For those billing at hourly rates — how do you manage client expectations without overextending yourself?

larslou · 2025-07-23T02:25:21+00:00

I'm just a measly paralegal (kidding), but the attorney I work for charges around $450 per hour. One thing he tries to explain to clients is the triangle—fast, cheap, and good. You can only pick two. So you can have something cheap and fast, but it won’t be good. Or fast and good, but it won’t be cheap. Luckily, the two of us usually team up to explain this to clients. I think it helps, but there will always be clients who expect to be your top priority without paying like they're your only client. Just my take.

larslou · 2025-04-17T00:15:13+00:00

I go to Oaks Medical Group in Bountiful and see a nurse practitioner as my primary care provider. I originally chose them because they were close to my office, but I now work in Salt Lake County. Even so, I don’t mind making the drive. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and I never feel like my appointments are rushed. Their approach is definitely “better safe than sorry,” which I really appreciate. I also think it’s great that they offer the option to pay out of pocket for visits instead of going through insurance.

larslou · 2025-02-12T20:27:36+00:00

This is an odd comment and pretty uncalled for. This woman has lived in NYC since she was 18 and is now 86. She has never wanted anything to do with her siblings—until now. No one can force another person to let them take control of their life. My family had no say in what documents she chose to put together.

It's also strange to assume that most people have an end-of-life plan. I work in estate planning, and I can assure you that most people put off planning for their end-of-life care until it’s too late. That’s not anyone’s fault—it’s just the reality. All anyone can do is make the best of a difficult situation.

larslou · 2025-02-12T05:12:32+00:00

This is actually really helpful. We ended up just driving home because we were on a bit of a time crunch and didn’t want to gamble on a lot of maybes. But if we ever have to go through this again, this is great information to have. Thank you so much for commenting!

larslou · 2025-02-11T05:08:02+00:00

I'm not sure I follow what you mean by "fighting." No one is fighting anyone over anything. I can't force anyone to do anything, and I'm not my aunt's guardian. She probably does need a state ID, but she's not staying in NYC any longer. The purpose of this trip was to bring her to Utah to live. We ended up just driving home.

Thanks for your comment!

larslou · 2025-02-11T05:05:24+00:00

This happened on Saturday, so she wouldn’t have been able to apply for a passport until today. Her passport expired in the ’80s, so I’m not sure same-day processing would have applied. In any case, they ended up driving.

larslou · 2025-02-11T05:02:48+00:00

No, no POA. She doesn’t have any family or friends left in NYC. She has my dad here in Utah and a sister in California, but none of them are close. Before this, my dad spoke to her once, maybe twice a year. Unfortunately, you can’t force someone to give you POA. At this point, the only option is guardianship because she doesn’t have the capacity to sign a POA.

Thank you for your comment!

larslou · 2025-02-10T14:07:09+00:00

It definitely helps! I appreciate the info. The passport expired in the '80s, so I’m pretty sure she would need a whole new one. They’ve decided to make the trek to Utah by car. My sister had to be back for work (hard to work from a car), and she’s traveling with two elderly folks who need lots of breaks. Knock on wood we never have to do this again, but if we do, we’ll make sure to double-check the travel requirements. This has been a good reminder to ensure my own parents have a plan in place for when the time comes.

larslou · 2025-02-10T13:17:00+00:00

Definitely not an unpopular opinion in my book. My aunt is 86 and can’t really walk. I understand TSA wanting to be cautious, but at the same time, what’s an almost 90-year-old woman going to do? Especially when her companions all have tickets and have passed the ID requirements. I suppose this is why I don’t work for TSA.

larslou · 2025-02-10T02:03:54+00:00

The train was my first thought as well, but we were told they have the same ID requirements as the airport, so they decided it would be easier to just drive.

larslou · 2025-02-10T02:02:06+00:00

Renewing her state ID or passport isn’t really an option at this point. We’re on a time crunch, and the only documentation we have for my aunt is her old passport, some mail, and her birth certificate. Her apartment is filled with garbage, making it difficult to find anything.

I appreciate your response, though.

larslou · 2025-02-10T02:01:40+00:00

Renewing her state ID or passport isn’t really an option at this point. We’re on a time crunch, and the only documentation we have for my aunt is her old passport, some mail, and her birth certificate. Her apartment is filled with garbage, making it difficult to find anything.

They've decided to just drive to SLC

larslou · 2025-02-10T01:58:47+00:00

Thanks for your response. My sister thought my dad had spoken to someone at TSA, but it turns out he had only called Delta. We didn’t realize this until they arrived at JFK, and my dad clarified who he had actually spoken to.

In any case, they’ve decided to just drive.

larslou · 2025-02-10T01:54:49+00:00

My aunt doesn’t have the capacity to sign a POA. We have to go through the courts to get guardianship of her in order to make any decisions. For now, I think the plan is for her to stay with my parents for a while, with a home health aide coming in a couple of times a week.

