July 4, 2025 • 25 mins
Lorie Burch of Burch Law debunks the biggest myths about wills, estate planning, and probate, offering practical advice and empowering families to take control of their legacy with clarity and compassion.
🌟 Perfect For:
- Adults of all ages planning for the future.
- Families navigating elder care or loss.
- Anyone without a current will.
- Local professionals and caregivers seeking trusted legal resource.
🎟 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- The most common misconceptions about estate planning
- Why everyone needs a will—regardless of age or wealth
- How probate really works (and why it’s not as scary as it sounds)
- Simple steps to make your estate plan easier on your loved ones
- What happens if you don’t have a will in place in Texas
đź’¬ Memorable Quotes:
"Estate planning isn’t about death—it’s about protecting the people you love."
"If you don’t make the plan, the state of Texas has one for you… and you probably won’t like it."
"Clarity is kindness when it comes to end-of-life planning."
đź“Ť About Burch Law:
Helping Texans gain peace of mind with personalized, easy-to-understand estate planning
Website: burch-law.com
Instagram: @burchlawtx
Facebook: @BurchLaw
Phone: (972) 385-0558
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(Upbeat Music)
(00:03):
Hello, this is Angie Burns, the owner and
publisher of Allen City Lifestyle, and
welcome to the Allen
City Lifestyle Podcast.
On our podcast, we celebrate the
positive, supportive, and inclusive
contributions of local businesses,
organizations, and individuals making an
impact on our community.
We like to celebrate all of the amazing
things that are going on in Allen,
(00:24):
Fairview, Lucas, and Parker, and share
them with our listeners so that you know
the best in class businesses, the
organizations making a difference in our
community, and the individuals who are
making an impact on our
residents here in our area.
Hello, and welcome to City
Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
Thank you guys for tuning in today.
(00:46):
We are here with Lori Burch of the Burch
Law Firm here in Plano, and we are gonna
talk today about the myths behind Wills
estate planning probate, all of the scary
things that are really not so scary when
you have somebody like Lori who knows
what they're talking
about, helping guide the way.
(01:06):
We're also gonna talk about some
developments that she's got going on with
her group, and whatever else we can think
of to talk about today.
So thanks for joining me.
Yeah, always my pleasure.
So introduce yourself.
For those of you who have not heard our
previous podcast with Lori, go ahead and
tell us a little bit about
who you are and your firm.
(01:27):
Yeah, absolutely.
So my name is Lori Burch, and this year
we are celebrating our 20th anniversary
of Burch Law, which is focused
exclusively on Wills Trust, Living Wills,
Powers of Attorney, and Probate.
And that started out as just little of a
me, but over the last several years, been
able to develop an
amazing team of people.
We're at 14 and growing currently.
(01:51):
And so having a lot of fun doing that, my
favorite thing to do from day one has
always been to help educate people.
So I'm happy to be here.
And you're so good at that.
As somebody who comes out of the world of
education, you have those teachers that
are very monotonous and boring and goes
in one ear and out the other.
And then you have teachers that really
engage you and make you laugh and make it
fun and interesting.
(02:11):
And I feel like you're that kind of
teacher for the rules and probate.
One of the marketing people that we've
worked with said that you should write
everything, and lawyers are really bad at
this, you should write
everything at a fifth grade level.
And when he reviewed all of the blogs
that I have written, he
said, "Oh, you're good to go."
You're like, "Is that a compliment?
"Is that, am I really gonna
(02:31):
write up or am I really not?"
That's funny.
Yeah, so I don't know.
I'll take the compliment. 20 years, that
is quite an accomplishment.
I know, I color my hair.
Yeah.
Yeah. And you also got
yourself a present this year.
I did.
Because I happened to be driving down the
road the other day on George Bush, and I
saw Lori's giant face.
(02:51):
Giant face.
So you have a billboard now, and we were
having a conversation earlier.
I was gonna say congratulations.
See, I told you.
But it's congratulations that you've been
in business for 20 years that you can now
put your face on a billboard.
Yeah, I mean, it's an accomplishment
certainly, I would say.
But it's been, I was telling you, it's
(03:12):
funny that people are
like, "Oh, congratulations."
Nobody just did that for me or bestowed
me with a billboard.
I pay for that.
Right, right.
But yes, you didn't win a billboard.
You didn't win a
billboard, but that'd be super cool.
That'd be very cool.
I think if you could win a billboard, I
think I would win a billboard.
I think so.
You're really good at winning things.
No, the thing it comes down to, and I
like outside the box marketing, which I
(03:34):
know you know, and what other estate
planning and probate law firm
do you see have a billboard?
And the answer is none.
And for people who will go extinct in
business, they'll think, "Well, then
that's not a good idea."
But for me, I'm like, "That sounds like a
perfect opportunity.
I'm gonna corner the market on estate
planning and probate billboards."
(03:54):
And it's right at a stoplight.
My stomping grounds, Preston and George
Bush, you're gonna be driving home, and
you're gonna see that if you don't have a
will, the state of Texas has one for you,
and it's gonna hit home for people.
And we've actually had a lot more
response initially than
we thought that we would.
Well, you also have put it
out there on your socials.
We posted it on our socials about, "Look,
(04:15):
Lori has a billboard."
Yeah, it's so perfect.
So we're promoting the fact that you have
a billboard, which is so
silly, but it was funny.
I used to, whenever I got out of
education, my husband used to tell me to
go into real estate.
And I always said I didn't wanna go into
real estate because I don't
want my face on a billboard.
I don't love my face
enough to put it on a billboard.
And now I have a
billboard at the event center.
You have a billboard, and
(04:35):
neither of us are realtors.
There we are.
And there we are.
So, well, congratulations on reaching the
level of success that
you get a billboard.
But that is, it is an accomplishment to
be around for as long as you have been.
And you do like to win a lot of awards.
You're a little competitive.
I mean, I like to win them.
(04:55):
I mean, Lori and I, little inside
information, we were in
leadership Plano together.
And I think we were probably the two most
competitive people in our
class, and we like to win things.
