Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 21, 2014

B3

 

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, June 21, 2014 


FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


THE MARKET WHERE 
YOU MOVE

As we see some market recovery, the scales become a little more balanced be-tween buyers and 
sellers. However, if you're a buyer moving out of the area, local conditions here aren't relevant. You 
need to investigate whether it's still a strong buyer’s market in the area where you are relocating.

If long listing times and price reductions are prevalent, then you have the luxu-ry of exercising some 
of the following options when you search and eventually make an offer. First of all, you needn't 
jump at the first suitable home you find, because inventory will be high and price reductions open 
to discussion.

When you finally decide to make an offer, play the time card to your ad-vantage, asking for a speedy 
seller response, perhaps within 24 hours. Pres-sure to accept is one thing, but do allow a reasonable 
amount of time for in-spections, repairs, etc. Speaking of which, don't be shy about stipulating ma-
jor repairs in your offer, and the inclusion of a "home warranty" policy for the first year.

Offer below asking price, but don't lowball and insult the seller. You can al-ways reject their 
counteroffer in a strong buyer’s market, as long as you can accept the risk and move on to the next 
property. Have your representative assemble a good selection of suitable properties and take one 
step at a time!

FATHER’S DAY REFLECTIONS


My daily goal is to be a better father today than 
I was yesterday. Some days I feel like I achieve 
it. Most days I don’t. But after opening my 
homemade Father’s Day cards and gifts this year, 
I decided to put pen to paper (actually, fingers to 
keyboard) as I reflected on the many challenges 
encompassed in that lofty objective, which I’m 
sure most other dads share.

At the top of that list would be protecting our 
children in every possible way, including legally. 
One of the most difficult things to do is think 
about the possibility we may die unexpectedly 
or too early, leaving our children without one 
of the most important people in their lives. But 
stepping up and making a legal plan to protect 
your children if something should happen to you 
is one of the best Father’s Day gifts you can give 
yourself and the people you love.

Here are 10 steps we use to help you get there:

1. List of potential guardians. Identifying the 
people you would like to raise your children if 
something should happen to you is the first step. 
Write down everyone you would consider, and for 
now, do it separately from your spouse.

2. Prioritize what’s important to you. Write down 
everything that is important to you when you 
think about how you want your kids to be raised. 
Do you want them to be raised with the same 
values you were raised with? Do you want them to 
live where they are living now? What about their 
education? List all your priorities and then rank 
them in order of importance.

3. Don’t make it about the money. Many people 
are tempted to turn to the person with the most 
money to be guardian, but providing for your 
children financially is your job. You can leave 
enough money behind to ensure your children are 
well taken care of by using life insurance, trusts, 
savings or a combination of all of these. 

4. Compare your lists. Take your list of potential 
guardians and compare it with your prioritized 
list of what’s important to you, then rank the list 
of guardian candidates. You should wind up with 
a list of at least three good candidates that match 
your prioritized values.

5. List people you don’t want raising your kids. 
Think about all the people who may be in line for 
custody in case something should happen to both 
you and your spouse or co-parent and then create 
a list of those people you would never want raising 
your kids.

6. Exclude the people you don’t want as guardian in 
writing. Write a confidential letter of instruction 
outlining who you would never want raising your 
kids and why. This letter will be sealed away 
unless someone on the list tries to gain custody. 
Having that letter will make it less likely those 
people would want to pursue a claim in court.

7. Name temporary guardians. We all hate to 
think that this could happen to us, but we know 
it happens to others like us every day -- couples 
leave their children with a babysitter and get into 
a terrible accident. The babysitter calls and calls, 
but there is no one to answer. The police are 
summoned and the children have to be placed with 
Child Protective Services. It’s terribly frightening. 
To prevent this possibility, you should name local 
temporary guardians who can take over in these 
circumstances until long-term guardians are 
appointed.

