Welcome and Guest Introduction
Brandon Lawrence:
Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Protect Your Nest. I’ve got a great friend here with me, Steve Murphy, Vice President and General Manager of WLOU and WLLV. Steve, is there anything else you want to tell the audience about yourself?
Steve Murphy:
No, not really. Brandon, I’m excited to be here on your show today. That’s a great thing and I appreciate you inviting me.
Brandon Lawrence:
And thank you very much for being here. We’re looking forward to a good conversation. It’ll be a pretty casual conversation about estate planning if you can have one, but we’re trying to be informative and also captivate the audience and keep the audience’s attention.
Steve, I wanted to just hit some points with you. It’s a practicality issue. A lot of people don’t really think about estate planning and when they do, they kind of think that it’s pretty boring and maybe not for them or something that they could kind of get around to. And I know you’ve got a lot of friends and family and experienced an awful lot in your life as far as traveling around the globe, things like that, as a globetrotter. Now, I think from my experience with clients, family, real-life friends, things like that, estate planning is not necessarily something like I said before at the top of people’s minds.
But, the way I look at it is that if you look at estate planning and break it down, how you want to live your life, how you’re living your life, and how you want your I guess family to live their lives after you are gone, if you look at it in those terms, I think people can really relate a little bit better and have it hit closer to home.
Would you agree with that or do you share the same thoughts about that?
Why Estate Planning Can Seem Intimidating
Steve Murphy:
For the most part I do Brandon. I think when you just say the word estate planning, I think that’s a very scary term for a lot of people are misunderstanding. People don’t really understand what estate planning is. So, I think knowledge is power. I think the more informative that you can make people, our audience understand what it is, the better served that they’ll be going forward. When you say estate planning, the first thing that comes to my mind, people think that you have to have a whole lot of money. You have to have all these big homes or wealth and all these things, and maybe you know better than me, I don’t know if that’s the whole package. Do you have to have all those things to be able to have an estate plan?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, I’m glad you said that. That’s an excellent point and I think that probably kind of gets into maybe an intimidation factor. People do maybe believe that estate planning is for people, for individuals that live in a big house, drive a nice car. I guess you would say what the 1%.
The way I look at it, I think if you break it down and kind of re-scramble people’s brains about how estate planning is used, a lot of times estate planning is kind of what got people to that point. They might’ve had some land or might’ve had some type of assets, whether they be big or small, and they kept them and protected those and passed it down because I know you hear about a bunch of stories of people inherited this, inherited that, and the next generation turned it into something.
I think that’s an opportunity. People can use that as an opportunity to estate plan. And like I said before, if you look at estate planning, like living your life, living it in a positive way and modeling the way you live your life. If you live your life, saving and looking down and planning for tomorrow, rather than spending everything within a couple years or whatever, having the mindset that, hey, I can’t take it with me. I’m going to spend it while I have it and enjoy myself. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
But if you live your life according to really, it’s kind of like it’s a biblical principle. I don’t know the exact scripture, I know it’s in there though, but if you look at it as a biblical, as a principle of storing something away and protecting some of what you have, not all of what you have and then looking and saying, Hey, do I want my I guess children or if it’s your wife or your husband, do I want the people that are going to be here after I’m gone, do I want them to have the same type of quality of life that they’re enjoying right now that I’m working or whatever the retirement or the money that’s coming in from my labor? Do I want them to still continue to have that same quality of life after I’m gone?
And if you look at it in those terms, I think that people may be able to relate a little bit more and not be so intimidated by saying that I have to have something right now to give to them, versus if I save a little bit what I have and protect that.
And then down the line they could add that to what they’ve got and with hard work and education and everything and saving, they could possibly turn something into make a little bit more out of it and it’ll go back to you. I guess the person that granted them that opportunity with the estate planning. That’s one way to keep your legacy alive. You don’t have to have a statue or something like that, but that’s something that people can tell a story, say, Hey, grandpa Murphy left me this, and because of that, that’s why we have this.
Is There a Maximum or Minimum I Need to Have to Get Started?
