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Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, December 1, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||
B2 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS Mountain Views-News Saturday, December 1, 2018 Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett HOW TO INCLUDE YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS IN YOUR ESTATE PLAN Today, estate planning encompasses not just tangible property like finances and real estate, but also digital assets like cryptocurrency, blogs, and social media. With so much of our lives now lived online, it’s vital you put the proper estate planning provisions in place to ensure your digital assets are effectively protected and passed on in the event of your incapacity or death. Last week I discussed some of the most common types of digital assets and the legal landscape surrounding them. Here, I offer some practical tips to ensure all your digital property is effectively incorporated into your estate plan. Best practices for including digital assets in your estate plan If you’re like most people, you probably own numerous digital assets, some of which likely have significant monetary and/or sentimental value. Other types of online property may have no value for anyone other than yourself or be something you’d prefer your family and friends not access or inherit. To ensure all your digital assets are accounted for, managed, and passed on in exactly the way you want, you should take the following steps: 1. Create an inventory: Start by creating a list of all your digital assets, including the related login information and passwords. Password management apps such as LastPass can help simplify this effort. From there, store the list in a secure location, and provide detailed instructions to your fiduciary about how to access it and get into the accounts. Just like money you’ve hidden in a safe, if no one knows where it is or how to unlock it, these assets will likely be lost forever. 2. Add your digital assets to your estate plan: Include specific instructions in your will, trust, and/or other estate planning documents about the heir(s) you want to inherit each asset, along with how you’d like the accounts managed in the future, if that’s an option. Some assets might be of no value to your family or be something you don’t want them to access, so you should specify that those accounts and files be closed and/or deleted by your fiduciary. Do NOT provide the specific account info, logins, or passwords in your estate planning documents, which can be easily read by others. This is especially true for wills, which become public record upon your death. Keep this information stored in a secure place, and let your fiduciary know how to find and use it. 3. Limit access: In your plan, you should also include instructions for your fiduciary about what level of access you want him or her to have. For example, do you want your executor to be able to read all your emails and social media posts before deleting them or passing them on to your heirs? If there are any assets you want to limit access to, we can help you include the necessary terms in your plan to ensure your privacy is honored. 4. Check service providers’ access-authorization tools: Carefully review the terms and conditions for your online accounts. Some service providers like Google, Facebook, and Instagram have tools in place that allow you to easily designate access to others in the event of your death. If such a function is offered, use it to document who you want to have access to these accounts. Truly comprehensive estate planning With technology rapidly evolving, it’s critical that your estate planning strategies evolve at the same time to adapt to this changing environment. That’s why your estate plan should include not only your physical wealth and property, but all your digital assets, too. Dedicated to empowering your family, building your wealth and defining your legacy, A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission to help parents protect what they love most. His office is located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of love and financial security for your family by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more information. Churchill: Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts “Unarguably the best single-volume biography of Churchill . . . A brilliant feat of storytelling, monumental in scope, yet put together with tenderness for a man who had always believed that he would be Britain’s savior.” — Wall Street Journal.In this landmark biography of Winston Churchill based on extensive new material, the true genius of the man, statesman and leader can finally be fully seen and understood--by the bestselling, award- winning author of Napoleon and The Storm of War. A perfect holiday gift. When we seek an example of great leaders with unalloyed courage, the person who comes to mind is Winston Churchill: the iconic, visionary war leader immune from the consensus of the day, who stood firmly for his beliefs when everyone doubted him. But how did young Winston become Churchill? What gave him the strength to take on the superior force of Nazi Germany when bombs rained on London and so many others had caved? In Churchill, Andrew Roberts gives readers the full and definitive Winston Churchill, from birth to lasting legacy, as personally revealing as it is compulsively readable. Roberts gained exclusive access to extensive new material: transcripts of War Cabinet meetings, diaries, letters and unpublished memoirs from Churchill’s contemporaries. The Royal Family permitted Roberts--in a first for a Churchill biographer--to read the detailed notes taken by King George VI in his diary after his weekly meetings with Churchill during World War II. This treasure trove of access allows Roberts to understand the man in revelatory new ways, and to identify the hidden forces fueling Churchill’s legendary drive.We think of Churchill as a hero who saved civilization from the evils of Nazism and warned of the grave crimes of Soviet communism, but Roberts’s masterwork reveals that he has as much to teach us about the challenges leaders face today- -and the fundamental values of courage, tenacity, leadership and moral conviction. Awakening to Infinite Presence: The Clarity of Self-Realization by Robert Wolfe The deeply-felt recognition that the Absolute is all that is, and consequently that must include you, is the life- changing substance of enlightenment. All things are That, you as well as all other human beings: there is only That, in the sense of ultimate, permanent reality. How, then, does one live one’s life when the present awareness is “I am That, and all else is That”; when the perception of being a “separate individual” has dissolved, and the ego (Latin for “I”) is no longer at the center of one’s perspective? “Real-i-zation” (the “enlightenment” the aspirant has sought) means “to make real”. How do we make the real—the essence of timeless reality—the central expression of the Absolute perspective we have now discovered to be inevitably our own? To “make real” in one’s life and activities the awareness that “all that is, is That” is unavoidably a