Delivering News and Updates on Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration Matters |
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In this edition, discover the not-so-helpful side of artificial intelligence (AI), learn ways to keep the best interests of your beloved grandchildren at heart, see the surprising results of our July poll, and mark your calendar for a special, first-time December event! But, first, FALL! 🍁 |
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TIP OF THE DAY:
Do Not Rely on Artificial Intelligence to Write Your Estate Plan!
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ChatGPT—an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot by OpenAI—has been used by millions of people since it launched in November 2022. With its ability to create original text upon request, the tool has been used by students for homework and even by politicians in campaign ads. Still, no matter how useful this tool may seem, there are serious concerns that the ability to alter images or manufacture text is advancing beyond our human ability to detect falsehoods and forgeries. As one lawyer found out recently, you should NOT rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare your legal documents.
The New York lawyer is facing a court hearing and possible disciplinary sanctions after his firm was discovered to have used ChatGPT to conduct legal research on a case. The attorney submitted a legal brief to the court that relied on several previously decided court cases in an attempt to persuade the judge to rule for his client. The problem is that six of those cases don't exist. These fake cases were completely made up by ChatGPT. The lawyer told the judge that he asked ChatGPT if these cases were legitimate, and the AI responded yes. But, it lied. These cases were manufactured to support the lawyer's desired outcome. The tool had no regard for truth or accuracy.
In the law, truth and accuracy is paramount. Also, in an area like estate planning where laws differ from state to state, it's incredibly important that the right law be applied and adhered to. If ChatGPT can fool a lawyer with 30 years of experience, it can fool laymen too. So, tread carefully before you rely on bots or AI to draft the legal documents you need to protect and preserve your family's future!
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In 1978, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day, which this year falls on today, September 10. We would like to take this opportunity to honor all of our valued clients who are grandparents and wish you the best on your special day.
“If I knew how much fun grandchildren would be, I would have had them first!”
As you know, one of the great joys in life is welcoming a grandchild into the family. After all, you get to re-experience the wonder of holding a new baby—without having to change the diapers or go without sleep every night! You can also enjoy watching your grandchildren grow up without continually reminding them to wash their hands, eat their vegetables, or brush their teeth! And let’s be honest, there’s a certain pleasure in the spectacle of your son or daughter going through exactly what you went through while raising them.
All humor aside, as a loving grandparent you want the best for your grandchildren and look for ways to help and protect them any way you can. One of the best ways to accomplish these goals is through solid estate planning. We can help you safeguard the assets you want to leave to your grandchildren should, for example, your child get divorced or your grandchild be too young or immature to handle a financial inheritance on his or her own.
Another way we can help you look out for your grandchildren is by enrolling them in one of the DocuBank programs geared toward children and young adults: the Minors Matter Family Care Program for children under 18 and the In Case of Emergency (I.C.E.) Card for college students. DocuBank exists to ensure healthcare directives are immediately available to medical professionals and family members in the event of an emergency as well as to facilitate immediate access to vital information such as allergies, medical conditions, emergency contacts and more. Enrolling your grandchildren in Minors Matter and I.C.E. not only helps protect them in the event of a medical emergency, but it can also help you and your children enjoy greater peace of mind by providing an alert to loved ones if something happens.
We welcome the opportunity to speak with you in greater detail about all the services we can provide to help you look out for the best interests of your beloved grandchildren and the rest of your family.
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In July, we asked you what communication methods you prefer and the results were very enlightening! See the poll results below.
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The good news is we are already delivering meaningful information to you in your most preferred formats: blogs and newsletters and live in-person workshops. For those that prefer pre-recorded videos (the third highest choice), we’ve got you covered too --- we have a video library on our website with over two dozen videos from Amy about various estate planning topics. Start here. Since more than 40 percent of you enjoy video content in some way, shape, or fashion, we are brainstorming ways to incorporate more videos! If there's a particular topic you'd love us to do a video on, let us know!
The most surprising result was the zero percent for social media channels. We share office closures, planning tips, trust funding reminders, and other helpful posts 3-5 times a week on social media. Apparently, while social media is a great way for us to connect with the general public and our referral partners, for you —our clients—it’s not the best avenue of communication. This is helpful for us so that we continue to share important material in other ways aside from just social media.
Thank you for answering us!
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We have something pretty special planned for our clients in December. We'll "shine a light" on this event soon as Amy, Pamela & Kim are working out the final details. In the meantime, mark your calendar for Tuesday, December 5 and look for more info soon.
You won't want to miss this special evening!
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