Coming up on this edition of Judica County Radio, we really don't know. Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, your host, managing partner, Whitaker and Hamer law firm practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. And I'm Morgan Patrick. It's going to be, well, we're going to talk about the heat. Yeah, that's out there.
Sauce wars, some fishing, and a little bit of estate planning can go a long way. That's all coming up next on Judica County Radio. Whitaker and Hamer present Judica County. with Joshua Whitaker and Joseph Hayman. Welcome into Judica County Radio, your host, Josh Whitaker, Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer law firm, and they are practicing attorneys here in our great state of North Carolina.
They have placed offices convenient for you in Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuque Verena, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick. Each and every week, we get into some legal topics. We also open up some consults, complimentary consults, in and around estate planning, and that's appropriate for today because that's going to be a deep dive on the show. But as we always do, we kind of start off somewhere out there, Josh.
And let's just check in. We haven't talked in a couple of weeks. How have you guys been? Anything in particular? And of course, you're going to take this off into a whole different direction.
Well, we did have a couple of weeks off, so it's good to be back with everybody. It's good to all get a chance to sit down together. It's too hot, man. It's uh I like it hot. If you're around water, I mean it's a perfect temperature to be at the lake or be at the beach, but if you have to be at work, or you have to be anywhere else.
It's just too hot. I know that's a radical statement. I concur. Ah. I can agree, man.
I think Joe passed out. It's so hot. Yeah, it's a little warm. I am a larger human being, and when you've got a lot more meat on your bones, as they say, the heat is not kind to you. It's especially unkind to me personally.
And, uh,. But, you know. And then we've got like we've got the pool, right? And so normally you could take a refreshing dip in the pool, but when we have these. Earth-scorching temperatures, man.
It's like a bathtub out there.
So it's like you can't, there's no real solace. Jumping in the pool, you know? But uh We got in the sun shining for the very most part, right? That's good. That's good.
That's good. Your body needs that, the vitamin D. I got into. I got in the lake and the lake The lake was so, it was. I can't remember the lake being this warm.
So, anyway, that was my first thing. I don't know how you guys feel. This is too hot to not live. If you live at the beach, this is great. If you're at the lake, fantastic.
If you're in your pool, That's awesome.
Well, it's still hot. It's still hot at the beach, man. Does it just feel better because you're super hot in the water? You got the breeze there. Is that what it is?
Yeah, man. Yeah, you do have the breeze. I forgot about the breeze. I always forget about the breeze, man. Thank you for reminding me.
So, Josh, you're at the lake and you jump in, and it's like a warm bath. It's just not a relief.
Well, it's better than being here in the office. Right. It was going to be like 98. And we made you turn your fan off, too. It's a behind the scenes.
The fans are too loud.
So we had to turn it off.
So you're just going to be slowly melting into nothing as the show goes on, like butter. I like that idea. I'm going to have to start carrying my sweat towel with me over my shoulder wherever I go, you know? Just always have a sweat towel. Anyways, man, I think that who was the college coach that always had the sweat towel?
Jerry Tarkanian. Tarkanian. Yeah, you and that was right. He would chew on it anyway. He was a Tarkanian-type vibe.
He would chew on the towel, which would be intimidating if you're in court, and then just use the towel to kind of pat the top of his head. Tark the shark. Yeah. I think that's you too. I think you walk into your consults and to court and you just have a sweat towel.
And people, when you have a sweat towel, people know you mean business, man. That's right. You're coming to play. You don't have a sweat towel, aren't you? They're not playing games.
Yeah, they're coming to, they mean business, man. When I was a younger man, that's more valuable than like a nice suit, man. Just throwing the towel over your shoulder, I think. When I was a younger man, we high school, college age, like, we would never go eat at a restaurant that wasn't a buffet. Right, like if we were going to go eat at a restaurant, it was going to be a buffet, and I feel like there used to be more buffets.
I think COVID killed all the buffets, but we would only eat it. Oh, yeah, killed it. Yeah, we would only eat a buffet. What a tragedy, man. What an unspoken tragedy of the COVID epidemic.
We became really aware of germs. And if you go to a buffet or if there's one still existing and you watch people around the buffet, you're not going to want to eat that stuff. I would eat a buffet 24/7. You know, some people say that the germs are good for you, you know, and the germs are. A positive thing, and they build your immune system.
You're building your immune system. Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
Well, you still got Golden Corral. Golden Corral is still. with us. But I think most of the other buff face guys. Yeah, and and Golden Corral, GC, they're they're dwindling.
I don't know how many more restaurants they have, but yeah, that the COVID abs absolutely crushed that that franchise. You know what? You know what the best thing is at Golden Corral, don't you? It's the it's the delicious Perfect. Always perfect yeast rolls that they have, man.
That's the number one thing. It's a consensus around America. Everyone loves those rolls at Golden Corral. There's no limit to the number of those I can eat, man. I don't know what it is.
It's like magic.
So, Joe, let's get back to your size and the fact that you're so big. Yeah, I'm trying to get, I'm trying to, I'm working on that. I'm trying to get on getting bigger. Yeast rolls. Yeast rolls.
When we're filming this, I want my head to take in my body just the whole screen, man. I just want you to see my eyeballs and my nose. Oh, your beard's doing a nice job, man. You got some thickness there. Yeah.