Steve Murphy:
Brandon, I have a question for you. Is there a maximum or minimum for an estate to give back to your family? I mean, what I think in terms of an estate, again, is it like half a million dollars, a million dollars or can you give $25,000 or $10,000? I mean, is there a max or a minimum as far as when you talking about doing estate planning?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, there’s no minimum. You can give whatever that you have or whatever you’d like to leave to your family, but there is a maximum and that’s about $14 million, before that’s going to be taxed, because in Kentucky there’s no estate tax, but there is an inheritance tax and most people don’t reach that threshold. So that’s probably something that the average person really doesn’t have to worry about.
The point is you can leave whatever you’ve got. Everybody’s got something, whether it’s they collect rare coins, baseball cards, I heard Pokémon cards are hot now. Whether you’ve got stocks, bonds, retirement, whatever it is. You’ve accumulated something in your life that’s going to be valuable to the next generation because no one wants to start at zero and nobody has to start at zero. And you can look at it like that because of your contribution to your family, nobody in your family is going to have to start at zero and whatever. You leave them and they take and turn it into something else and increase it, then that could be directly attributed back to you because you started it off.
And it is really a mindset. It’s a positive thinking mindset that you develop over time because obviously to accumulate things, you’ve developed a positive mindset while you were living, while you were working and it just carries on and it starts with you and it carries on to the next generation. And of course the next generation is going to take their cue from you because of what you’ve done and they’re able to do more because of what you’ve done. That’s the way that I look at it and that’s the way that I tell people when I talk to them.
What’s the Best Age to Setup an Estate Plan?
Steve Murphy:
Everything you said so far, so is there an age when you should start thinking about planning, estate planning? I mean, I guess I have two daughters and they’re in their early thirties and they’re making really, really good money right now. And I know they have their 401(k)s and things like that, but is there an age for them to be able to start processing the value of being able to have something to leave behind now than 401(k)? I mean, how do you implement something like that into the generations that are after you?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, really it’s never really start too early, but I think probably you should probably start thinking about things like this, ideally, probably after you turn 18. But realistically, in your twenties, probably twenties and thirties. We know once you start to work and accumulate assets, whether it is a house property, somebody leaves you some property or vehicles, money, things like that, that we know from just life experience that we do not know when we’re going to expire. So because we don’t know that it’s good to plan as early as you can. I would say practically 20, after you start working and start accumulating stuff. And then of course there are different vehicles that you can use to leave your assets to people.
And also you can always, if your circumstances change, increase, decrease, you can always go in and change your wishes or change the numbers, because that’s going to change throughout our daily lives. Throughout every year or every so often you can review your circumstance and make some changes to it. There’s nothing really set in stone, so you can always adapt just like anything else, you can always adapt your estate plan to how your life is presently.
Steve Murphy:
Right. So are there any other options outside of estate planning? Is there anything else that say, when I leave here today, I want to be able to talk to my kids about estate planning or about options and things like that. So is there anything that you can tell me today or give me some information on that I can take back to them to process? I mean, I understand where I am and what I have, but sure. Is there something that I can say that can you say, Hey Steve, this is the one thing I want you to take away from this conversation today. What would it be?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, you got the basics. We have a Will. Everybody knows about that, your Last Will and Testament. You got your witnesses and get it notarized and get it filed and make sure you keep it in a place where it could easily be found, or tell whoever that you want to know where it is.
Use a Trust to Protect Your Next if You Go into a Nursing Home
Brandon Lawrence:
You got different types of trust; revocable and irrevocable. The revokable trust, of course it’s in the name, you can go in and make changes to that irrevocable, but there are different things that you can do with those. Like say for instance, irrevocable trust. An irrevocable trust is what people use. You can think of it as a box that you put your things in and it’s while you’re living, you can still control it, but it’s a safety net.
Say for instance, people are living longer now, so if you believe you’re going to go to a nursing home or something like that and going to need care and have to qualify for Medicaid, then of course an irrevocable trust is a vehicle to use because that’s not going to count as an asset, when Medicaid goes in to look for assets. Of course by now, most people know about the five-year look back and things like that. Healthcare of course is extremely expensive. And you want to be able to qualify if you don’t have the amount of money that it’s going to take for long-term care, you want to qualify for Medicaid. And to be able to not have to have whatever assets that you have taken into consideration to do that.