I think, you know, I wouldn't say I'm
competitive just because I win a lot of
stuff doesn't mean I'm competitive.
It just, again, it just happens.
I'm just really good
at everything that I do.
(05:17):
My sister-in-law once
gave me the best compliment.
She said, "Lori, you are good at
everything except humility."
Well, yeah.
You're like, "I'll take it?"
I'm like, "Yeah."
Yeah, I'll take it.
You won an award from us last year.
I did, I need to go score it.
You won the Best Ad Design Campaign Award
because if you have not paid attention to
(05:37):
Lori's ads in Plano City Lifestyle, she
actually pays attention to our themes
that we decide each month.
I think there are other people not do that.
Not all of them.
Oh.
I use you as an example.
We do.
When I talk to people and I'm talking to
them about coming on board with us as an
advertiser, I use your ad.
(05:58):
As my example, I say,
"Look how good Lori is."
At every single month, there's a cat
involved usually, which is always great.
Actually, I have been talking to Sarah,
our marketing coordinator, and I feel
like there's too many dogs.
So-- We need to go back to cats.
So I'm like, "You owe me a cat."
There's an article coming up about kids
and pets and all of that.
(06:18):
We're not gonna have any cats.
And I'm very disappointed in that and us.
We're gonna have to fix that.
But yes, we do try to hit the topic.
Yes, yes.
So the topic of the month, if it's food
and drink, she can come up with a ad
about wills and estate that
incorporates food and drink.
Kids and pets, that one's kind of an
easy-- That's a softball.
Yeah, that's a softball.
(06:39):
But travel, you've been
able to incorporate that.
That's kind of a softball too.
But the style issue, even relating the
style issue, relating the home issue,
relating every issue that we give you,
you guys have come up with a great ad,
which is why they won Best Ad Again
Design Campaign and
why we use it every time.
I'm like, "Look at what you can do.
You can be super creative."
(06:59):
And everybody else is terrified.
That sounds so daunting.
I'm like, "You don't have to do it, but
some people are really good at it."
Send them to me.
Maybe this is a second side hustle that I
could have or something.
There you go.
There you go.
We should show you the ones that don't
make it, that we don't submit to.
We need a blooper reel.
You're gonna have to sign an NDA for some
of these, the barbecue one for dad.
(07:21):
That one, a whole other vision.
We need a Lori Burch
blooper reel for Burch laws.
Sometimes we have to be reminded of the
segment of the population of
Plato this is going out to.
I grew up in Plato, so I know, sometimes
it's a little too irreverent.
It can be, but I grew up in
Plato too, and I enjoy that.
(07:42):
Let's dive into the actual
topic of why we're here today.
You are here to educate our listeners and
our viewers about estate planning wheels
and probates, and you have five myths
that you would like to dispel.
We have more fantastic information coming
your way, so stay with us because City
Lifestyle with Angie
Burns will be right back.
(08:04):
At City Lifestyle, we only partner with
best-in-class businesses, and a lot of
times people will ask me,
well, what does that mean?
We do a very rigorous vetting process for
anyone who is allowed to
advertise in our publications.
We only partner with people who are four
and five-star businesses, and who have
great reviews with Better Business
Bureau, have all of their licenses and
(08:25):
certifications up to date.
We wanna make sure that our readers and
listeners are only being recommended
businesses who are going to go above and
beyond, so you know you are getting a
best-in-class business.
The five biggest mistakes that we see
this could be an hour-long presentation,
hours on each one of the five, but we're
(08:46):
gonna try and hit these really fast.
Really quick.
We're gonna do a
countdown, because that's fun.
All right, ready?
Number five is assuming that things will
happen automatically, and there's a lot
of areas I can get into on this, but I
think the number one thing for Texans to
know, and this is specific to Texas, is
that if two people, a married couple, for
(09:07):
example, own a home together, and one of
them passes away with no will, no trust,
no deed, nothing special, they've just
bought the house together, it does not
automatically go to the surviving spouse.
Really?
And this is, if you like to geek out on
legal terms, which who doesn't, it's
called joint tenancy or joint tenancy
with rights of survivorship.
(09:28):
We do not have that in Texas, do not let
anybody else tell you that that is not
the case, that is the case, it does not
automate, even if you bought it together,
even if both names are on the title, it
does not automatically.
So what happens in that instance if
somebody doesn't have a will?
Well, they would have to do something,
and then it's up to the state laws that
determine who would get it.
(09:49):
So for example, in Texas, if the person
who passed away had kids from a previous
marriage, they would actually end up
inheriting that half of the house, and
then the surviving spouse-- So you only
own half of your house?
Correct, yes.
Wow. Even if you bought it together.
So it would have to go through the court
system, or it'd have to go through
something called airship.
But basically, you're earning to spend a
(10:10):
lot of money, and you need to get an
attorney where if you had spent less
money on an attorney to have a plan, you
wouldn't be going through that.
Wow, that's, see, number five's already--
Number five, it's a big one.
Super, super informational and helpful.
All right, so number four.
Number four, thinking that you have to
have a lot of money or assets in order to
(10:30):
have an estate plan, or that
you just need a simple will.
One of the favorite things that we get,
we get a call that says, hey, I've got a
simple situation, I
just need a simple will.
And we know what that's
code for, just so you know.
What's the cheapest thing you got?
And here's what I would say, is that do
not give a bank, a financial institution,
a title company, or the state of Texas,
(10:52):
the opportunity to
complicate your very simple situation.
It's off the charts.
The other thing is a lot of people will
say, I just need a will, I
don't need an estate plan.
It's just a category of law.
So what's the difference?
There is no difference.
It's a type of estate plan.
I mean, a will is a type of estate plan.
A power of attorney is
a type of estate plan.
(11:12):
Me telling you how to set up your bank
account is a type of estate plan.
It's a plan that has to do with what is
something valuable to you.
And it doesn't just
have to be money or assets.
We talk a lot about
CYA, cover your assets.
But the way I define assets is anything
that is unique to you
that is worth protecting.
So this can be your kids.
