Client Maintenance Plan
COST: Only $25/month* (No contract, you may cancel anytime.)
*FREE if you pass our standard handgun skills test! (Monthly fee WAIVED for remainder of any calendar year in which client passes test.)
(Yes that’s right, we will even help you pass the test for free, so that you can get this valuable maintenance plan FREE.)
Our Client Maintenance Plan (CMP) is a special site membership category open to our law clients who, after completion of an estate planning engagement, continue with a limited engagement for the following benefits:
- Free Successor Trustee Manual (a $500 value!) and free updates as we issue them. (Approx 200 pp, see Table of Contents below.)
- Free copy of our “Estate Planning Strategies” book (valuable reference with 77 articles by Atty. Dave Duringer and colleagues)
- Free Docubank® membership for convenient online storage and emergency retrieval of health care directives and other estate planning documents, immediately upon CMP membership. (See Docubank video below left.)
- Free DCS membership (Directive Communication Systems) to facilitate secure access to digital assets upon death or incapacity, after six months of CMP membership. (See DCS video below right.)
- Free annual estate plan review (1 hour)
- 50% discount on amendment/restatement of core estate planning we did for you (discount applies to either hourly or flat fee)
- Free annual trust funding review (1 hour)
- 50% discount off trust funding assistance (discount applies to either hourly or flat fee)
- Free half-hour of our PRIVATE handgun dry practice each month (doubles as additional free trust funding consultation)
- Free access to our CMP-level Training & Events
- Free access to our GOLD-level Training & Events
- 10% off our post-mortem trust administration fees
CMP evolves over time and benefits are subject to change without notice. Clients may cancel participation at any time. Normally, clients opt to enroll when they sign their estate planning documents. Non-participating or lapsed clients may later request CMP, but for these rejoining or late-joining clients the discount on estate plan amendment/restatement will not apply for the first 36 months of plan membership. (All other benefits apply equally to all members.)
If you are a former client and not currently participating in CMP, you can request CMP by submitting a quick form that simply updates your contact information. Please use the appropriate form for your marital status:
CMP is designed to keep clients involved with estate planning as time goes on, in order to maximize the effectiveness of their plans and minimize overall cost and effort.
Intro to Docubank
Control Your Health Care
A complete estate plan includes advance directives. These are documents that put you in control of your health care, even if you are unable to speak for yourself. They let you choose who should make medical decisions for you and the types of treatments you do and don’t want.
Protect You & Your Family
Your advance directives are a gift to your family. Your loved ones may have to make difficult decisions on your behalf. These decisions can be stressful and lead to arguments. Your advance directives provide clarity and peace of mind for your loved ones during these tense moments.
That’s why your doctors and loved ones need easy access to your advance directives during an emergency. If you participate in our Client Maintenance Plan (CMP), our firm will provide you a complimentary DocuBank membership. This unique service makes your advance directives instantly available 24/7, anywhere in the world.
Carry Your Documents Right in Your Wallet!
Your DocuBank membership includes an emergency wallet card. This card is the key to accessing to your advance directives and other vital medical information. DocuBank can fax your documents directly to the hospital, or staff can print a copy from docubank.com.
Informed Doctors Provide Better Care
Your DocuBank card provides access to more than your advance directives. You can make important emergency information available, so you receive the best care possible:
- List of your medications
- Emergency contact names and phone numbers
- Allergies & medical conditions
- History of your surgeries & hospitalizations
- List of physicians and specialists
A Proven Track Record
DocuBank has helped more than 350,000 people take control of their health care since 1994. They have excellent customer service, including a toll-free number (866-362-8226) in case you need help with your membership.
