Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 14, 2015

13

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 14, 2015 

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


DON’T FORGET THE VARIABLES

You’re ready to make an offer! You’ve done your homework by reviewing a CMA (Comparative 
Market Analysis), local DOM (Days On Market), and even the LP:SP (List Price to Sales 
Price) ratio to formulate your offer based on the numbers, and you have confidence in the 
mathematics.

However, there may be “non-tangible” factors that don’t fit neatly into the equation. Your 
representative will endeavor to discover variables like the seller’s motivation and your possible 
competition.

If the home you want has been listed much longer than the average DOM, the sellers may have 
become more realistic and more motivated to accept lower offers. Sometimes the sellers are 
motivated by the pressure of having purchased, or offered to purchase, another home. Then 
time becomes more important than money. No one wants to pay two mortgages or risk their 
ability to close on another purchase because they can’t sell their first home.

Also try to find out if other buyers are making offers on your chosen property. If so, make your 
first offer your best offer, because sellers are unlikely to counter in this situation. But… never 
offer more than your representative believes the home will appraise for, or your financing will 
fail and you’ll be back at Square One. Talk to your agent about the facts and the variables, and 
then make your offer with confidence.

GOOD REASONS TO ESTABLISH A TRUST 

(AND BEING RICH ISN’T ONE OF THEM)


As far as estate planning goes, many people have the 
misconception that trusts are only for the wealthy 
while wills are for everyone else. But that couldn’t 
be further from the truth. You don’t need to live 
in a mansion or own a fancy yacht to benefit from 
having a trust. The fact is, a will simply isn’t enough 
for most of us. Why not? There are many reasons, 
but one of the biggest is that a will won’t keep your 
family out of probate.

What is probate? Probate is a court process used to 
transfer the assets (not held in a trust) of a deceased 
person to their heirs. In other words, after your death 
– if you don’t have a trust in place – someone will 
have to petition the court to open probate so your 
assets can be transferred to your beneficiaries. A will 
only serves to guide the court on how to distribute 
your assets, it does not keep your family out of court. 

So why do I want to avoid probate? All assets 
passing through probate court become a matter of 
public record, and as such, vulnerable to creditors, 
predators, and opportunists – and believe you me, 
there are plenty of scammers and con-artists who 
read the probate records to identify who is receiving 
an inheritance so they can go after their next mark. 
The court system in California is underfunded and 
overburdened and the probate process can take 
years to get through. Also, probate is very expensive, 
ultimately diminishing the overall assets available 
to your family by a substantial margin. Keep in 
mind too, if you have minor children the probate 
court will give them complete, unrestricted control 
of their inheritance as soon as they turn eighteen. 
And think about it, the probate process is generally 
the last thing family members want to endure after 
losing a loved one. Ultimately, probate just makes a 
hard time that much harder.

Okay, how do I avoid probate? Avoiding probate is 
not hard to do. By creating and transferring assets 
into a revocable living trust there will be no need for 
probate at your death. In fact, probate is really only 
for people with little to no assets or for those who, 
during their lifetime, failed to plan to keep their 
families out of probate court.

What are the advantages of a trust? Putting your 
assets in a trust avoids the probate process once 
you pass away. This saves your loved ones the 
time, money, and emotional hassles associated 
with probate. A trust can also be kept confidential 
which allows families to keep their privacy in the 
process. Another advantage is that a trust allows 
you to give your assets to minor children exactly 
when and how you see fit – they don’t have to 
become instant millionaires at eighteen if that’s not 
what you want. Finally, a trust can provide asset 
protection from your beneficiaries’ creditors, court 
judgments, divorces, and even their own bad money 
management practices.

 As you can see, there are many reasons to create 
a trust, and being rich isn’t one of them. You can 
learn more about how a trust might benefit you and 
your family by calling us to schedule a Family Estate 
Planning Session. I’d be happy to sit down with you, 
talk about your particular situation, and help you 
make sure things are as easy as possible for your 
loved ones in the future.

 To you family’s health, wealth, and happiness,

 

 

 

A local attorney, father, and CASA volunteer 
(Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children), 
Marc Garlett 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. Call 
626.355.4000 to schedule an appointment to sit down 
and talk about ensuring a legacy of love and financial 
security for your family or visit www.GarlettLaw.com 
for more information.