This can be your reputation.
(11:33):
This could be your
Barry Manilow collection.
I mean, that's very important.
Did I guess correctly?
No.
Yeah, no, no.
Now if you would have said my musical
theater cast recording collection or
something along those lines, then I would
be like, yeah, I need that to
go to the right person.
I had a client not too long ago who had a
really massive comic book collection.
(11:54):
And he wanted everything to go to his
mom, but he made different plans for that
because he said she would have no idea
how valuable this is.
So any sort of plan that you have,
whether it's a car, a bank account, a
home, it means that something needs to be
determined and you
need to make that choice.
What's gonna happen to it
(12:14):
if something happens to you?
Okay, number four, rockin' and rollin'.
Let's go on to number three.
Number three, somewhat similar to number
four, but that is thinking that you have
to be wealthy to use what's called a
revocable living trust.
Now there are lots of different types of
trusts and if you have estate tax issues
or whatnot, you can do that, but this is
(12:36):
not what that's for.
One of the things that is shocking to
some people is that a will still has to
go through a probate court process, a
public probate court process.
Now you still get to express all your
wishes and what you want, but there's
still expense, time delay,
and it's a public record.
And probate is getting more cumbersome in
Texas for a lot of reasons, and I'm gonna
(12:56):
tell you one reason in particular,
because this is important to people who
live in the DFW area.
How long have you lived here?
40 plus years. 40 plus years.
Have you noticed, as I have, in the last
five to 10 years, there's just a few more
people that live here?
A couple, yeah.
Just a handful.
And if more people are living here, what
does that also mean?
More people are dying here?
(13:16):
People are dying here, yes.
So in the 20 years that I've had in my
practice, not a single probate court has
been added to callin', dentin', tarant.
So they're overwhelmed.
Yeah, not a single, so there's other
reasons why probates become more
cumbersome, but that is a
really big one, a lot of backlog.
So when you create a revocable living
trust, which says all the same stuff that
a will does, but you just, you connect it
(13:38):
to the trust, you still control all your
assets, all you want, there's no
different tax treatment to it at all.
When you pass away, unlike a will that
has to go through probate court and
there's time and expense in public
record, a trust bypasses all of that.
That sounds like a, it's no-brainer.
It's almost, it's, you know, nothing is a
one-size-fits-all, which is a good segue
to mistake number two, but nothing's a
(13:59):
one-size-fits-all, but it is, I'll put it
to you this way, when we first started
out, it was maybe 20% living
trust plans, 80% will plans.
In the last five to
eight years, that's flipped.
So a lot more people are either, if
they're doing this for the first time,
choosing a trust, or if they're coming
back to us to have a review, they're
(14:19):
upgrading to a trust.
It is more work and more upfront expense,
but it more than saves
itself and time and money.
Do you have a will or a trust, or can you
have a will and a trust?
That's a very nuanced question.
So for most people think of it as a will
or a trust, but technically it's a will
or a will and a trust, because you always
have a will with a trust.
Typically it's called a pour over will.
(14:40):
So if there's something you don't get
connected to your trust, the will will
need to be kicked in.
Let's say it's a bank account.
So you're still gonna have to go to
probate, so we're trying to avoid using
that, but it's just in case you forget,
because people are very bad at what's
called funding their trust, or as I say,
connecting the trust.
See, there's that fifth grade ability to
write, connecting it,
connecting it, not funding it.
(15:02):
So if you don't do that, then things are
outside, but the pour over will still
makes it more efficient.
It distributes everything the same way as
the trust says, but we try to avoid ever
having to use that will.
So technically you want to use a will or
a trust, but you want to have
a will or a will and a trust.
Gotcha, gotcha.
And the myth is a lot of people think
(15:22):
trust, and they think millionaires,
billionaires, trust fund babies, they
think-- It can be a bank
account, it can be a home.
But anybody can get one.
It's just you don't want it to go through
a probate core process.
Okay, okay, so you said
it led into number two.
Let's go, number two.
It does.
So number two, top mistake that people
make, is thinking that these DIY online
services, will kits, or even some of
(15:43):
these HR companies that provide these
services is better than nothing.
Most of the time they are nothing, and
sometimes they're worse than nothing.
So to try-- Because they make it more
complicated to undo the problem.
So there's so many reasons why these
things are bad, but one of the biggest
reasons, and I'd love to tell you it's
because the number one reason they're
bad, is because they don't have the
(16:04):
sophisticated, customized, specialized
language that I've worked years, decades
crafting, and that is true.
However, the biggest problem is they're
not signed correctly.
Huh.
Look, I can show example after example,
probably at least a couple times a month
we see this, and when are we finding out
that the will wasn't signed properly?
After the person's already passed away.
And that's too late.
And they can't sign anything.
Is that too late?
(16:25):
Yes, yes.
It's too late, and there's no close.
You can't say, well, this was their
intent, or this is what they want.
Either it was signed with the formalities
required by Texas, or it doesn't work.
And so why is it though, when people put
unintended things into their DIY plan,
they manage to get it signed correctly.
So two of the biggest examples I can give
you, is people presume that when they get
(16:47):
married, that they become one, and it's
sweet, I love it, I married myself, maybe
you had the little sand ceremony where
two become ones,
Spice Girls style, right?
But Texas still sees you as two entities.
And so what happens when you're filling
out these forms, is you just presume
everything goes to your spouse, when it
says who gets your stuff, you skip.
You skip to your kids, you
(17:07):
skip to the next in line.
And why is it when people do that, they
get it signed correctly, so now we have a
will where somebody
disinherited their spouse.
Oh my goodness.
All the time.
The second one that we had, where they
successfully got their trust signed, and
successfully got their deed to their
trust recorded in the county, they lost
their homestead exemption.
Which if you're in Texas, the homestead
(17:29):
exemption is everything.
It's thousands and thousands of dollars.
So not only is it often nothing,
sometimes it's even worse than nothing.
Wow, that is a big myth to dispel.
All right, so number one.
Is it hard to believe after the four I
just went through that
there is one that's bigger?