My barber's, he goes on a lot of vacations, so it's tough to get. He's in high demand. I'm actually going later today. If you guys would have called me later today, you'd say, wow. I'll be fresh.
So he looks decent actually. The point of my buffet story was I had a I had a buddy, and every time we'd go to the buffet, he would dress like he was gonna go play football. He'd have like the cut off sleeves. Yeah. He'd be in like basketball shorts and he'd have his sweats.
He's gonna work out. And he would sweat. Like he would just be wiping his head and he would just sweat. And so. I tell the kids now when we go to a buffet, you gotta have your sweat towel, you gotta be ready.
You gotta be ready to go. I like thinking about that guy going to the doctor. And the doctor asking him if he if he if you ever you do you ever exercise he's like I go to the buffet a couple times a week or multiple trips so it's up and back count your steps he's sprinting to the sprint back and forth doing wind sprints when I take my boys to the golden corral I try to time it like it'll be like a Saturday and I'll try to go at like three so they can get lunch and dinner in you know just really pack it in get two meals That works out a lot. How's your sweat towel buffet buddy doing these days, man? How's his health holding up, man?
He's passing. He seems like a dangerous thing. He didn't make it. He didn't make it. God.
Yeah, he passed away. Not 'cause of that. Just stop this. Oh, you don't think that's a connection? No, I don't think there's any connection.
I don't think there's any connection at all. Yeah, yeah. It's a guy.
Well, I mean, it's kind of a side side. How was your fourth, Josh? Fourth was yeah, sure. It doesn't sound like a happy story, man. Like, what are you talking about?
Of course, it's sad. God. Yeah, ratings right here. You're gonna go into this? The fourth was good, man.
We were at the last. Tell about the fourth. How was it? Did you celebrate America's independence appropriately? No.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, we had some fireworks, we watched, and saw family and friends, and so that's a pretty good. I argue July 4th is the best holiday. out of all the holidays. It's a good idea.
Not as a kid. It is a good idea. As a kid, it's hard to beat Christmas, but I think as an adult. July fourth is is the best. Right.
It's a good time. Yeah, there's probably better holidays, honestly, man. I'm not going to argue with you on that, but it's a good one. It's a really good one. Mm-hmm.
You know, it's a great one. We did. My kid likes the fireworks, and he really wanted to go. He really wanted to go and uh Get some more. He wanted to get some fancier fireworks, which are not legal in this state.
So I was like, son, that's against the law. I told him, I grounded him for even asking. But, you know. We got a lot of the more ground-based fireworks, man. And I think if you just get like two feet away from those, they're way better than the bigger ones, man.
The Chloe, if you power up on those things. No. No. They're pretty terrible. Yeah, you just got to get like, you got to get dangerously close to them.
Yeah. No, you got to go to South Carolina, you got to go to Tennessee, and you got to basically buy dynamite. Look, man, they pay ground-based farming. You got to be really careful. Colonel have kept up with the ground-based.
They're showers of sparks. What do you call them? They're called showers of sparks. No, it's called weak. It's called weak fireworks.
I'm with you. And I use North Carolina licensed, ground-based, weak. Fireworks. The fireworks scientists have made great strides. Light and smoke.
I don't know, man. I think you guys are sleeping on them. I think you go buy about $800 worth of them. You set off like seven at a time, and you'll be like, wow, this is incredible, man. And I guess they're not serious.
And we need to throw in a disclaimer that if you are going to set off fireworks, you need to do it in a safe manner. We're having fun with the dynamite comment. But I mean, if you go to South Carolina and Tennessee, I mean, you've got to be careful because that stuff is amped up. Yeah, it's not good for you if you're too close to it.
So you just get just close enough. This always gets me back to my libertarian roots, though, where. We're all grown-ups. If we want real fireworks, we should be able to go purchase real fireworks, right? Like, why stop?
Why stop? I don't disagree with that necessarily, man. I think all that stuff should be the few special folks in the bunch who The legislature knows. Can't Can't make those adult decisions appropriately, Josh. And they're ruining the fun for the rest of us, man.
You know the back it up Terry guy? You know that? Yeah, of course, man, a national hero. A patriotic person. It's the it's it's the guy he's in a mm.
It's a guy in a wheelchair. He's in a wheelchair, and they light these fireworks. And he can't get out of the way in time, and there's his family's trying to yell at him to get out of the way. Ends up being funny. It doesn't sound funny.
Back it up, Terry. Back it up. Wait, it doesn't sound funny. How do you? Anyway, I don't know how you hadn't seen that, Morgan.
Cause it's anyway, they showed this clip. I saw this clip. Are you even an American Morgan? From his hometown, they had a July 4th parade, and he was like the Santa Claus in the July 4th parade. He had his own float, and he was at the back waving to people.
And that made me happy. Wow.
Okay.
Well. His moment of celebrity. We need our own Terry locally to. Agile. I don't know if either one of you guys want to volunteer to set off some fireworks too close to your mobile scooter, but if so, you know.
Yeah. Get on that.
