estate planning boston
Planning for the Unthinkable
Planning for the Unthinkable
As a child I can remember going through the tunnel that connects East Boston with Boston holding my breath.Visit here:http://www.worldwidewriter.com//article-display.php?articleid=3929
Absurd behavior? Sure, but in my mind I was preparing for the time when the tunnel would run out of air.
A friend told me that as a child he taught himself to write with his left hand even though he was right handed. His reason was that he wanted to be sure he could write even if something happened to his right hand.
Emergency planning, disaster recovery – these topics have been in the news a lot lately in the United States. Inadvertently I did it as a kid but it isn’t a subject that as an adult I like to think about. In fact I avoid it!!
As an account executive at AT&T one of my responsibilities was to be sure my customers had disaster recovery plans. Everyone wants their telephone to work no matter what happens.
And yet even so it wasn’t something my clients wanted to address. Many thought the possibility too remote. Others had too many other projects on the table that they said took priority.
It is hard for an estate planning attorney to convince someone he or she needs a will. It is only when something happens in a person’s life like a serious illness or death that suddenly what was on the back burner comes to the forefront.
It is only when something dreadful happens that suddenly we wake up to the fact that planning for an emergency is important.
When Terry Schiavo was in the news many who didn’t have health care proxies took the opportunity to sign one. After Hurricane Katrina suddenly people are now looking at contingency planning.
Governments too have been challenged where contingency planning is concerned. If there are disaster recovery plans my guess is that few thought about the possibility of everyone having to evacuate their homes.
If there were evacuation plans at all then most likely they would have ended by everyone going to a public building. Who would have considered busing people away from the area entirely?
Katrina has been a horrific event for us all. Looking at the lessons though and making our plans accordingly is extremely important.
So one lesson I know I have learned is that I want to be sure that federal, state and local governments have a really clear plans that are coordinated with each other. I want to know about these plans too because I have a responsibility for myself, my family and my business.
As I think about this however I am uncomfortable about my own planning. What do I do in the event of a disaster? I can feel my own resistance in even thinking about it!
Several months ago my mastermind group was talking about backing up their computer files.
One member of the group actually took his back up disc to another location to be sure that if a fire or flood hit his office he would still have his files.
I was really impressed by that and started to think about it for myself. The possibility seemed remote then but certainly now I do see the point.
What are your plans for your business, yourself and your loved ones? Start to put your own disaster plan together now.
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What is a good idea for a corporate event/party?
I am planning our “end of tax season” party for the accounting team at my work and need some ideas on what kind of a party to throw them. Last year the company bought them jackets and treated them to indoor go-cart racing. The year before that they went on a scavenger hunt around Boston and recieved beer mugs and went to happy hour. We are a growing real estate firm in the Boston area. Anyone have any good ideas on what to plan for this year? I am planning this for May 2007, have a budget of $3,000 and a group of about 20. Thanks.
Do a Monte Carlo Night. Rent a roulette wheel and set up black jack tables. Put the dealers/servers in the traditional black and white with the green visors and hand out chips and “funny money”. Have a game table with “fabulous” prizes from your local $1-$5 store. Serve martinis and finger foods conducive to gambling. Just some quick ideas…I’ll bet you can think of more.
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Casie de Rham, at 86; attorney worked tirelessly for community
Casie de Rham always believed that if life was kind, one should give back to the community. Perhaps his greatest contributions could be found at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, or three blocks from his front door, at Mount Auburn Hospital.