There's more, there's
one more that's bigger.
I know.
That's bigger than all of those?
(17:49):
I'm like eagerly
waiting for this education.
Are you at the edge of your seat?
I'm at the edge of my seat.
Now you're at the edge of your seat, thank you.
And I'm so ready for number one.
The number one mistake that people make
when it comes to estate planning and
probate is-- Are you
all ready for number one?
Are you at the edge of your seat?
Because here we go.
Are you ready for it?
You're ready.
Stay tuned, we will be right back with
City Lifestyle, with Angie Burns after
(18:11):
these short announcements.
Thank you for tuning into
City Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
We are committed to being involved in our
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(18:32):
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We do not sell anything at the events, we
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So let us know if you would like us to
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We typically serve our neighborhood for
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(18:53):
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So reach out to us at Angie, A-N-G-I, dot
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(Upbeat Music)
I feel like I need to do
like a drum roll or something.
We need to do some ready for it.
(19:15):
Let's go.
Is waiting.
It's waiting.
People put this off for whatever reason,
whatever excuse, I
think most of it's excuses.
I've heard what people often think are
well-meaning reasons, but this is gonna
change or that's gonna change.
Well, you might move from your house, so
that doesn't mean you don't get a life or
a homeowner's insurance policy on your
(19:36):
home if you're gonna move in five years.
Like you want that every single year in
case something happens.
And yes, things can change.
You can update your
plan, you can do that.
But meanwhile, clock's ticking and you're
only getting closer to needing it.
And what is really, really hurtful for us
is we'll have people who will come to a
seminar, listen to a podcast, they'll
even make an appointment, they'll have a
(19:58):
consultation, and they know it's
important in the moment.
And then they walk out that door and if
they haven't made the decision yet, let's
get this process started.
Their mom gets sick and they have to fly
out of town or their air conditioner
breaks down and they have to fix that.
And meanwhile, life gets in the way, but
the priority of this never changes.
The necessity of this never changes, but
(20:19):
it starts moving to the
back burner, back burner.
And far too often for firms like ours,
the next time we hear from them, it's
their family and it's
too late to do anything.
And so whatever it takes to get people to
say, get this done, get it done right and
get it done now, that is the most
critical mission that people have.
It's a showing of love to their family
(20:40):
and loved ones that they cared enough
about them and they cared enough about
themselves to preserve this final chapter
of their story without leaving a mess.
There's already so much that people go
through when somebody passes away.
You don't wanna have to deal with all of
the legalities and the T's being crossed
and the I's being dotted.
(21:01):
If you can just save your family, the
time, the headache, the stress, by going
in and just meeting with you and figuring
out what's the best plan that I can leave
for my family, then you're gonna be doing
such a service to your
family in the long run.
We recently had a client who had to wait
(21:22):
for the court process to play out so she
could sell her husband's car.
And she was so frustrated because she
said, "I can't see it anymore.
I just wanna be able to sell this thing."
And she's getting very
frustrated and we understand that.
But there's not a lot we can do.
We gotta go through the system because it
wasn't set up ahead of time.
And I just want to be
able to sell this car.
It's too painful to see it.
(21:43):
Yeah, and I think that's one of the
things that's really important with
somebody in your field is a level of
empathy that you have to have for the
people you're dealing with because you
don't deal with people necessarily during
the happiest times of their life.
No, never.
I tell my people,
we're not party planners.
Nobody wants to call us.
Nobody's happy about calling us.
(22:03):
Now, a lot of people are relieved and
it's very cathartic and they're very
happy to have that peace of mind when
they're doing the pre-planning.
But nobody wants to have to do this.
And so everybody that we have at our firm
is trained and geared and really vetted
to come into the door, like not even
(22:24):
having to be trained to have that
conviction, but they need to come in the
door with it to really
have that understanding.
A lot of lawyers are seen as sharks and
liars and this and that
and all in it for the money.
But if you get into a division of law
like yours, the field of estate planning,
you have to have a
different approach and outlook.
(22:46):
I mean, I'm just telling you the truth
and people can take it or leave it.
But there's, and the other thing to
understand about lawyers, particularly
ones that do estate planning and probate
is that our job is to
be worst case scenario.
We have to plan for the
worst things happening.
So sure, maybe you can rush to the
hospital and without a medical power of
attorney, they would let
(23:07):
you visit your husband.
I mean, they shouldn't, I mean, if they
do, it's against the law, but you can
come at me all you want.
It's usually the trolls on social media.
Like I was able to do that.
Like, yes, they're breaking the law or
something, or there's a piece of this
you're not telling me.
But there's nothing that we, that's the
most comforting thing what I tell my team
is that it's not like we're selling
(23:29):
extended car warranties, which actually
they're not a bad idea sometimes, but
it's not like that, right?
Like what everything that we're selling
is something that it's a reality
everybody's gonna face.
So even unlike homeowners insurance,
which I think is a great parallel, you
may never need that.
But I guarantee you, you will need this.
So why not have it done
right and have it right now?
(23:51):
And so if somebody wanted to contact you
right now, tell our listeners
and viewers how to contact you.
Go to the billboard on Presto.
(Laughing) The best way to reach us, and it's the
best way to find out more information.
We're really proud of how much work that
we put into our website.
The best place to go is birch-law.com.
That's B-U-R-C-H dash law dot
(24:11):
com, or go to CYALaw dot com.
So you can cover your assets.
I love the punny.
I love it.
Well, thank you so much, Lori, for coming
with us today and being here and teaching
us in this short amount of time such a
plethora of information, massive amounts
of information that are gonna be very
helpful for all of us as
we plan for the inevitable.
(24:33):
It's coming.
It's coming, if we like it or not.
Well, I appreciate you
being here and your time.
You bet.
And we will see you next time.
If you are looking for the best place to
market your business to our local
community, please consider
City Lifestyle Publications.
I personally own the Allen and Plano
territories, but we have over a dozen
luxury publications in our area.