Well, today on the show, we got some other things to talk about. But what I was going to do, Morgan, me and Joe, we were going to talk about estate planning at different stages. I sat down with some folks the other day who were middle-aged, had children who were getting to college age. And so we were sitting down and we were having an estate planning consult and talking about what they needed. In that same consult, they asked about their child who was about to go to college and what the need was estate planning-wise for their child.
And then, in that same consult, we started talking about their parents who were up in their 70s, right? You know, a little older than they were. And so, in that same consult, we talked about estate planning for like a brand new adult, 18 to 25. We talked about estate planning for a middle-aged couple with children that are just becoming adults. And we talked about estate planning for folks kind of in that older bracket who may be retired, you know, on that side of things.
And it was an interesting discussion to have all three of those in one consult and kind of talk about, because you need different things. It's just like investing. It's just like life insurance. Different age groups have different priorities and different things they're planning for. And so, what I thought we would do today is take, you know, Three segments of the show.
And talk about estate planning needs for each one of these age groups because they're not, there's overlap for sure, but they're not the same and we focus on different things.
So we've got consults, it's all about estate planning. We're going to hit these different stages, but if you've got questions, you can always grab one of these consults, call 919-77270000. That's 919-7727000, and leave a quick message. Hey, I'd like one of the complimentary consults on estate planning. You can also go to the website wh.lawyer.
That's wh.lawyer. Again, 919-7727000. Or you can go to the website wh.lawyer and ask for one of those complimentary consults on estate planning. We've got more Judica County Radio coming up on the other side. Welcome back in to Judica County Radio.
Your hosts are Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer. They're the managing partners at Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, the power behind this program, and they are practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. They've placed offices all over the place: Moorhead City down at the coast, Gastonia down near Charlotte, Fuquay Verena, Goldsboro, Clayton, Garner, Cleveland, and right here in the capital city, Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm Morgan Patrick. My pleasure to go back and forth with the attorneys.
And it's always about legalese. We are going to dive deep on estate planning today for the college student early on, also new parents, kind of midlife. And then, what about estate planning for the retiree? That's all coming up on the program. And we also give you an opportunity for a complimentary consult and Looky looky, it's on estate planning.
All you've got to do is call 919-772-7000 and ask for one of those. Again, complimentary, there's no price tag on that. 919-772-7000, and there's no obligation to become a client. You can also check out the website wh.lawyer. That's wh.lawyer.
It's a great resource for you. And if you've got a question you'd like us to tackle on a future Judica County, send it to us. Questions at judicacounty radio.com. That's questions at judicacountyradio.com. Josh?
Yeah, so one of the things we wanted to do today is talk about estate planning. We talk about estate planning a lot on the show, we do a lot of estate planning. Firm wide here in North Carolina. And um Just like if you go talk to your investment advisor or your life insurance guy. At different stages of life, you're going to need different things in place.
And, and, um, You know, I've had a few conversations with folks who, you know, it's the summertime, there's a bunch of kids getting ready to go to. to college. Um And even the ones that aren't going to college are kind of stepping out and kind of doing more things away from the home. I feel like. Our kids' generation, so the generation that's coming up now.
I feel like Their parents Do more for them than maybe our parents did for us. Coming up, you know what I'm saying? Does that make sense? Are you just saying that because you're the parent in this scenario? I'm sure that's yeah, I do a lot for my kids, you know.
But you know, I feel like there's a lot of kids out there who are maybe getting ready to go to college but their parents are still making their doctor's appointments, right? They're still maybe helping them out money-wise, you know, things like that. Sure, I could say sure, man. I'll say yes. I agree with your premise.
Thank you. I appreciate it. Um,. But there's things that parents are used to doing for their kids that as soon as they turn 18, they can no longer. Do.
Right. So, you know, when your kids are under 18, you're making their eye doctor appointments, getting them to the dentist, helping them with, you know, DMV title, you know, issues, helping them pay things off, helping them maybe with their Financial aid, doing stuff with their bank accounts. Like, there's a lot of stuff that parents do for their kids. And then, as soon as those kids are 18, well, you really. Can't do that anymore without the proper documentation.
And I think it's important also, it's important. to highlight the fact that, you know 18, there's a legal distinction between a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, but practically, you know, there's a lot of 18-year-olds out there that. Ain't that different from when they were 17 years old and aren't necessarily. Fully mature and fully capable. And there's some great ones, too, right?
But. I think to your point, man, there's a lot of those 18-year-olds that the parents are still going to have to. And want to keep a lot of active involvement and do a lot of the things that you're talking about that. Otherwise they they they can't do because of that that legal distinction. And the other side of that coin, Joseph, is that most 18-year-olds don't.
own anything. If they were an 18 year old like I was an 18 year old, they have an old car. And maybe a couple hundred bucks in a bank account, but they don't have. They don't have a lot of assets, right? And that usually is important in estate planning: we talk to you about your assets and where you want your assets to go.
And of course, most 18-year-olds don't have assets. Assets, they don't have kids, they're not worried about that part of estate planning. And so, when we talk to a college-aged adult, we're more worried about just making sure their parents, their guardians can still help them out and they have a very, very basic estate plan for where things are to go if they were to pass away. Because I have seen that, unfortunately, at the firm, we've been doing this for over 20 years, so I have been involved when young. People unfortunately pass away, they're still in a state to clear up.
