Estate Planning Academy Episode 1: Introduction and Overview

Estate Planning Academy Episode 1: About Gary & Overview

Hello and welcome to episode 1 of the estate planning academy. I’m your host, Gary DeWitt, and this is the internet’s most passionate show about estate planning.  Today’s topic is About Gary and an overview of the academy.

I want to spend just a few minutes telling you why I do estate planning.  I wasn’t always a lawyer.  Until 2010, I worked in information technology, mainly writing computer programs and trouble shooting problems.

I had a pretty normal life for a boy growing up on a ranch in Northeastern Oklahoma.  I spent my days going to school and my mornings, afternoons and nights working on my family’s farm. At an early age, I learned the importance of hard work. My family raised me with strong values: Perseverance, Honesty, Integrity & Service.

However, everything changed in February 2010.  One morning in February 2010 I got “the call.”

Mom and I went through Probate after that.  For mom and I it just added extra work in a time when we really didn’t need it.  Probate was mentally tiresome and emotionally draining, not to mention expensive.

Although, not many people go to Law School with the goal of becoming an Estate Planner, that’s exactly what I did! I attended the University of Arkansas Law School, graduated, passed the bar and was reborn as an attorney.

My education, coupled with my valuable life experiences, gives me a unique perspective and allows me to bring Estate Planning and Elder Law solutions to your family, in a way that goes beyond the traditional lawyer/client relationship. I don’t provide canned, one-size-fits-all plans.

I opened the DeWitt Law Firm and I limit my practice to the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law & Probate. Growing up on a farm, it was understood that during the good times, you should prepare for the not-so-good times (accidents are not uncommon on a farm).

And, I wrote the book “Secrets of Excellent Estate Planning” because I see so many people that have misconceptions, or just plain wrong information, about planning.  They needed a source of good advice.

What are we going to cover in the academy?

  • Definitions and concepts
    • Estate
    • Estate Planning
    • Probate
    • Guardianship
  • Benefits
  • Consequences
  • Overview of the documents
  • How to decide between and Will and a Trust
  • And Much More

How Will the Information Be Presented

  • I’m thinking about doing a lot of slide decks like this one so I can give you an easy to read transcript. It’s easier to turn a slide deck into a document than to transcribe live face-to-face video.
  • I’ll do some live video on the whiteboard if that is the best way to explain the concepts
  • Occasionally I may even do a live video…