life-altering engagement. Are you prepared to “live” with this discovery today? An Innocent Client (Joe Dillard Series Book 1) by Scott Pratt A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.In this bestselling debut, criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he’s tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can’t resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer’s, but Dillard’s commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him.Smart and sophisticated, with a plot twist that will leave you shaking your head in wonder, “An Innocent Client” -- the first in the acclaimed Joe Dillard series -- will also leave you begging for more.The 3 reviews are from Amazon.Com All Things By Jeff Brown WHY TRUMP SHOULD BE PRIMARIED! The Week /Michael Gerson, Washington Post Any Republican thinking about challenging President Trump in the 2020 primaries would take on a “difficult, and perhaps thankless, political task,” said Michael Gerson. History has shown that it’s almost impossible to topple a sitting president of your own party. Trump is not the usual president, however; he is “a person of horrible character who corrupts everyone around him, undermines essential social standards, and is branding his party with an image of bigotry that will last a generation.” Sadly, most Republicans prefer to overlook this president’s disgraceful, corrupting behavior because he’s given them corporate tax cuts and appointed a slew of conservative judges, including two to the U.S. Supreme Court. When they think the alternative to Trump is a Democrat, “not many Republicans place that much weight on matters of character.” But if a decent, solid Republican such as Bob Corker, Nikki Haley, or Mitt Romney ran, Republicans could have both conservative policy and character. Despite the long odds of success, someone on the Right must step forward, as a principled protest against Trump’s cruelty, racism, and corruption, and to prove that traditional conservatism is not dead. Someone has to fight for the soul of the Republican Party. HEALTHY LIFESTYLES YOGIC WISDOM - YOU GUESSED IT Looking for a way to rejuvenate and nourish your entire being? You guessed it, Love is the answer. Love is the essential ingredient to thriving in the world. It’s how we maintain life force energy, Prana. Without sufficient love, functioning in the world is hard and discontent is likely. Feeling loved and being able to show love fosters a sense of stability and nurturance. It serves as an underlying foundation from which we operate in the world and do our work. It also supports vitality and life force energy. Without this support, energy can be petered away. It can dissipate through worry or activity. Have you ever tried to “handle” everything on your own? It can be physically and mentally draining. And once that feeling of being drained is there, it can be hard to replenish fully. Feeling a sense of love does come from performing acts of self-care. Ancient teachings encourage us to take care of our bodies as well as our minds. Yoga, of course is such a powerful combo for cultivating self love and acceptance. But there are other potent tools as well. Self massage with warm oil is one of the best self-esteem building loving acts one can take. Eating foods rich in nutrients and healthy oils is another way. You may just go ahead and eat that piece of pie that your loved one made from scratch. It has love in its essence because they made it that way. Giving love to others through encouragement, support and service is an essential way to truly build love within. Service is so wonderful because it also cultivates compassion and gives the one performing it a sense of purpose. This is helping others without recompense. Of course, this should be done keeping one’s own responsibilities and energy level in mind. These others can absolutely be your fur babies as well. Recall, if you will, the sense of joy and satisfaction you have gotten from helping others. It’s important to remember this in deciding when to accept support and help from others. If you need the help, accept it. Don’t deprive them of that great feeling you have experienced. They are just building love. All of this is important during the holidays and times when you may be feeling low. Consider how love can come into your field of awareness and take a few good actions. Namaste, Keely Totten E-RYT 500, Yoga & Meditation Teacher In Support of Love www.keelytotten.com THE MISSING PAGE Real Life Tips from LIfe's Instruction Manual RELAX YOUR FIRST, OPEN YOUR HAND Are you someone that's a fighter? When you have a goal, do you attack it, ready for battle? Sometimes getting to the next phase will require you to try a different approach. Most of us have heard the first two rules of Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The third rule is equally important: The third rule of Fight Club: Someone yells "Stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. It's good to know when the fight is over, right? Would it be okay with you for life to get easier? As a trial lawyer, everything was a battle. I was always ready for the fight. I used to expect things to be hard, but I knew I could handle what came my way. But the truth is that fighting all the time is hard and exhausting. The fact is that not everything requires a battle and a fight. I had to learn to open my hand. I had to learn to ask for help. I relaxed my fist and opened my hand. When we want something more and feel ready, we don't always know how to start or what to do. That's when it's good to open your hand and make success welcome. Sometimes you need to turn up the volume on how much success you allow yourself to have in your life. Success is your ability to translate your hidden desires into your lived reality. One of the most important things you can do to allow more success in your life is to create a structure of support. We need to be aware of the way we think about ourselves. Our lives are a reflection of what we ultimately believe about ourselves. Our self-image determines how much success in health, relationships, career, and money we will allow in our lives. When we have a brand new, baby dream, we have to be careful who we tell that dream. That's rule one and two of fight club. But eventually, rule three will come into play. We will need to open our hand and tap out. That's when we decide to discuss our dream with discernment. You need somebody who believes in you at times when it’s hard to believe in yourself. That's why people work with a coach/mentor. The coach can hold the vision when it gets hard, and it will get hard because you are doing something that you have never done before. I love using and teaching a more relaxed approach to life. I help my clients get what they want. I help them discover their next chapter. Some want improved relationships. Some want to start something new. Some find the things that they want to stop doing. Everyone benefits from opening their hands and opening their eyes. What will you discover about yourself when you give up the fight and make easy welcome? Lori A Harris is a lawyer and coach. You can learn more about her at her website www.loriaharris.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 | ||||||||||||||||||||