8. Make it all legal. Once your choices are made, 
you will need to legally document them. If you 
don’t, a judge will make these decisions for you. 
We can help you create a comprehensive Kids 
Protection Plan® as well as other estate planning 
essentials like a will, powers of attorney, health 
care directives and even a trust that will ensure 
your plan is done right and will last for as long as 
you need it. 

9. Make a plan for your assets. Once you’ve taken 
care of your children, be sure you take care of your 
assets. We can explain how a trust can be used to 
bypass the court system and protect your assets.

10. Leave more than money. Your lasting legacy 
should be much more than just money; it should 
also be those valuable intangibles that reveal who 
you are through your insights, values, wisdom 
and experiences. We make this possible as part 
of your legacy planning process, helping you 
digitally capture and pass on your own story and 
your aspirations for your loved ones. 

Call our office to schedule a time for us to sit 
down and talk about a Family Estate Planning 
Session, where we can identify the best ways for 
you to ensure your legacy of love and financial 
security for your family. Call 626.355.4000 
today or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more 
information.

Marc, a local attorney, father, and CASA volunteer 
(Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children) is 
on a mission to help parents protect what they love 
most. His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., 
Ste. G, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.


CONSTANT CONTACT LAUNCHES 
TOOLKIT 

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Constant Contact. I like that 
it is easy to use. They have amazing customer support and their 
technology keeps getting better all the time. Constant Contact 
is good about updating their tools and they listen to feedback from their users. 

I like that they provide educational events for small businesses. Because we teach classes for them, 
I know first hand that Constant Contact works for people. I hear success stories all the time. I 
recently heard about a plumber who sent out a simple email campaign that resulted in 6 sale calls. 

Constant Contact also makes sure their tools produce campaigns that are mobile friendly. You 
can even design an email campaign from your smart phone, send it to a list and track results. 

Constant Contact recently launched something exciting called Toolkit. It’s designed to provide an 
all-in-one experience with access to 15 marketing campaign types. It includes email marketing, 
event registration, trackable coupons, Facebook promotions, donation campaigns and surveys. 

The new Toolkit is affordable, pricing starts at $45 per month. If you were to 
purchase the tools separate from different companies, you’d spend a lot more. To 
rationalize the cost, I like to think about it this way…if you made one sale from 
one campaign, you would easily pay for the cost of Toolkit and most likely bring in 
additional income. It really is a tool that helps small businesses and non-profits grow. 

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes 
in Internet Marketing strategies and Social Media. They offer social media management services 
and help their clients build a strong on-line presence. “Like” them on Facebook for trending 
news in social media, internet marketing and other helpful tips, www.facebook.com/hutdogs.

Sign up for their upcoming classes, webinars and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/
workshops/schedule 

 * thecreative entrepreneurby Lori Koop, Business Coach
Yesterday my client was complaining about owning his own business. All the pressures he felt. 
How he never had time off. I listened for a while, then said “why don’t you sell it? You don’t have 
to own this business.” He looked at my serious face and responded “just like that?” I answered 
“yes.”

I often hear entrepreneurs say they “have to” _____, they “need to” _____, they “should” ____. 
And they feel trapped, frustrated. Well, of course! These statements sound like they have no 
choice. It’s no wonder they resist.

We’re creative people. We like our freedom. Whether it’s to decide what products we will sell, 
where we will sell them, or whether we will stay in business. We like to choose. We were born to 
choose.

Resume your momentum and your enthusiasm. Simply change your words to the truth. Instead, 
use… I “choose to” _____ or “I want to” _____. And feel empowered. 

I guarantee, you’ll feel the difference!

. . . . .

LORI KOOP, helping creative entrepreneurs prosper. Schedule a complimentary session: www.
LORIKOOP.com or call 626-836-1667. (Location: 49 S. Baldwin Avenue, Suite L, Sierra Madre 
91024) I write every other week.

 
Be the boss of you.
Start your own business.
Learn how...
www.LORiKOOP.com
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com