Successor Trustee Manual – Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Brief Overview of How a Living Trust Works
Chapter 2: Before Getting Started: A Few Important “Do’s” & “Don’ts”
Chapter 3: Checklist of Immediate Actions Upon Disability or Incapacity
Chapter 4: Checklist of Immediate Actions Upon the Death of the First Spouse
Chapter 5: Checklist of Immediate Actions Upon the Death of an Individual (Or the Surviving Spouse)
Chapter 6: Reviewing the Trust (And Other Estate Plan Documents)
Chapter 7: Tips On Working Successfully With an Attorney (And Other Professional Advisors)
Chapter 8: Tips On Working Successfully With the Beneficiaries
Chapter 9: Your Trustee Duties
Chapter 10: Your Trustee Powers
Chapter 11: Your Liability as Trustee
Chapter 12: Maintaining Title to Assets, Transacting Business & Paying Expenses
Chapter 13: Investing Trust Assets
Chapter 14: Recordkeeping
Chapter 15: Income Taxes
Chapter 16: Estate Taxes
Chapter 17: Accounting to the Beneficiaries
Chapter 18: Making Distributions to the Beneficiaries
Chapter 19: Transition to Another Trustee
Chapter 20: Termination of the Trust
Chapter 21: Your (And the Beneficiaries’) Own Estate Plan
Chapter 22: Important Addresses and Phone Numbers
Chapter 23: Location List
Chapter 24: Other Documents
Intro to DCS
We’re pleased to announce our partnership with Directive Communication Systems (DCS), the leading provider of digital property succession management.
Passing everything on isn’t like it used to be. Your estate is more than just physical property like a house, jewelry, cars, and financial accounts. With online accounts and digital property becoming a larger and vital component of an estate, the time has come for these assets to be included in your strategy. Your portfolio can now include:
- Email (with important attachments and receipts)
- Pictures, videos, and files
- Online investments, banking, crypto, and NFTs
- Online shopping, subscriptions, and cloud storage
- Social Media, telecom, and texts
- Rewards and loyalty points
- Online business, social influencers, and other income generating operations
- And more
These new asset types can’t easily be addressed through estate provisions, they require specialized planning to protect your estate’s value, legacy, and privacy.
Think sharing your passwords will work?
One dangerous misperception is that sharing your online passwords is a simple and safe solution for your estate. Password sharing, (aka impersonating an account holder), simply does not work. It’s not only a violation of several laws and regulations but security is a content provider’s priority to prevent hacking, fraud, and access to your privacy. Many providers have methods in place to permanently lock accounts when unrecognized access is detected. And it’s an unfair burden to place on your representatives and loved ones to do all that work.
Privacy…it matters!
If you want to decide who gets access to your information in your estate, you’re not alone. 4 out of 5 Americans believe that privacy matters more than access to their accounts—even after death. But leaving accounts unresolved places your entire estate at risk for lost funds, disappearing legacies, and expensive ID theft. If you’re 50 or older, you’re a part of the single largest demographic subject to identity theft and fraud.
Directive Communication Systems- Your Partner and Protector
DCS services are designed specifically to protect your estate’s value, preserve legacies and memories, and safeguard your personal privacy. Recognized as “lawful, effective and secure”, DCS is easy-to-use and effective in achieving your goals.
DCS specializes in managing digital asset succession. The DCS team helps you to create a portfolio of your digital accounts and to assign directions for how you want those accounts and their contents to be handled. When the estate plan goes into effect, DCS applies those instructions in partnership with your estate. DCS does NOT need your passwords. Nor does DCS have access to the account contents, financial data, and other sensitive information. DCS only knows your account exists and what you want to be done with them. With DCS security is a priority, knowing your personal and confidential information are highly valued.
Partnering with law firms and professional advisors, DCS is more than just a service we refer you to. Their goal is to complete our client’s estate plans. To get you started, DCS has created several easy to use tools such as:
- Portfolio Plus– automatically captures and verifies your existing and new accounts, simple to use, and saves time
- Portfolio Link- add your accounts all at once from a single document or file
- Device Manager- registers your new and future devices and you designate who gets access
- And more!