(24:54):
We are a nationwide brand, so we have
over 200 publications across the nation,
and we really do value high editorial
integrity, beautiful photography, and
making sure that your story is told in a
respectable and beautiful way.
So if you would like to learn more about
how to become an advertising partner of
City Lifestyle Publications, feel free to
(25:15):
reach out to us, because we are your
ticket in the door to get you face to
face with your next client.
(Upbeat Music)
(Upbeat Music)
(00:03):
Hello, this is Angie Burns, the owner and
publisher of Allen City Lifestyle, and
welcome to the Allen
City Lifestyle Podcast.
On our podcast, we celebrate the
positive, supportive, and inclusive
contributions of local businesses,
organizations, and individuals making an
impact on our community.
We like to celebrate all of the amazing
things that are going on in Allen,
(00:24):
Fairview, Lucas, and Parker, and share
them with our listeners so that you know
the best in class businesses, the
organizations making a difference in our
community, and the individuals who are
making an impact on our
residents here in our area.
Hello, and welcome to City
Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
Thank you guys for tuning in today.
(00:46):
We are here with Lori Burch of the Burch
Law Firm here in Plano, and we are gonna
talk today about the myths behind Wills
estate planning probate, all of the scary
things that are really not so scary when
you have somebody like Lori who knows
what they're talking
about, helping guide the way.
(01:06):
We're also gonna talk about some
developments that she's got going on with
her group, and whatever else we can think
of to talk about today.
So thanks for joining me.
Yeah, always my pleasure.
So introduce yourself.
For those of you who have not heard our
previous podcast with Lori, go ahead and
tell us a little bit about
who you are and your firm.
(01:27):
Yeah, absolutely.
So my name is Lori Burch, and this year
we are celebrating our 20th anniversary
of Burch Law, which is focused
exclusively on Wills Trust, Living Wills,
Powers of Attorney, and Probate.
And that started out as just little of a
me, but over the last several years, been
able to develop an
amazing team of people.
We're at 14 and growing currently.
(01:51):
And so having a lot of fun doing that, my
favorite thing to do from day one has
always been to help educate people.
So I'm happy to be here.
And you're so good at that.
As somebody who comes out of the world of
education, you have those teachers that
are very monotonous and boring and goes
in one ear and out the other.
And then you have teachers that really
engage you and make you laugh and make it
fun and interesting.
(02:11):
And I feel like you're that kind of
teacher for the rules and probate.
One of the marketing people that we've
worked with said that you should write
everything, and lawyers are really bad at
this, you should write
everything at a fifth grade level.
And when he reviewed all of the blogs
that I have written, he
said, "Oh, you're good to go."
You're like, "Is that a compliment?
"Is that, am I really gonna
(02:31):
write up or am I really not?"
That's funny.
Yeah, so I don't know.
I'll take the compliment. 20 years, that
is quite an accomplishment.
I know, I color my hair.
Yeah.
Yeah. And you also got
yourself a present this year.
I did.
Because I happened to be driving down the
road the other day on George Bush, and I
saw Lori's giant face.
(02:51):
Giant face.
So you have a billboard now, and we were
having a conversation earlier.
I was gonna say congratulations.
See, I told you.
But it's congratulations that you've been
in business for 20 years that you can now
put your face on a billboard.
Yeah, I mean, it's an accomplishment
certainly, I would say.
But it's been, I was telling you, it's
(03:12):
funny that people are
like, "Oh, congratulations."
Nobody just did that for me or bestowed
me with a billboard.
I pay for that.
Right, right.
But yes, you didn't win a billboard.
You didn't win a
billboard, but that'd be super cool.
That'd be very cool.
I think if you could win a billboard, I
think I would win a billboard.
I think so.
You're really good at winning things.
No, the thing it comes down to, and I
like outside the box marketing, which I
(03:34):
know you know, and what other estate
planning and probate law firm
do you see have a billboard?
And the answer is none.
And for people who will go extinct in
business, they'll think, "Well, then
that's not a good idea."
But for me, I'm like, "That sounds like a
perfect opportunity.
I'm gonna corner the market on estate
planning and probate billboards."
(03:54):
And it's right at a stoplight.
My stomping grounds, Preston and George
Bush, you're gonna be driving home, and
you're gonna see that if you don't have a
will, the state of Texas has one for you,
and it's gonna hit home for people.
And we've actually had a lot more
response initially than
we thought that we would.
Well, you also have put it
out there on your socials.
We posted it on our socials about, "Look,
(04:15):
Lori has a billboard."
Yeah, it's so perfect.
So we're promoting the fact that you have
a billboard, which is so
silly, but it was funny.
I used to, whenever I got out of
education, my husband used to tell me to
go into real estate.
And I always said I didn't wanna go into
real estate because I don't
want my face on a billboard.
I don't love my face
enough to put it on a billboard.
And now I have a
billboard at the event center.
You have a billboard, and
(04:35):
neither of us are realtors.
There we are.
And there we are.
So, well, congratulations on reaching the
level of success that
you get a billboard.
But that is, it is an accomplishment to
be around for as long as you have been.
And you do like to win a lot of awards.
You're a little competitive.
I mean, I like to win them.
(04:55):
I mean, Lori and I, little inside
information, we were in
leadership Plano together.
And I think we were probably the two most
competitive people in our
class, and we like to win things.
I think, you know, I wouldn't say I'm
competitive just because I win a lot of
stuff doesn't mean I'm competitive.
It just, again, it just happens.
I'm just really good
at everything that I do.
(05:17):
My sister-in-law once
gave me the best compliment.
She said, "Lori, you are good at
everything except humility."
Well, yeah.
You're like, "I'll take it?"
I'm like, "Yeah."
Yeah, I'll take it.
You won an award from us last year.
I did, I need to go score it.
You won the Best Ad Design Campaign Award
because if you have not paid attention to
(05:37):
Lori's ads in Plano City Lifestyle, she
actually pays attention to our themes
that we decide each month.
I think there are other people not do that.
Not all of them.
Oh.
I use you as an example.
We do.
When I talk to people and I'm talking to
them about coming on board with us as an
advertiser, I use your ad.