You know, there's still debts and credit cards and leases and car loans, and there's things that have to be. dealt with. Right, so having a will in place, even a very basic will, even if everything's going back to the parents. Um something something very Basic in place. And so the big things, Joe.
And you can speak to this, but the big thing to show are going to be. College-age kid is going to want a college-aged adult is going to want powers of attorneys in place. Yeah, and that's the big one, man. Like you said, there's a chance that there's going to be in the unfortunate, tragic situation where your college-age kids passed away. You know, you may have to administer an estate, probate a will.
There could be assets or debts that you have to deal with. But the thing that virtually everyone. Could potentially have need for is going to be that POA piece, Josh. And you talked about scheduling appointments, you know, dealing with their bank accounts, everything like that. You know, if you set up an account for your kid and you're a signatory on it and you've got authority to access their account, then you're, in theory, you're all good.
You know, you wouldn't necessarily have need for that POA. But in the event that it's just your kid's account, there's going to come a point where the bank's going to stop talking to you. You're not going to be able to get information. And in the absence of that POA, you're kind of stuck, right? And it just makes everything a whole lot more difficult and tricky to deal with, especially if you've got kids that are out of state for college or far away and their account's local.
So. Same thing with health care. Any kind of health care situation where you need to request an appointment, request information, if you're trying to help with those types of things, once they hit eighteen, if you don't have something in place that shows your authority to to have those conversations and to deal with those things, then It's a tricky situation, man.
So it's it's a very You touched on it, right? Like, we're not talking about the most robust, complex. Incredibly deep estate plan for folks that are college-age, but having something in place can save you so much headache. It can be so much more efficient, and it can just make life so much easier for everybody involved in the event that you need it. And maybe you never need it, but if you do, Having that in place is going to make your life infinitely easier in that situation.
Yeah, definitely a general power of attorney so you can handle the college students. You can help them with their. Their finances. Have access to their accounts, healthcare power of attorney, so you can help them get appointments made, medical records, prescriptions to the extent they want your help. And then, yeah, a very simple will.
So, you have something in place there, too. But that is the estate plan, you know, and we, you know, we run into young adults who do have a lot of stuff, right?
So, you can run into a young adult who's already bought a house, already bought a condo, you know, is getting, maybe they're getting property in the, maybe they're the beneficiary of a trust and they're getting some family assets transferred to them.
So, you definitely meet college-aged kids that need more than that. Um College days Josh Whitaker didn't need more than that. Right, but there are college kids out there who may have assets that we need to talk about too. But yeah, the basics. Your your college age Child, you'd want them to have a healthcare power of attorney, a power of attorney, and a will.
And that's a good basic estate plan. And then they can build on that in the next stage of life, which is when. Kids come along, or a partner or spouse comes along. And that's kind of what we're going to hit up in the next segment. We're going to talk about that stage of life and how estate planning needs change.
Uh as you age. Look, man, I I met college age Josh Whitaker, and you gotta you're not giving that guy enough credit, man. Maybe he didn't have assets. Maybe he didn't have the lake house and two hundred inner tubes to float and smoke cigars in. But uh He was a pretty mature kid, man.
I remember that. Yeah. That's good. That's good to know. Yeah.
All right, Judica County Radio, you are listening, and we thank you for that. Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer are your hosts. They're the managing partners at Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm. Of course, the power behind the program. They are practicing attorneys here in North Carolina.
Offices in Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuque Verina, Gastonia, and down at the coast at Moorhead City. We have complimentary consults in and around estate planning. All you've got to do to grab one is call 919-772-7000. That's 919-772-7000. You can also visit the website wh.lawyer.
That's wh.lawyer. And you can request one of those complimentary consults. If you've got any questions about estate planning, and maybe you're in one of the three stages we're talking about today. Maybe you're young, you're that college student or freshly out of college. Maybe you're a new parent and you're in that midlife area or you're approaching retirement.
And what should you have for estate planning as a retiree? We're going to get to that coming up on the program. But remember, it's always about helping. It's Judica County Radio, powered by Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm. We're back right after this.
Judica County Radio, your host, Josh Whitaker, Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm. They're practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. Website, great resource, w.lawyer. That's wh.lawyer. Check it out.
Office is located, Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsborough, Fuqua Verina, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick, and I just kind of ride herd on this show. And we're getting into all kinds of topics. We're focusing in on estate planning this week. We've talked about the younger person, the college-age student.
Maybe you're just out, and estate planning is very, very important. Maybe to get started on it, doesn't have to be too intricate. But now we're going to get to this next one, Josh, and that is your new parents. You're in that mid-area when it comes to life, estate planning for this group. Yeah, so You know, we talked about the college-aged per the young adult, the college-aged child, whatever you want to.
Um what however you want to say it. But you know, the next the next stage where you need some estate planning. Help or guidance is kind of when you reach that. new new parent age, you know. 21 to 25.
You know 35, 40, whenever you start having children, when you get married, when you buy a house, these are all events that usually necessitate some thought towards estate planning because now you're at an age where you're taking care of someone else. And so your estate plan needs to reflect that. And you also have, hopefully, right? Hopefully, you have more assets than you had when you were 18. You know, if everything is going well, like you said, you've acquired a home, you have some investments, you have, you know, you have things like that.