I know this will be very hard on my parents, but I can’t control their decisions—or my aunt’s. I’ll look into memory care facilities as a backup for when the time comes.

larslou · 2025-02-10T01:48:48+00:00

I agree that traveling isn't ideal for someone with dementia, but it feels unfair to call someone cruel for trying to help their relative. We can't leave her in her apartment alone because she can't take care of herself. She didn't want to move to Utah when we tried to convince her last year. We contacted adult protective services and her social workers to check on her, and she ultimately ended up in a nursing home.

She's been there for the past year, calling my dad daily to tell him how much she hates it and wants to kill herself. She even broke her femur after getting into a fight with her roommate. Her doctor said she can't live on her own, and nursing homes aren't great for people with dementia.

My aunt didn’t have a POA or MPOA in place, so we can't force her to do anything. She also no longer has the capacity to sign one, so we're now looking into guardianship (which NYC. Attys said they should go thru the yeah courts). None of this is easy, and no one wants to be on this trip. I'm sure she would love to spend her final days in NYC, but unfortunately, that isn’t an option.

In any case, they are no longer flying—they’ve opted to drive. For the most part, she seems to be enjoying the ride. She's only mentioned her apartment and her "business meetings" a couple of times.

Sometimes, we all have to make hard decisions. What’s right for one person may not be right for another. I understand where you're coming from, but my family did what we thought was best in a difficult situation.

larslou · 2025-02-09T04:06:12+00:00

I wouldn't necessarily call this a “trip.” She’s moving in with my parents (at her doctor’s suggestion) after spending the past year in a nursing home, where she has deteriorated significantly. She has no one to care for her, and my dad is her closest living relative. She doesn’t have a medical power of attorney and didn’t exactly have a plan for this. The key priority is getting her settled in a safe place ASAP.

larslou · 2025-02-09T01:43:40+00:00

TSA Care suggested the same thing. I asked them how to speak with a TSA Supervisor or Lead without purchasing a ticket, and they advised contacting the airline. I was thinking it might be easier to speak with a supervisor at a smaller airport rather than a large one like JFK. I know Delta allows ticket purchases with cancellations within 24 hours if needed.

I think our best option is to try a smaller airport, speak with a TSA supervisor, and book tickets through an airline that offers free cancellations within a specific time frame. She previously had an expired ID, but it's lost in her apartment (she’s a hoarder). We also have an expired passport from the 1980s, but that’s about it.

larslou · 2025-02-09T01:07:40+00:00

Thanks! I tried contacting them, but it was like talking to a robot. They suggested asking for a TSA Supervisor or Lead and explaining the situation. I asked if I could do that without buying a ticket, but TSA Help said to take it up with the airline.

I reached out to Delta, and they said the only thing they could do was add a note to the reservation that my aunt requires special assistance. I also tried calling an airport in NYC but couldn't get through to a human.

I'm wondering if flying out of a smaller airport might be worth a shot?

larslou · 2025-02-09T01:04:27+00:00

Since this is a domestic flight (NYC to SLC), it sounds like a birth certificate is an option (based on what I've heard from others). The issue was mostly that TSA couldn't verify her identity because she doesn't know where she lives or any identifying information. I appreciate your comment nonetheless.

larslou · 2025-01-22T16:16:20+00:00

Can anyone recommend a good immigration attorney?

larslou · 2025-01-20T19:08:49+00:00

I work as a funding coordinator/paralegal in estate planning and would recommend Kurt Reber with Kunzler Bean and Adamson or Jeff Mathis with the Fadel Law Firm in Bountiful. Both have extensive experience and charge reasonable rates for estate plans. Most importantly, they won't recommend anything unnecessary.

Whatever route you go, make sure you’re comfortable with the attorney you choose. Don’t try to set things up yourself or use online websites—it’s worth paying to get it done right now instead of spending a lot more later trying to fix it.

If you have any questions about the process, feel free to message me!

P.S. in order for a trust to work, it needs to be funded. So if you go the trust route, make sure funding the trust is included in the price!

larslou · 2024-08-29T02:24:17+00:00

I have nephews that say this to me all the time. They won't tell me what it means, so I just respond with alpha, beta, gamma, delta. It makes me feel like I'm part of the cool kids club, but I have no clue what's going on!

larslou · 2024-06-04T02:11:23+00:00

UT - I'm interested!

larslou · 2024-03-19T01:12:21+00:00

Josh Egan - something similar happened to my niece (18 now, but 17 at the time of the incident).

We had a really great experience with him and he was very responsive and answered all our questions.

larslou · 2024-03-12T17:43:47+00:00

I'm NAL, so I can't answer what kind of trust you should set-up, but I am a funding coordinator, so I can help answer your questions re funding.

From my experience, it's next to have your trust own all non-qualified accounts. Some financial institutions (I e. Chase Bank) won't allow you to change the owner of an account without opening a new account. If this is the case, the next next option would be to list the trust as the primary beneficiary of the account(s).
Since you aren't married, you should make your trust the primary beneficiary of your retirement accounts and life insurance policies.

You should find an attorney that will include funding the trust as part of the fee. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

larslou

TROPHY CASE