(05:58):
As my example, I say,
"Look how good Lori is."
At every single month, there's a cat
involved usually, which is always great.
Actually, I have been talking to Sarah,
our marketing coordinator, and I feel
like there's too many dogs.
So-- We need to go back to cats.
So I'm like, "You owe me a cat."
There's an article coming up about kids
and pets and all of that.
(06:18):
We're not gonna have any cats.
And I'm very disappointed in that and us.
We're gonna have to fix that.
But yes, we do try to hit the topic.
Yes, yes.
So the topic of the month, if it's food
and drink, she can come up with a ad
about wills and estate that
incorporates food and drink.
Kids and pets, that one's kind of an
easy-- That's a softball.
Yeah, that's a softball.
(06:39):
But travel, you've been
able to incorporate that.
That's kind of a softball too.
But the style issue, even relating the
style issue, relating the home issue,
relating every issue that we give you,
you guys have come up with a great ad,
which is why they won Best Ad Again
Design Campaign and
why we use it every time.
I'm like, "Look at what you can do.
You can be super creative."
(06:59):
And everybody else is terrified.
That sounds so daunting.
I'm like, "You don't have to do it, but
some people are really good at it."
Send them to me.
Maybe this is a second side hustle that I
could have or something.
There you go.
There you go.
We should show you the ones that don't
make it, that we don't submit to.
We need a blooper reel.
You're gonna have to sign an NDA for some
of these, the barbecue one for dad.
(07:21):
That one, a whole other vision.
We need a Lori Burch
blooper reel for Burch laws.
Sometimes we have to be reminded of the
segment of the population of
Plato this is going out to.
I grew up in Plato, so I know, sometimes
it's a little too irreverent.
It can be, but I grew up in
Plato too, and I enjoy that.
(07:42):
Let's dive into the actual
topic of why we're here today.
You are here to educate our listeners and
our viewers about estate planning wheels
and probates, and you have five myths
that you would like to dispel.
We have more fantastic information coming
your way, so stay with us because City
Lifestyle with Angie
Burns will be right back.
(08:04):
At City Lifestyle, we only partner with
best-in-class businesses, and a lot of
times people will ask me,
well, what does that mean?
We do a very rigorous vetting process for
anyone who is allowed to
advertise in our publications.
We only partner with people who are four
and five-star businesses, and who have
great reviews with Better Business
Bureau, have all of their licenses and
(08:25):
certifications up to date.
We wanna make sure that our readers and
listeners are only being recommended
businesses who are going to go above and
beyond, so you know you are getting a
best-in-class business.
The five biggest mistakes that we see
this could be an hour-long presentation,
hours on each one of the five, but we're
(08:46):
gonna try and hit these really fast.
Really quick.
We're gonna do a
countdown, because that's fun.
All right, ready?
Number five is assuming that things will
happen automatically, and there's a lot
of areas I can get into on this, but I
think the number one thing for Texans to
know, and this is specific to Texas, is
that if two people, a married couple, for
(09:07):
example, own a home together, and one of
them passes away with no will, no trust,
no deed, nothing special, they've just
bought the house together, it does not
automatically go to the surviving spouse.
Really?
And this is, if you like to geek out on
legal terms, which who doesn't, it's
called joint tenancy or joint tenancy
with rights of survivorship.
(09:28):
We do not have that in Texas, do not let
anybody else tell you that that is not
the case, that is the case, it does not
automate, even if you bought it together,
even if both names are on the title, it
does not automatically.
So what happens in that instance if
somebody doesn't have a will?
Well, they would have to do something,
and then it's up to the state laws that
determine who would get it.
(09:49):
So for example, in Texas, if the person
who passed away had kids from a previous
marriage, they would actually end up
inheriting that half of the house, and
then the surviving spouse-- So you only
own half of your house?
Correct, yes.
Wow. Even if you bought it together.
So it would have to go through the court
system, or it'd have to go through
something called airship.
But basically, you're earning to spend a
(10:10):
lot of money, and you need to get an
attorney where if you had spent less
money on an attorney to have a plan, you
wouldn't be going through that.
Wow, that's, see, number five's already--
Number five, it's a big one.
Super, super informational and helpful.
All right, so number four.
Number four, thinking that you have to
have a lot of money or assets in order to
(10:30):
have an estate plan, or that
you just need a simple will.
One of the favorite things that we get,
we get a call that says, hey, I've got a
simple situation, I
just need a simple will.
And we know what that's
code for, just so you know.
What's the cheapest thing you got?
And here's what I would say, is that do
not give a bank, a financial institution,
a title company, or the state of Texas,
(10:52):
the opportunity to
complicate your very simple situation.
It's off the charts.
The other thing is a lot of people will
say, I just need a will, I
don't need an estate plan.
It's just a category of law.
So what's the difference?
There is no difference.
It's a type of estate plan.
I mean, a will is a type of estate plan.
A power of attorney is
a type of estate plan.
(11:12):
Me telling you how to set up your bank
account is a type of estate plan.
It's a plan that has to do with what is
something valuable to you.
And it doesn't just
have to be money or assets.
We talk a lot about
CYA, cover your assets.
But the way I define assets is anything
that is unique to you
that is worth protecting.
So this can be your kids.
This can be your reputation.
(11:33):
This could be your
Barry Manilow collection.
I mean, that's very important.
Did I guess correctly?
No.
Yeah, no, no.
Now if you would have said my musical
theater cast recording collection or
something along those lines, then I would
be like, yeah, I need that to
go to the right person.
I had a client not too long ago who had a
really massive comic book collection.
(11:54):
And he wanted everything to go to his
mom, but he made different plans for that
because he said she would have no idea
how valuable this is.
So any sort of plan that you have,
whether it's a car, a bank account, a
home, it means that something needs to be
determined and you
need to make that choice.
What's gonna happen to it
(12:14):
if something happens to you?
Okay, number four, rockin' and rollin'.
Let's go on to number three.
Number three, somewhat similar to number
four, but that is thinking that you have
to be wealthy to use what's called a
revocable living trust.
