We all know that someday we will die. We don’t like to think about it, much less talk about it, but we must. When we marry, we promise “to love honor and cherish.” If you do those things in the finest sense, you will do all you can to help your loved ones through the greatest crisis they will ever face…your death. Make it easier for them. Acknowledge it will happen. Don’t let them suffer needless doubts and pains. When it’s all over with – the funeral and that initial flurry of activity, the initial shock – let them look back and say “thank you.” Then when they go into that period of living without you by their side, let them say “thank you” again because you took seriously the responsibility to develop and put in place a transition plan.

With the help your of LawyersDirect plan lawyer, you can develop that transition plan “together today” while you’re still here, instead of leaving it to them to do “tomorrow alone” after you’re gone.

Without a transition plan in place, your loved ones will have to take care of many time consuming details and make many difficult decisions – and at the most difficult time in their life – immediately after your death. Here are just a few of them:

• Select casket and make the funeral arrangements (there are over 50 decisions that must be made immediately just for the funeral arrangements alone).
• Figure out where the money will come from to pay for the funeral and cemetery expenses.
• Determine who you would want to be notified of your death.
• Determine what insurance and benefits are due and what records are needed to apply for them – and where those records are located.
• File Social Security, Veterans Administration, and insurance claims forms.
• Transfer all of the family assets such as your home, investments, automobiles, R.V. and boat out of your name (If you have assets and have not pre-planned, this will likely involve the probate court process).

If all of the work and decisions are left to your loved ones to face after your death, it will be a very difficult and time consuming process; and they will have to do it at the most emotionally difficult time of their life. In light of the fact that, during this difficult period, there will be many decisions that must be made immediately and without the benefit of your input and guidance, how can they know that they will make the right choices? The probability of making bad choices, choices that may cost them a significant amount of time and money, is extremely high.

Fortunately, you are still alive and in a position to make the arrangements that will prevent your family from being forced into that situation as a result of your death. That’s what the LawyersDirect System 2000^TM transition plan is all about.

With a LawyersDirect System 2000^TM transition plan in place, your loved ones will not have difficult decisions to make or time-consuming tasks that need to be done. They will know exactly where any replacement income is coming from and how to access it; what benefits they are entitled to and what forms need to be filed to get them – and your LawyersDirect plan lawyer will be there to process them. Also, the funeral arrangements will already have been planned and paid for; and asset transfers will be quick and easy, with no legal fees billed to your family. In fact, your loved ones will even likely be able to totally avoid the probate court process, along with its delays, costs and stress.

With a LawyersDirect System 2000^TM transition plan, your loved ones will have to do little or nothing upon your death, because all of the decisions and all of the work will already have been done – and all with your input and participation.

Today in America, we tend to deny and repress death. We believe this is wrong, because it ultimately ends up harming the surviving family members. Families need a structure, a program, a system for talking about the past and the future. Planning for death should be like planning for college, something that happens routinely after research, thought and discussion – with the assistance of professionals who can help chart the path and overcome the obstacles. This helps everyone to be calm and prepared when the crisis occurs.

As you can see, it’s important to complete a LawyersDirect System 2000^TM transition plan together today with your LawyersDirect Network plan lawyer, instead of leaving everything for your family to deal with tomorrow alone. For more information about LawyersDirect System 2000^TM transition planning, consult your LawyersDirect plan lawyer or Member Services Representative today.

Together Today. Not Tomorrow Alone.^SM

The LawyersDirect System 2000^TM is a trademark of LawyersDirect Network Inc. and refers to the advance estate resolution portfolio of legal documents prepared by its plan lawyers for new members. By contract, LawyersDirect plan lawyers agree to provide members with this comprehensive advance legal planning and portfolio. However, LawyersDirect does not dictate, direct, monitor or supervise the work to be done by plan lawyers for plan members. Plan lawyers use their own independent professional judgment to construct the best strategy and portfolio of legal documents for members.