to 80% on generic drugs and 40% on brand- name medications when paying without insurance” through Amazon Pharmacy. Doctors can also send prescriptions directly to Amazon. If you have insurance, you can simply type your insurance and payment information directly into the website and

For years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been vocal about his plan to disrupt the American health care system. In 2018, Bezos and his millionaire pals Warren Buffett (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway) and Jamie Dimon (CEO of JPMorgan Chase) formed a company called Haven Healthcare to “stem the rise of employer health care spending,” according to Bloomberg Businessweek. That venture fell apart, but Bezos never took his eyes off the prize. That same year, Amazon bought a drug-delivery startup. In 2019, it started selling its own brand of over-the-counter medication. Then, in November of 2019, Amazon opened Amazon Pharmacy to sell prescription drugs online. The new program offers Prime members two-day delivery and massive discounts on generic and name-brand drugs. Given Amazon’s history, this was no surprise. Since starting in 1994 as a marketplace exclusively for books, Amazon has worked toward becoming a one-stop shop for everything, especially all things health and fitness. Health- conscious people have bought workout equipment, supplements, snacks, fitness books, and more on the website for years. Then, in 2017, Amazon bought the organic grocery store Whole Foods and offered shopping discounts to Prime members, further cornering the market of health-conscious consumers.

have medication delivered to your door. To check out Amazon Pharmacy, head to Amazon.com and click on the menu in the top left corner of the home page. Then scroll down to “Programs and Features.” All of that said, Amazon isn’t the only — or even best — option for purchasing prescription drugs online. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s BeSafeRx program offers tips and a comprehensive list of online pharmacies nationwide. Visit FDA.gov today to learn more.

a t t e r o f H e a r

2 Important Reminders for American Heart Month

on your health risk, and practitioners can determine the next best step to prevent further buildup. This test could have prevented Craig’s surgery, and he now recommends it to others. BE PREPARED Ensuring you have the correctly labeled and filed legal documents that appoint trustees, powers of attorney, and more can be just as valuable as seeking medical attention or testing for possible conditions. Think about it. Can you confidently say that you have trusted loved ones who would know what to do if you were to become unable to make financial and medical decisions? What would happen if you were to die tomorrow? Would your assets be distributed properly and would your loved ones know how to “tie up the loose ends”? If you can say “yes” to all of these questions, then consider your friends and family — do they have these plans? Your doctor can protect you from life-threatening medical conditions, while an up-to-date estate plan can protect your family from potential tragedies getting uglier. Prepare medically by calling your doctor and then call our team today — or refer us to a loved one — to update your estate plan.

It’s been nearly a year and a half since Sheppard Law Firm attorney Craig Hersch underwent triple-bypass surgery to fix arteries that were 75%, 80%, and 90% clogged. Craig, who regularly trained for triathlons and adheres to a healthy diet due to his wife’s expertise as a nutritionist, ignored all the signs and symptoms of heart disease, chalking it up to aging. After a successful surgery and months of rehabilitation and recovery, Craig feels much better and is back to his athletic self. He’s become an advocate for regular testing, including one that could have prevented his surgery, and has a cautionary tale for many of his clients as a result. In honor of American Heart Month, we have two very important reminders for all our readers. GET TESTED Like many adults, Craig underwent regular cardiovascular tests, but there was an essential test he could have taken that could have prevented the extreme danger that was growing in his heart. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the cardiac calcium scoring test measures the buildup of plaque in your arteries in a matter of 15 minutes. A score is given based

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floridaestateplanning.com

Who Do You Love—and Trust? February invites us to take a hard look at love. Attorney Craig Hersch invites readers to consider how much we trust those who This is why the selection of the successor trustee is so important. When clients are selecting these appointments, I often have conversations that go Craig Hersch Offers a Warning When Choosing Your Successor Trustee

to act for us. Besides, he’ll take direction from Vanessa, our financial planner.” “What if Ricardo fires Vanessa and decides to invest your trust funds as an online day trader?” I ask. “He’s the trustee, so his decisions as to the investments inside of your trust and which firm he uses to get financial advice is up to him. You would have a legal action against your son for failing to act as a prudent investor, but my guess is that you probably wouldn’t bring a lawsuit against your own son, and if you did, he likely doesn’t have any assets against which you could recover.” While the ones you love always have the power to destroy you emotionally, when you give them the power to also destroy you financially, you better be sure that they won’t use that power either. There are many options to avoid potential disasters. The best option is to select a hyper- responsible individual who is responsive to your advisors and would never put their own interests above yours.

love us in his 2018 Sanibel Island Sun article “Trust and Love.” You can read the full version of Craig’s column — and others — at FloridaEstatePlanning.com. My favorite definition of love is “giving someone the power to destroy us and trusting they won’t use it.” It’s not a coincidence that the word “trust” also refers to a legal document created to hold and distribute one’s assets, and that the “trustee” is the one who holds all the trust powers. When you choose a successor trustee to your revocable living trust, you are giving someone the power to destroy you financially. While the trustee is supposed to follow the terms of the trust, no court of law, no judge, and no government regulatory authority monitors these actions. If the trustee should make a distribution outside the scope of his or her authority, the trust beneficiary’s recourse is to bring a lawsuit to recover damages.

something like this: “If both you and your spouse should be unable or unwilling to serve as your trustee to your trust, who do you want to serve?”

“My oldest son, Ricardo,” the client answers.

“Tell me about Ricardo,” I ask.

“Oh, he’s not the most responsible one in the family. He’s been through several divorces and even had to declare bankruptcy a couple years ago. He’s always behind in his alimony and financial support, so he’s hauled into court by his ex-wife frequently.” My eyes open wide, “Really?! This is who you want to entrust with your financial security?” “Yes,” the client says, “if we don’t name Ricardo, he’ll be offended, as he is our oldest son. He should be the one named

Inspired by JustATaste.com

Zucchini Noodles With Turkey Bolognese

INGREDIENTS:

• • • • •

1 tsp salt

• • • • • •

3 tbsp olive oil, divided 1 tbsp garlic, minced 1/2 cup onions, diced small

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp sugar

3 medium zucchini

1 lb ground turkey

Parmesan cheese, for garnish

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

Referrals are the lifeblood of our office. If you had a tremendous experience, please do share it as a five-star Google Review, adding a few words as a description. It takes less than a couple minutes. We appreciate our clients so much and hope that our new clients are just like the ones we commonly attract. You can also leave us a review at FloridaEstatePlanning.com/review.

DIRECTIONS: 1. In a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, warm 2 tbsp olive oil. 2. Add garlic and onions and stir constantly until garlic is golden and onions are translucent. 3. Increase heat to medium and add ground turkey, break apart, and cook thoroughly. 4. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and sugar. Reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally. 5. Using a spiralizer, mandolin, or vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini into noodles. 6. In another large sauté pan over medium-low heat, add remaining olive oil and zucchini noodles, tossing constantly for 2 minutes until slightly wilted. 7. Plate the zucchini noodles, top with the turkey Bolognese, and garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

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INSIDE this issue

Meet CPA and Attorney Hayley Donaldson 1

Amazon Launches Amazon Pharmacy........2

Share These 2 Reminders for American Heart Month...............................................2 Craig’s Thoughts: The Value of Trusting the Trustee.................................................3 Zucchini Noodles With Turkey Bolognese.................................................3 Is Dark Chocolate Really Good for Your Heart? ..............................................4

The best compliments we receive are your referrals. When you refer us to your loved ones, we do all we can to exceed expectations.

T h e

a Gershoff professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University in Boston, says, “Dark chocolate has more flavanols than other types of chocolate; the >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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