And so, this is the time period where you're trying to take care of the next generation or at least start making preparations for that. And, Joe, Um a lot of people get hung up. you know on Who the guardian of their underage children would be if something happened to both them and their spouse?
So we talk a lot to folks about. That, right? Yeah, and so now we're entering the more traditional estate planning realm, and we talk. we for better or for worse, we're very passionate about it. We talk a lot about a state planning, and we do that because every single person listening to this show is going to die.
No offense to anybody, but that's a harsh reality of life.
So everyone's going to have need for that.
So that's why it's something that that's so That we Hamer on, and it's very important because everybody needs an estate plan. And so, when we talk about this, you're leaving things to the next generation. This gets in the more traditional realm of what we talk about, right? Because that's what most folks think about when they think about an estate plan: who am I going to leave things to? And when you've got minor kids, Josh, you touched on it.
It's if you and your partner, your spouse, your co-parent, whatever they may be, if both of you guys pass, which is unfortunately a thing that can happen, who's going to take care of the kids? And you said it, man. A lot of folks get hung up on it, and a lot of folks really struggle making that choice. And it's not an easy choice. We can't make it any easier for anybody.
And we can't. We can give you some guidance and tell you some things to think about from our experience. But at the end of the day, it's a decision that the individual has to make. But what I can tell you is, and I tell folks this all the time when they're really hung up on this and they can't really Hamer down a decision, you don't want to let that decision prevent you, one, from moving forward with your estate plan in general. You don't want to let that one thing put the brakes on the entire process.
And two, whether you dictate who's going to be the guardian of your kids when you pass or not, If you both pass, that's going to be an issue that has to be solved.
So would you rather have zero say in the matter and let that be something that's purely dictated by statute and by the courts? Or would you rather have some control and some guidance from what you know about the people that are in the picture to make that decision yourself? And 100% of the time, the better solution is going to be you having the ability to make that decision yourself and being able to give some input.
So it doesn't just magically go away if you don't deal with it. You have to deal with that because, again, if something happens to you and your partner or whoever's helping you with the kids, or if you're a single parent and something happens to you, that's going to be an issue that has to be solved whether you like it or not.
So you retaining some of that control and being able to make that decision is always going to be the better situation, even if it's a tough decision to make.
So that, that, that, that takes up a lot of people's time. You know, I know for me personally, I always tell people in these consults, you know, I was, uh, I passed the bar in 03 and It's still in powers. Yeah, it still took me five or six years to actually do my own estate plan, my own initial estate plan. And that's crazy to me because I didn't have to pay anybody for it, right? There were no charges involved.
I just did it. I didn't have to talk to anybody. And it still took me a long time. And part of that was me and my wife struggled. With that, like who would who would take care of our kids if something happened to both of us?
But um You know, that does happen, right? That does happen where a child loses both of his parents at or about the same time. Don't happen very often. It's not something that should hold you up for too long because the chances of that actually come into fruition this tough. But that holds up a lot of people.
And there are other things to do, right? You know, this is when we start, this is the point in your estate plan where we start talking to you about setting up a revocable. Living trust. And start talking about moving your assets, or as you get new assets, having them in the trust. You know, me and Joe talk about revocable living trust all the time and how they will survive you.
We're all going to die. The trust will survive you, it'll avoid probate, it'll do a bunch of good things. Um But this is the time period in your life where we're like, okay, let's go ahead and create this. You know, let's get the principal residence in there. Let's get your current real property in there.
If you, you know, we talk about, you know, a bunch of other stuff, but we there's a lot to talk about at this age. And if you get set up right in this age range, you're going to make it a lot easier. Uh, once you're retired, right? Which once you're on the other side of taking care of kids, getting the kids, you know, raised, um, acquiring assets, you know, once you're in that retirement mode. Yeah.
If you've taken care of this at this age group, you know, you're going to have some things taken care of. Yeah, and that's another thing. That's another thing that I touch on with folks, too, and it's a question we get a lot when we sit down with folks, especially younger couples who have younger kids. It almost never fails that they ask the question, you know. If I have another kid, do I need to come back and update this?
And we strongly encourage everybody, and we talk about it all the time, we encourage folks to revisit their estate plan periodically. Always keep an eye on your situation. And there's definitely times where you're going to need to come in and either have a substantive update to your estate plan or an amendment of some sort.
So that's definitely a thing you want to be aware of. But at the same time, We're going to try to future-proof your estate plan as best we can. And there's a chance for a lot of folks that that initial estate plan that you prepare is going to be sufficient forever. Your situation is not going to change in such a way that we ever have to modify anything.
So there's a very good shot that you come in and you get that done, and then that's something that you've put to bed for all time. And again, that's not to say that you don't want to always keep an eye. And we'll tell you what kind of situations to look for to where you may need to come back and look at an update. And we definitely encourage you to review your situation and come see us. Because, again, we'll talk to you about it if we've helped you in the past, and we'll give you that guidance.
A good estate plan is going to be as future-proof as possible to where you can have 15 more children. And it's going to be designed in such a way that unless you have some kind of specific, you know, very specific nuanced way that you want to distribute between those kids, that you may not have to come back in and do an update.
