September 2023 Newsletter

Legal Lines News
Estate Planning and Elder Law
SEPTEMBER 2023

National Grandparents Day: Three Things to Consider Before You Make a Gift to Grandchildren
Christmas and birthday gifts can leave lasting impressions on your grandchildren, but you may want to provide them with a gift that can assist them in building a savings account, furthering their education, or purchasing their first home, to name just a few. We hope this information will assist you in analyzing the important details of making a gift that can often be overlooked.
Use National Self-Care Month to Care for Your Future
The purpose of this observance is to raise awareness about the importance of regular self-care. What constitutes self-care can vary widely depending on who you are speaking to. Regardless of the exact definition, taking actions to prioritize self-care is essential to overall emotional and physical well-being and should be prioritized. You likely have an idea of what defines self-care and what self-care means to you, but you may be surprised to hear you could be missing the full picture.


Hunger Action Month
Numerous methods exist to contribute to the mission of eradicating hunger in the United States. Meet with a qualified estate planning attorney to learn more about supporting charitable causes by incorporating charitable planning structures into your estate plan.
A Personal Note From Susana
September always feels like a new year to me. School begins children and the college kids return to Massachusetts in force. Summer turns into fall, and this year we had big blue moon to prove it. The animals begin to get restless; Osprey at the Cape are nearly gone, and the geese are preparing to fly south.
This is my first fall season at the office in Staples Studio—and Staples has been very busy this past week with kids purchasing all of those items needed for a new school year.
Clients are calling to revise plans, or to learn about planning or to consider new plans. My news letter addresses updating plans for grandparents to help grandchildren through gifts; and issues surrounding “self-care.” Please read both.
Just in the past few weeks, I have seen the consequences of the failure to make plans for “self-care.” In the estate planning field many people wait to long.
During this period my 99-year-old brother-in-law passed. And self-care hit home when I realized the tremendous sacrifices to her health my sister-in-law made to enable her to take care of my brother-in-law. She is 90 and it will take some time for her to reach equilibrium emotionally and spend time caring for herself. I hope she does this, and when she is ready, I plan to take her with her daughter and granddaughters—maybe for a spa day for all of us! This suggestion has been met with great enthusiasm—so keep posted for more! It should be lots of ladies’ fun!
I mentioned all of this to an acquaintance. She told me the story of her mother who cared for everyone but herself and her own children. Her lack of self-care made everyone’s life quite difficult. It reminded me of a book called “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. It is nicely written but in it the tree cares so much for a little boy that it ends up being just a stump that the little boy, now grown sits on. I am urging my clients not to be a giving tree! Give, but do it wisely and always leave what you need for yourself intact. I hope that we can assist you in that self-care endeavor.
Make sure to check out our blog section of our website for additional content:
https://www.lanniklaw.com/blog/