Now there are lots of different types of
trusts and if you have estate tax issues
or whatnot, you can do that, but this is
(12:36):
not what that's for.
One of the things that is shocking to
some people is that a will still has to
go through a probate court process, a
public probate court process.
Now you still get to express all your
wishes and what you want, but there's
still expense, time delay,
and it's a public record.
And probate is getting more cumbersome in
Texas for a lot of reasons, and I'm gonna
(12:56):
tell you one reason in particular,
because this is important to people who
live in the DFW area.
How long have you lived here?
40 plus years. 40 plus years.
Have you noticed, as I have, in the last
five to 10 years, there's just a few more
people that live here?
A couple, yeah.
Just a handful.
And if more people are living here, what
does that also mean?
More people are dying here?
(13:16):
People are dying here, yes.
So in the 20 years that I've had in my
practice, not a single probate court has
been added to callin', dentin', tarant.
So they're overwhelmed.
Yeah, not a single, so there's other
reasons why probates become more
cumbersome, but that is a
really big one, a lot of backlog.
So when you create a revocable living
trust, which says all the same stuff that
a will does, but you just, you connect it
(13:38):
to the trust, you still control all your
assets, all you want, there's no
different tax treatment to it at all.
When you pass away, unlike a will that
has to go through probate court and
there's time and expense in public
record, a trust bypasses all of that.
That sounds like a, it's no-brainer.
It's almost, it's, you know, nothing is a
one-size-fits-all, which is a good segue
to mistake number two, but nothing's a
(13:59):
one-size-fits-all, but it is, I'll put it
to you this way, when we first started
out, it was maybe 20% living
trust plans, 80% will plans.
In the last five to
eight years, that's flipped.
So a lot more people are either, if
they're doing this for the first time,
choosing a trust, or if they're coming
back to us to have a review, they're
(14:19):
upgrading to a trust.
It is more work and more upfront expense,
but it more than saves
itself and time and money.
Do you have a will or a trust, or can you
have a will and a trust?
That's a very nuanced question.
So for most people think of it as a will
or a trust, but technically it's a will
or a will and a trust, because you always
have a will with a trust.
Typically it's called a pour over will.
(14:40):
So if there's something you don't get
connected to your trust, the will will
need to be kicked in.
Let's say it's a bank account.
So you're still gonna have to go to
probate, so we're trying to avoid using
that, but it's just in case you forget,
because people are very bad at what's
called funding their trust, or as I say,
connecting the trust.
See, there's that fifth grade ability to
write, connecting it,
connecting it, not funding it.
(15:02):
So if you don't do that, then things are
outside, but the pour over will still
makes it more efficient.
It distributes everything the same way as
the trust says, but we try to avoid ever
having to use that will.
So technically you want to use a will or
a trust, but you want to have
a will or a will and a trust.
Gotcha, gotcha.
And the myth is a lot of people think
(15:22):
trust, and they think millionaires,
billionaires, trust fund babies, they
think-- It can be a bank
account, it can be a home.
But anybody can get one.
It's just you don't want it to go through
a probate core process.
Okay, okay, so you said
it led into number two.
Let's go, number two.
It does.
So number two, top mistake that people
make, is thinking that these DIY online
services, will kits, or even some of
(15:43):
these HR companies that provide these
services is better than nothing.
Most of the time they are nothing, and
sometimes they're worse than nothing.
So to try-- Because they make it more
complicated to undo the problem.
So there's so many reasons why these
things are bad, but one of the biggest
reasons, and I'd love to tell you it's
because the number one reason they're
bad, is because they don't have the
(16:04):
sophisticated, customized, specialized
language that I've worked years, decades
crafting, and that is true.
However, the biggest problem is they're
not signed correctly.
Huh.
Look, I can show example after example,
probably at least a couple times a month
we see this, and when are we finding out
that the will wasn't signed properly?
After the person's already passed away.
And that's too late.
And they can't sign anything.
Is that too late?
(16:25):
Yes, yes.
It's too late, and there's no close.
You can't say, well, this was their
intent, or this is what they want.
Either it was signed with the formalities
required by Texas, or it doesn't work.
And so why is it though, when people put
unintended things into their DIY plan,
they manage to get it signed correctly.
So two of the biggest examples I can give
you, is people presume that when they get
(16:47):
married, that they become one, and it's
sweet, I love it, I married myself, maybe
you had the little sand ceremony where
two become ones,
Spice Girls style, right?
But Texas still sees you as two entities.
And so what happens when you're filling
out these forms, is you just presume
everything goes to your spouse, when it
says who gets your stuff, you skip.
You skip to your kids, you
(17:07):
skip to the next in line.
And why is it when people do that, they
get it signed correctly, so now we have a
will where somebody
disinherited their spouse.
Oh my goodness.
All the time.
The second one that we had, where they
successfully got their trust signed, and
successfully got their deed to their
trust recorded in the county, they lost
their homestead exemption.
Which if you're in Texas, the homestead
(17:29):
exemption is everything.
It's thousands and thousands of dollars.
So not only is it often nothing,
sometimes it's even worse than nothing.
Wow, that is a big myth to dispel.
All right, so number one.
Is it hard to believe after the four I
just went through that
there is one that's bigger?
There's more, there's
one more that's bigger.
I know.
That's bigger than all of those?
(17:49):
I'm like eagerly
waiting for this education.
Are you at the edge of your seat?
I'm at the edge of my seat.
Now you're at the edge of your seat, thank you.
And I'm so ready for number one.
The number one mistake that people make
when it comes to estate planning and
probate is-- Are you
all ready for number one?
Are you at the edge of your seat?
Because here we go.
Are you ready for it?
You're ready.
Stay tuned, we will be right back with
City Lifestyle, with Angie Burns after
(18:11):
these short announcements.
Thank you for tuning into
City Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
We are committed to being involved in our
community and giving
back as much as we can.
If you would like us to come out and
throw a neighborhood block party for your
community, please contact us.