So don't, again, don't, I'm trying to speak on the fact that don't let these little hang-ups and these little concerns that you may have prevent you from getting your foot in the door and getting something in place because having something is better than nothing. And there's a good chance that we can design it and craft it in such a way that it's going to account for those future situations as well. Judica County Radio, we are talking estate planning.
So far today, we've talked about early on in life. You're just out of college. Should you have an estate plan? It's certainly worth looking into and making sure you've got the groundwork there. And then maybe midlife, your new parents, you're halfway through this thing.
Really take a very serious look at estate planning. Make sure you've got one in place, one that can be worked on and changed a little bit here and there, tweaked, revisited, that kind of thing. And now, coming up on the other side, we're going to talk about estate planning for someone a little bit later on in life. Very, very important to have it. If you don't, certainly it's not too late.
The opportunity to grab a consult with Whitaker and Hamer. And these are complimentary. It's ongoing during the course of this show. Here's what you do: you call this number, 919-772-7000. That's 919-772-7000.
And just say, hey, I want one of those complimentary consults. Come in, talk about estate planning. You can also check out the website, leave a message there, wh.lawyer. That's wh.lawyer. Again, wh.lawyer.
We've got more Judica County Radio coming up on the other side. Judica County Radio, your host, Josh Whitaker, Joe Hamer, Managing Partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm. They're practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. They have placed offices almost everywhere: Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuquay Verena, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City for your convenience. It's all about estate planning on this version of the show.
I'm Morgan Patrick. We want to remind you: there are complimentary consults available in and around estate planning.
So maybe you're fresh out of college. You think you're too young for it. You're not. Maybe you've just had that first child or you're in that family mode. Great time to start talking about estate planning.
We talked about that.
Now we are going to get into estate planning for retirees. We want to remind you, though, it's easy to get on. On the calendar with a complimentary consult with Whitaker and Hamer in and around estate planning. Call this number 919-77270000. That's 919-77270000.
Ask for one of the complimentary consults and they will deliver. You can also check the website, wh.lawyer. Josh. All right.
So now, you know, we're going to focus our conversation on this segment with folks who are kind of, you know. Their kids, if they've had kids, their kids are adults. They're on their own. Maybe you've retired or you're about to retire. And so your estate planning needs are a little more immediate, right?
Because the older you get, the older you're getting you're getting closer to well, there's no nice way to say it, right? The older you are, the closer you are to. Dying. The grave. Every second that tips by appreciation.
Yeah. And in this day and age, you know, we talk about, you know, the need for maybe assisted living at the end of life. And, you know, when we start talking to you in this age range, what we're focused on is getting assets. you know, out of your name. Getting things to the next generation in a way where you still have control.
um you know you'll still you still have you know what you need to to live and and um you know if you're you know but that's that's the focus right you've accumulated your assets you you need assets to live on um but we start talking about how do we get these things out of out of your name um You know, and we do a lot of this via Trust Joseph. You know, that's one of the things we do where you're still in control. Um But it's a conversation. And hopefully, you've been working on that your whole life up to that point. Hopefully, you've got everything organized in trust or LLCs or things like that.
And we're just kind of putting the final piece to the puzzle.
Sometimes we're starting from scratch, sometimes we're starting over. But there's a lot to discuss, but that's usually the focus. And you probably see this for Joe. Yeah, so one of the most common questions we get, I sit down with folks and, you know, Just boiling it down to its simplest form. There's really two routes you can go with an estate plan, and that's a will-based estate plan and a trust-based estate plan.
And naturally, the question that we get a lot is: well, which do you recommend? You know, what do you recommend that I do? And I tell folks, as we often do on this show, it depends, right? And so you can accomplish. you can get to the same end point.
With a will and a trust. You know, you can ultimately, if you're just talking about the disposition of your property, who gets what, then you know, there are some, that's an oversimplification. There's things that a trust can do for you that a will can't. But, but If you're just simply talking about, I want this thing to go to this person, this thing to go to this person, you can get to the same place with a will and a trust. Where the biggest distinction that I like to highlight for folks in terms of the benefit of a trust over a will is the added lifetime benefits that a trust can provide.
And you touched on it, Josh. The number one benefit that I can identify, especially for older folks that are reaching that retirement age, is going to be Basically, asset protection, you know, getting things out of your personal name into a trust which is a separate entity. And no one ever anticipates incurring some kind of massive liability. No one anticipates getting sued, having some kind of judgment against them. But unfortunately, the reality is that this happens to a lot of people despite their best intentions and planning and things of that nature.
Putting your property into trust is a surefire way to give you protection against those things. And any kind of liens or judgments that you get against you in your personal name, they aren't going to impact your trust property.
So, you know, you get the, not only do you have the assurance of knowing that whatever you've earmarked for your beneficiaries and the folks you're leaving things to is going to get to those, you also have the added assurance that they're going to be free and clear from these encumbrances that could otherwise get attached to them in the absence of a trust.
So you get a real benefit during your lifetime as well, which is one of the big selling points and the big things that pushes people in the direction of the trust. And you're also, you know, you're also, you know, this is another. We really need to talk to you about your health care power of attorney and then a living will, right? A living will being the document in North Carolina that. you know, decides when people, when you're when you're a fiduciary, when they can withhold medical care.