YOUR STAKEHOLDERS: 

THE KEY TO DIGITAL MARKETING

The dictionary defines digital marketing like this:

Marketing that makes use of electronic devices 
(computers) such as personal computers, 
smartphones, cellphones and tablets to engage 
with stakeholders.

 Notice the word “stakeholders.” 

 Do you know who your stakeholders are? Most 
likely, they are your current customers and other 
people who are important to your business. They 
are the people who will give you the best word of 
mouth.

 Have you taken the time to engage with your 
“stakeholders” on-line? 

 We’ve met lots of business owners that focus 
most of their digital marketing efforts on finding 
new business and they forget that the best source 
of new business comes from happy, satisfied 
customers (stakeholders) who give you great word 
of mouth.

 From my experience, digital marketing is the 
most successful when you focus on your current 
customers and stakeholders. Send a monthly. 
Update them on what’s new in your business, 
any changes to your hours during holidays, 
community events you are participating in and 
any new products or services that might interest 
them. Remember to also listen and engage with 
the content your stakeholders share on-line. 

 

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 


LIFE LINES by Amanda Rogers

Have you ever gotten the feeling that someone is 
waiting for you to die? And I’m not talking about 
an angry spouse who seems obsessed with where 
you keep the life insurance policy. I’m referring 
more to an over-zealous, impatient new soul who 
desperately wants it to be their turn.

 Their turn at what? At life, of course.

 They’re waiting while I struggle at night, in bed, 
with my existential need to ask why. “Why am I 
here? Why does any of this matter? Why can’t my 
greater purpose be revealed to me?” Then, I settle 
down for my cozy eight-hour coma. And when I 
lay my head on the pillow and close my eyes, this is 
the image I see behind my still pulsating lids…

 The image: a mob of people at the starting line of 
a big race. Fanfare. This is what happens:

 I’m running what I think is a marathon. I’m 
keeping a decent pace but I’m feeling, quite frankly, 
a bit bored by the whole event. I’ve been running for 
a while and I’m noticing less and less the majestic 
mountains in front of me and more and more the 
dusty earth choking my lungs and getting my new 
Nike Lunar Chenchukkas dirty. All of a sudden 
I get the strange feeling that I’m being watched. I 
look over my shoulder… and there they are.

 Same image…the mob of people waiting at the 
starting area. They are on their mark, anticipating 
with great excitement, the resounding gunshot 
that will catapult them forward. This time I view 
them less as people and more like souls…souls 
with sneakers on. They mean no evil; they’re not 
rooting for my demise. They’re just…ready. They’re 
itching to get their turn. And I consider the idea 
that I must have been one of them once.

 Their enthusiasm and envious longing to get 
in the race seems to at first inspire anger in me. 
This anger soon clearly defines itself as a cynical, 
embittered antagonism. I want to tell them, 
“Calm down for God’s sake…it’s not what you 
think. Your overblown expectations are a clear 
sign of your newbie ignorance. You have no idea 
what it’s like on this track…the obstacles that 
keep getting in the way. It’s dangerous out here!” 
They envy my present and the truth, is I envy their 
future.

 Their presence and the pressure of them 
watching and waiting is having a profound effect 
on me. I tell myself, “One of those souls is waiting 
specifically for me to finish this race. Who exactly 
in that crowd is my successor? Which one of them 
is waiting for me to die?”

 I turn my head away from them and try to focus 
on the path in front of me. My eyes start to make 
out the view of the mountains again but this time 
in much more detail and with greater focus. The 
earth I kick up no longer chokes me but provides 
comfort with its familiar smell and taste. I start 
picking up my pace. Not too much. I don’t want to 
go too fast and miss anything. I take a deep breath 
and leap over a fallen branch that’s in my path. 
I’m back on track, so to speak. I can still feel their 
energy behind me but it no longer unnerves me. 
Instead, it gives me a feeling of privilege and pride; 
an appreciation for all the moments that add up to 
“my turn.” And as I jog on, I’m conscious of the 
fact that what I have, this life, will one day end so 
that some new eager soul can get their shot at it.

 I open my eyes and look at the clock. It’s seven 
forty-five. I get out of bed; put on my sneakers; and 
head outside in search of a mountain.