So there’s a couple of different vehicles. You got your trust, you got your Will, and then you have a healthcare directive that you might want to use. Of course, that kind speaks for itself. Power of attorney and things to think about if you’re going to need a do not resuscitate (“DNR”), things like that, you get into more detail with those things.
But things come up all the time and you can never be, I don’t think 100% prepared for things, but you want to have things in place in case something comes up that it’s unexpected or maybe sometimes it’s expected, but you want to have things in place as much as possible to make it easier on you and to make it easier on your family. Because I think too many times, well, I don’t know too many times, a lot of times you see people in predicaments and situations that when things happen, unexpected things happen that they’re asking for donations, GoFundMe, things like that, that may have been preventable if a proper estate plan was put in place.
And that’s not to knock anyone, but that’s just information that some people don’t have or were intimidated by the word or term estate planning intimidation factor is a big deal, but you’ve got to get over that. And the more information that you have, hopefully the less intimidated that you’re going to be and the more confident you’ll be in making a plan.
Steve Murphy:
Right. I think knowledge is power, and I think the more you can understand about the things that do scare a lot of people, and I think your platform is a great way to, I mean, I’m happy to hear everything you have to say today, but I think it’s very important that we understand the estate planning and all the things that go along with that.
Brandon Lawrence:
Yeah, absolutely. I think that when you’re living, people want to live the best that they can. You want to eat good, you want to drive good, you want to have a nice place to stay, live well, travel, things like that. And when you’re gone, I would think that you’d want your family to have those same type of opportunities. And I think that a proper estate plan would be one step in that direction.
An Estate Plan Depends on Your Specific Needs
Steve Murphy:
What is a proper estate plan. I mean, I think you’ve covered it, but you’ve said it a couple times. So what is a proper estate plan?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, it kind of just goes to what your needs are. What do you want to do with what you have? You got to sit down, and that’s what a lot of people have to do. Sit down and look at what you actually have. It may be difficult or you might be scared to do it, but look, you shouldn’t be though because it’s yours. So look at what you have, and then according to what you have, you’ll have an idea of what you can do and what you want to leave and who you want to leave it to. I mean, you can leave it to a person, you can leave it to an organization, a charity. People leave things to their pets, I don’t know why, but those are things that people do. So that’s a personal thing.
The main thing, if a person walks through the door, or they call me, we talk and we go over things as far what are your assets? How do you want these distributed, whom do you want them distributed to? Who do you want to be in control, as a trustee, if it’s a trust. If you’ve got young children, whom do you want your children’s guardians to be, if that’s an option? Do you have a person or people in your circle like family member or whoever that share your same values that you’d like your children to be raised by when you’re deceased?
Should My Spouse and I Have a Separate Estate Plan?
Steve Murphy:
Is it like a singular estate plan? What if I’m married and me and my wife are of the same age? And basically, so when you’re doing your estate planning, so is there a one silo for us, collectively? Is there something else that, is it like one estate plan covers all or do you have to have several different estate plans when there’s a significant other involved?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, that’s something that you probably want to talk with your significant other, if you’re married, your wife has got probably, and it depends when in life you got married, what you had before, what you’ve accumulated together. So you go over those things and then you can come up with a plan. But yours is going to be, you can do it together, but more than likely you’re probably not going to die the same time. So she would have hers or you would have yours. And I mean, I would think if you’re married, you might tell each other or tell whoever you’re going to leave something to let them know what’s happening or who you want to be in charge of things. But it could be a collective thing or it could be an individual thing.
Use an Estate Plan to Deal with Blended Families
Brandon Lawrence:
And then of course, that’s a great point that you made. Well, nowadays you got a lot of blended families. This might be a second marriage, third marriage, whatever, or you might be single and you’ve got children from a previous relationship or a previous marriage that you want to involve them in your estate plan. You really want to sit down and look at your circumstance personally, financially, and be able to make that decision that you’re comfortable with making and make sure that the people that you like involved, that you get with them and let them know what role that you want to play and you want them to play and what you want your wishes to be.
And that’s part of when I talk with individuals, that’s where I come in and I take away the mystery and give them a sense of comfort and calm and information, so they can make a confident decision with what they’ve got and which direction that they want do and what they want to have happen while they’re living and when they’re deceased.