Right, so the healthcare power of attorney is the document that says, Hey, I want Josh to be in charge of making all my medical decisions. You know, if I'm unable to, the living will allow for you to give me, in this example, me the power to withhold medical treatment in certain situations. Right?
So, the healthcare power of attorney, I can make medical decisions, I can't withhold any care. The living will say if you're in a coma, advanced dementia. Um You know, I could withhold treatment, your fiduciary, your power of attorney. And that's a big thing, man. You know, that's a big thing for a lot of folks because.
You're giving your health care power of attorney to an individual that you trust and you feel good about making those decisions on your behalf, but. There's a lot of situations where, you know, if you feel strongly about certain things, if you feel strongly about not wanting certain things done to you in a situation. That could potentially prolong your life if you have strong, whatever your beliefs are, if you feel strongly about that. Um. Giving all that authority to your healthcare, you can just say, I trust this person to make those decisions on my behalf.
I feel good about it. Maybe that's the case. But These are very difficult situations for folks. And normally, you're going to be putting someone that's one of your loved ones into the position to make those choices on your behalf. And you can tell them all day, hey, I don't want these things done to me in this situation.
But when you get there, when you get in the hospital or whatever you may be, those are tough choices for folks. And, you know, the living will is going to take all of the. The struggle and the conflict and the guesswork out of the equation. And whatever you want done, that's going to be it. That's binding.
And then you don't even saddle that person with having to make those difficult choices or struggle with those decisions on your behalf.
So that's a big thing that we don't touch on a whole lot, but it's also another element of a well-crafted estate plan, especially for folks that are getting up there in age. You're listening to Judica County Radio. Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer are your hosts, managing partner, Whitaker and Hamer law firm, and practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. Quick reminder: we do have complimentary consults available, and all you've got to do is call 919-772-7000. That's 919-772-7000.
You can also visit the website, wh.lawyer. That's wh.lawyer. It's all about estate planning today. We've talked about early on, maybe the college student, the importance of getting started on that estate plan and the reasons why. And then maybe you're that mid-lifer, that new parent.
A lot of things going on in your life, very important, and it can get really, really busy. But have that estate plan, get the process started for you. And then, always, you know, it's never too late. Maybe you're approaching retirement. Make sure your estate plan is in order and your wishes are well known.
Again, get that estate plan. Consult complimentary simply by calling 919-772-7000. That's 919-772-7000. You can also visit the website wh.lawyer. We've got more at Judica County Radio coming up on the other side.
We are back on Judica County Radio, your host, Josh Whitaker, Joe Hamer. They are the managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm. We always say it, the power behind the program. They are practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. Offices everywhere: Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuquay, Verina, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City.
I'm Morgan Patrick. My pleasure jumping on with the attorneys. We're talking estate planning today, early on, midlife, and of course, towards the end. And that would be your retirement. Make sure you have your affairs in order, have that estate plan.
Now, if you don't have one, you're interested, we have complimentary consults with Whitaker and Hamer. All you've got to do is call 919-772-7000. That's 919-772-7000. Say, hey, I'd love one of those complimentary consults on estate. Planning and bingo, you're going to get one.
You can also check the website wh.lawyer. Josh. I had this idea over the weekend, Joseph. I hadn't told you about it, but are you familiar with the show? Hot ones.
Yeah, man. I'm well familiar with the show hot ones. Um So that is uh that is a show. You can only see that on YouTube, right? It's just a YouTube show.
Yeah, it's just a YouTube show, yeah. And it's basically celebrities come on, they sit and they go through a gauntlet of hot wings and they do an interview during that process and they get progressively hotter. And you just see them kind of just melt down slowly as they As they get the spice level increases, it's actually a very entertaining interview format. Yeah, it's uh I've only watched a couple of those, but I like the idea. But I was thinking of a show where you have to, you have these, you're getting interviewed, right?
So it's a celebrity, they're getting interviewed, and you have to mix. Like fast food items, but you have to use other fast food restaurant sauces. Right, right.
So you're you're eating, they'll give you like an Arby's roast beef. But you gotta put Big Mac Thousand Island dressing on it.
Okay.
Or they'll give you like a whopper, but you got to put Chick-fil-A sauce on it.
Okay.
And then that's your different levels.
Okay.
Doesn't seem hard, though. Is it just that some things are gross? Is that what the like what's the yeah, I think you I think you could if you put some more thought into it than I did, I think you could come up with some levels that were just yeah, kind of grody. Um I hate to break it to you, man. I don't think we're going to put any more thought into that.
I think you put that out there, and I think that's going to be the end of. of that thought.
Well, there are ideas over the over that. But the name. I was gonna call it Sauce Wars. That was a pretty good thing. I like the name.
The name is good. Sauce Wars. But we did probably be able to do that. Sauce Wars. I think Sauce Wars would be cooler if you just had celebrities come with water guns and put flame and hot sauce in these water guns and they try to squirt each other in the eyes while they're going.
That sounds like something I'd watch, honestly. I would literally be in tears. I like it. I was listening to a guy, and I can't remember who it was. It was somebody on Twitter or stand-up comedian that I was watching.