We bring out bounce houses, DJs, ice
cream trucks, and we would love to get
(18:32):
your feedback on our publication and
introduce you to our highly qualified and
vetted advertising sponsors.
We do not sell anything at the events, we
just come out, throw a party, and get to
know our neighbors so that we know how to
best serve our community.
So let us know if you would like us to
come out to your neighborhood.
We typically serve our neighborhood for
block parties during the months of May,
(18:53):
June, July, and
October for trunker treats.
So reach out to us at Angie, A-N-G-I, dot
Burns, at citylifestyle.com to book your
City Lifestyle block party today.
(Upbeat Music)
I feel like I need to do
like a drum roll or something.
We need to do some ready for it.
(19:15):
Let's go.
Is waiting.
It's waiting.
People put this off for whatever reason,
whatever excuse, I
think most of it's excuses.
I've heard what people often think are
well-meaning reasons, but this is gonna
change or that's gonna change.
Well, you might move from your house, so
that doesn't mean you don't get a life or
a homeowner's insurance policy on your
(19:36):
home if you're gonna move in five years.
Like you want that every single year in
case something happens.
And yes, things can change.
You can update your
plan, you can do that.
But meanwhile, clock's ticking and you're
only getting closer to needing it.
And what is really, really hurtful for us
is we'll have people who will come to a
seminar, listen to a podcast, they'll
even make an appointment, they'll have a
(19:58):
consultation, and they know it's
important in the moment.
And then they walk out that door and if
they haven't made the decision yet, let's
get this process started.
Their mom gets sick and they have to fly
out of town or their air conditioner
breaks down and they have to fix that.
And meanwhile, life gets in the way, but
the priority of this never changes.
The necessity of this never changes, but
(20:19):
it starts moving to the
back burner, back burner.
And far too often for firms like ours,
the next time we hear from them, it's
their family and it's
too late to do anything.
And so whatever it takes to get people to
say, get this done, get it done right and
get it done now, that is the most
critical mission that people have.
It's a showing of love to their family
(20:40):
and loved ones that they cared enough
about them and they cared enough about
themselves to preserve this final chapter
of their story without leaving a mess.
There's already so much that people go
through when somebody passes away.
You don't wanna have to deal with all of
the legalities and the T's being crossed
and the I's being dotted.
(21:01):
If you can just save your family, the
time, the headache, the stress, by going
in and just meeting with you and figuring
out what's the best plan that I can leave
for my family, then you're gonna be doing
such a service to your
family in the long run.
We recently had a client who had to wait
(21:22):
for the court process to play out so she
could sell her husband's car.
And she was so frustrated because she
said, "I can't see it anymore.
I just wanna be able to sell this thing."
And she's getting very
frustrated and we understand that.
But there's not a lot we can do.
We gotta go through the system because it
wasn't set up ahead of time.
And I just want to be
able to sell this car.
It's too painful to see it.
(21:43):
Yeah, and I think that's one of the
things that's really important with
somebody in your field is a level of
empathy that you have to have for the
people you're dealing with because you
don't deal with people necessarily during
the happiest times of their life.
No, never.
I tell my people,
we're not party planners.
Nobody wants to call us.
Nobody's happy about calling us.
(22:03):
Now, a lot of people are relieved and
it's very cathartic and they're very
happy to have that peace of mind when
they're doing the pre-planning.
But nobody wants to have to do this.
And so everybody that we have at our firm
is trained and geared and really vetted
to come into the door, like not even
(22:24):
having to be trained to have that
conviction, but they need to come in the
door with it to really
have that understanding.
A lot of lawyers are seen as sharks and
liars and this and that
and all in it for the money.
But if you get into a division of law
like yours, the field of estate planning,
you have to have a
different approach and outlook.
(22:46):
I mean, I'm just telling you the truth
and people can take it or leave it.
But there's, and the other thing to
understand about lawyers, particularly
ones that do estate planning and probate
is that our job is to
be worst case scenario.
We have to plan for the
worst things happening.
So sure, maybe you can rush to the
hospital and without a medical power of
attorney, they would let
(23:07):
you visit your husband.
I mean, they shouldn't, I mean, if they
do, it's against the law, but you can
come at me all you want.
It's usually the trolls on social media.
Like I was able to do that.
Like, yes, they're breaking the law or
something, or there's a piece of this
you're not telling me.
But there's nothing that we, that's the
most comforting thing what I tell my team
is that it's not like we're selling
(23:29):
extended car warranties, which actually
they're not a bad idea sometimes, but
it's not like that, right?
Like what everything that we're selling
is something that it's a reality
everybody's gonna face.
So even unlike homeowners insurance,
which I think is a great parallel, you
may never need that.
But I guarantee you, you will need this.
So why not have it done
right and have it right now?
(23:51):
And so if somebody wanted to contact you
right now, tell our listeners
and viewers how to contact you.
Go to the billboard on Presto.
(Laughing) The best way to reach us, and it's the
best way to find out more information.
We're really proud of how much work that
we put into our website.
The best place to go is birch-law.com.
That's B-U-R-C-H dash law dot
(24:11):
com, or go to CYALaw dot com.
So you can cover your assets.
I love the punny.
I love it.
Well, thank you so much, Lori, for coming
with us today and being here and teaching
us in this short amount of time such a
plethora of information, massive amounts
of information that are gonna be very
helpful for all of us as
we plan for the inevitable.
(24:33):
It's coming.
It's coming, if we like it or not.
Well, I appreciate you
being here and your time.
You bet.
And we will see you next time.
If you are looking for the best place to
market your business to our local
community, please consider
City Lifestyle Publications.
I personally own the Allen and Plano
territories, but we have over a dozen
luxury publications in our area.
(24:54):
We are a nationwide brand, so we have
over 200 publications across the nation,
and we really do value high editorial
integrity, beautiful photography, and
making sure that your story is told in a
respectable and beautiful way.
So if you would like to learn more about
how to become an advertising partner of
City Lifestyle Publications, feel free to
(25:15):
reach out to us, because we are your
ticket in the door to get you face to
face with your next client.
(Upbeat Music)
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