Insights & Guidance for Planning Ahead

This year marks my 40th year of practicing law in Hays, Kansas. After practicing in Topeka for three years, my wife and I relocated to Hays. It’s been a great journey. However, there are a couple other celebrations that I feel are more meaningful to me. Let me give you some background. Right after Christmas of 2000, my grandmother became ill and was given six months to live. However, my mother was available to bring my grandmother home. Then, two months later my mother un

I am writing this on Father’s Day 2023. My wife left town a couple days ago to travel with her sister. The responsibility of walking the dogs fell to me this morning. While walking I thought about Father’s Day, and particularly, my stepfather, Andy. Andy passed away a few years ago. In the fourth grade my parents divorced, and about a year later my mom married Andy. I do not think I was very cooperative or happy about the change. Eventually we moved from Texas to Kansas t

It is sure easy to marginalize older or chronically ill people. Some will actually talk around an elderly or chronically ill person sitting in the room. To my surprise and happiness, I continued to learn from my grandmother up until she passed away. I have an old dog named Star. She is kind of crippled up, both front shoulders being arthritic and bad. But she is still very special to me. She has a place on our couch right next to me. If one of the other dogs sit by me on the

One of my best friends has Parkinson's. We are talking long-time friends: Lane and I met the first day of college in an elevator when it broke down, and we introduced ourselves while waiting for the elevator to be fixed. After college, every year, we’d get together. Annually, we hunt with our friend Russell. During one of our hunts a few years back, Lane shared his diagnosis of Parkinson's. At some point that week, the three of us sat down and Lane discussed with us the p

Many of you have heard the analogy about the frog and boiling water – if you try to put a frog in boiling water, he will jump right out to save his life. But, if you put a frog in cool water and gradually warm it up, he doesn't realize it until it's too late. It's a horrible story. Every few weeks, I see the story in action. A family is dealing with dementia or some other chronic illness, and one or two of the family members are the sole caregivers. They are the frogs in

Easter this year included time with my grandsons. Both were decked out in new shirts and fresh haircuts. They looked so handsome. We got down to dying the eggs. This has been an event that Alex (the five-year-old) has enjoyed in the past. We got everything set up and Alex climbed up on the chair. Before he began to dye the eggs, my wife suggested we take off his shirt so as not to ruin it. All of a sudden Alex did not want to dye eggs. He got up and left the table. I

Forty years ago, I left my law practice in Topeka, and with my wife we moved to Hays. Forty years ago. It is hard to believe it been so long. The move was not without hiccups. Our home in Topeka was our first. We lived in a little two-story home, single garage, in an older neighborhood. We loved that first home and our neighbors. We had trials and tribulations there, but it was our first home, so it was special. The day of the move in January of 1983 was a beautiful day—a su

Recently, I had an annual physical. My doctor wanted me to have an X-ray on my hip. I had to get one of those braces on my wrist before I went up to the X-ray clinic. I was a little irritated as the doctor assured me I would go right up and get the X-ray. But I was assigned a number. I was number 68. I could not believe there were 68 people ahead of me. I went to the X-ray department, checked in and sat down. I only saw a couple other people sitting around me. Then, I

In 2020, my sons and I went to San Antonio, Texas for our annual “boy’s weekend”. It was unusually cold for San Antonio, even for January. We visited a cathedral near our hotel. As we went into the church there was an elderly man standing outside, wrapped in an Indian blanket. He had a long, shaggy beard, and it was apparent to me he lived on the streets. We toured the beautiful church, walking back to the alter area. Near the alter area there was an exit door through a s

There is a recent case that came down within the last couple of years. It was a case dealing with a trust and a trustee, and how that trustee handled a trust. Frankly, the trust was not very artfully drafted. In essence, it gave the trustee very broad authority. The trust attempted to waive any obligation on the part of the trustee to act as a fiduciary. My recollection is that the trial court agreed that that is in fact what the trust said, and that the trustee was not