But he had said that it should be illegal. To like, let's say, use Arby sauce on anything that doesn't come from Arby's, right? There should be a law saying you can't mix. Um You can't mix sauces. You can't cross sauces.
That means, so to speak. Sauce segregation, basically, is what this means. Yeah, you can't go mixing them up. But I don't know. That's what made me think about it.
That was the best idea I had this weekend, I'm afraid. That was it. I always try to come up with ideas when I'm just sitting around. And that's all I. That's I I that's all I had.
I reached down deep and all I could come up with was Sauce Wars. Sauce Wars. Sauce Wars. Yeah, there's a lot of the name's cool. We could come up with a great theme song for it, but then people are gonna watch it and it's just people eating.
Gross, not even great, man.
Some of that sound, it could be delicious, you know. Who knows?
So, and then you're breaking this Twitter comedian's unwritten laws, man.
So, I don't know that we can do that. I don't think that's the thing. Surely, you had a better idea than that this weekend, man. I did, man. I was thinking weekend.
And I was thinking, you know, on the on my socials, I guess I've watched enough me and my kids, we like to fish. And I've watched enough videos about fishing where all my videos now are people Fishing and then cooking in different ways whatever they catch, right? They catch a catfish, they catch a bass, whatever they catch, they. Cook it immediately and they cook it in different ways. And that's most of my videos now.
But I got to admit something. I'm getting a lot of those videos too, but mine are all like hot, hot girls in bikinis that are fishing. Oh, yeah. You got to. That's two algorithms combining.
What does that mean? Yeah. That's all right, man. That means Josh is only the hairiest of hairy men cooking their fish. You know, we do that.
You know, if we catch something big enough, we'll eat it. And uh so anyway, I thought they were interesting. But You know, they're supposed to be You're supposed to only eat so much fish that you catch, right? From the lake or from the ocean, the mercury concerns. Yeah, yeah.
That's a thing. But what if you just ate it every day? I think it'd be all right. Yeah, maybe mercury is good for you, man. Who knows?
I mean, we can't say, I'm not a doctor. And I think. And we're not pretending to be a doctor. It's probably really bad for you. But.
You know, you're going to have a well-crafted estate plan if it all goes south. That's right. It's just probably worse ways to go than overdosing on delicious fish that you cook in your bikini, honestly. The uh. No, but Morgan, we're we're um You know, our firm, I can't stress this enough.
We do a bunch of estate planning across the state of North Carolina. And if you're a listener of the show and you call in, we're going to get you set up for a free estate planning consult. You know, I tell this to people all the time: we're not, we're not used, you know, we're not used car salesmen. There's nothing wrong with used car salesmen, but we're not using any high-pressure tactics. Uh, you can talk to us for free, and then you can decide you don't want an estate plan, or you know, you, you know, there's going to be no pressure, you're not going to owe us anything.
We'll give you our thoughts after we talk to you and figure out what you have and what you're trying to do. We'll give you our honest legal advice. For free. And then you can take that advice, or if you're not ready yet, you can hold off. And so that's what I really try to tell people.
You know, we meet a lot of folks. We talk to a lot of folks.
Some of them go ahead and get their estate plan done.
Some of them aren't ready, need to think about it more. There's pieces they're not sure about. And that is fine. You can. Meet with us, you can talk to us, and you can leave.
and you don't owe us any money. We've just talked to you and given you what our 20-plus years in the legal profession kind of. Kind of has taught us. But I always want to make that clear to folks, Morgan. I think people think it's there's like a catch.
There's no catch. That's what it is.
Well, and just to reiterate, it's no cost, it's no obligation, as Josh just alluded to.
So you can come in on one of these consults and we call it like a test drive. And if you don't want to do it, there's no obligation. Just because you grab a consult doesn't mean you're becoming a client. But there's a good opportunity to talk about estate planning and whether or not it's a good fit for you. Obviously, we're recommending that you have one no matter what stage of life that you're in.
And if you do take it for a test drive and you decide, you know what, I don't want to work with Whitaker and Hamer, just drop them off at Golden Corral. They'll be okay, right? They'll enjoy. I'll be ready for action. They'll enjoy the buffet.
But it's all about helping. To grab one of these consults, call this number, 919-772-7000.
So you can be early on in. This is right out of college. You could be a new parent midlife trying to figure things out. You could also be approaching retirement or in retirement and you need that estate plan. Call the number and grab one of these consults, 919.
They're complimentary. 919-77270000. That's 919-77270000. You can always visit the website too and request it there: w.lawyer. That's wh.lawyer.
Another edition of Judica County is in the books for Josh and Joe. I'm Morgan. We'll see you on the radio next week. Judica County is hosted by attorneys licensed to practice law in North Carolina.
Some of the guests appearing on this podcast may be licensed North Carolina attorneys. Discussion on this podcast is meant to be general in nature, and in no way should the discussion be interpreted as legal advice. Legal advice can only be rendered once an attorney, licensed in the state in which you live, has the opportunity to discuss the facts of your case with you. The attorneys appearing on this podcast are speaking in generalities about the law in North Carolina and how these laws affect the average North Carolinian. If you have any questions about the content of the show, you can direct such inquiry to Joshua Whitaker at jmw at mwhlaw.lawyer.