So yeah, I mean that’s a lot of it is a personal touch and working with a person that you’re comfortable with and being able to walk them down the path that’s best for them, giving them options and walk down a path that’s best for them based on what they have and what they want to happen. So you reach a comfort level with people and you do that. You try to do that pretty early to get them to where they want to go, ultimately to see where they want to go. And a lot of people come in knowing what they want.
Some people come in and don’t know what they want and they’re seeking advice and they need to be guided a bit more. And some people have it all. They’ve got it all written down, lined out, this is what we want to do and this is what I want get accomplished, and this is what I actually want done. But either way, like you said, information’s power. Once they have the information, it’s a whole lot easier and it’s the easiest subject to broach once you sit down and think about it and take it seriously.
Steve Murphy:
Can I ask you one other question?
Brandon Lawrence:
Sure, sure.
Why Use Brandon Lawrence for Estate Planning Advice?
Steve Murphy:
From a marketing standpoint, why should people use Brandon Lawrence, Lawyer for the City, as opposed to anybody else when estate planning or anything like that? Why should they come to Brandon Lawrence?
Brandon Lawrence:
Well, they should come to me because I believe that I can break things down to them where I can explain to someone maybe a complex situation and simplify it and ultimately get them where they want to go on their journey as far as estate planning and as far as the legacy that they’d like to leave for their family going forward. I mean, like I said before, I think if you look at it in those terms as far as leaving a legacy, I don’t think anybody is opposed to that. People throw out general terms, what is this generational wealth and breaking generational curses, that’s fine. The words are fine, but of course the deeds are what you’ve got to live off of and that’s what your family is ultimately going to live off of, what you actually do and have done for them throughout your life and after putting your hard work to work way down the line.
Because ultimately that’s what it’s all about. I mean, we love our family and we love ourselves of course, If you just look at it in the terms of you just want to get some credit and keep on getting some credit after you’re gone, then the best way to get some credit after you’re gone and keep getting your name mentioned every Thanksgiving and Christmas is leaving something for your family that they definitely can use – the gift that keeps on giving and it’s not a bill.
So yeah, I think I can explain that to people and make it as basic as possible. Make something complex as basic as possible, give them some confidence going forward and some desire to leave a lasting legacy. I think that’s part of what it’s about.
Conclusion
Brandon Lawrence:
And I’m glad we’ve got this vehicle, this podcast vehicle. And of course, we’ve got some commercials with WLOU. Steve Murphy. Did I get it? General manager and vice President.
Steve Murphy:
You got it right.
Brandon Lawrence:
Yeah. WLOU and WLLV. We’ve got some commercials on that and they’ve been very good to us over the years. And of course, on a personal note, Steve Murphy, he got me going to my church. So yeah, gotta give a shout out to him
Steve Murphy:
He needed be there too!
Brandon Lawrence:
Huh? What did you say? He needed to be in church? Yeah, I needed to be in church. Yeah, you got to have some type of spiritual stability in your life. Yeah, Harrods Creek is a great church and Pastor Bush is a great pastor, as well as his wife. Great first lady. Everybody there is awesome. So it’s fantastic and I’m glad we’re going there and I’m glad I got invited to church. And Steve Murphy was an Andrew.
So yeah, we’re wrapping this one up and we’re glad that you guys are with us. Hopefully it’s entertaining and informational to you. And of course you can always contact me, Brandon Lawrence, the lawyer for the city at (502) 424-3130, as well as email, help@LawyerForTheCity.org. You can check out the website, LawyerForTheCity.org, and anything you want to say Steve?
Steve Murphy:
No. Thank you for inviting me to the show today. I appreciate it very much, and like I said, you are always a strong supporter and you are a great guy and I guess a great talent for our city.
Brandon Lawrence:
Thank you. Thanks for taking the time. Thanks for the compliment and thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule as General Manager and Vice President to come and sit down and talk with us. Thank you very much. Thank you.
For More Information:
Website: www.LawyerForTheCity.org
Phone: (502) 996-7735
This podcast is meant to provide information and is not legal advice. Brandon’s principal office is located at 101 N. 7th Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Jim Ray is a non-attorney spokesperson.
