Local attorney Daniel Campen believes it’s important to prepare your umbrella before it rains. But as the owner of Campen Estate Planning, his concern isn’t the weather. His goal is to protect his clients from the deluge of crises and conflict that can come from not having a detailed estate plan.
Becoming an estate planner has been a winding path for the Portland, Oregon native. After earning degrees in both business and finance during a 10-year stint at Disney World, where he also met and married his wife, Abby, Daniel dreamed of becoming a lawyer. When the couple moved back to Abby’s home state of Georgia, Daniel realized his dream by earning a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. They now live in Senoia with their daughters, Adaline and Lyla.
“I fully believe that God has a plan for our lives and sometimes it takes longer to get somewhere than we would have otherwise wanted,” he said.
Comprehensive Estate Plans
Daniel primarily meets with clients in their homes and likes to ask them, “What are your wants, dreams and desires and how can I help you get there?” He offers three types of comprehensive estate plans: A will-based family plan, a trust-based plan and a wealth plan. He also offers estate plan review meetings, which include a 50-point check list to identify gaps for those who already have a will.
Although law is primarily gray, with arguments on both sides, estate planning is black and white. “With estate planning, you follow the rules,” Daniel said. He compares it to an important lesson he’s learned from playing his collection of board games, which exceeds 100. “You don’t need to understand why the rules are the way they are, you just need to know what the rules are and play by them—even when they don’t make sense.”
Special Needs and Elder Care
Personal experiences led Daniel to become a specialist in elder care and special needs. When his mother needed benefits, Daniel’s father struggled getting help from a lawyer who saw him only as a dollar sign. “Seeing what my parents went through gave me a passion to help families in the same spot,” he said.
And when the Campens’ daughter Adaline was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, Daniel became passionate about helping families with special needs children. “If you have a child with special needs who may be on public benefits in the future, it’s vitally important to have a plan that does the right things—if you don’t, your child could lose their benefits when you pass away.”
Family Legacy
Since Daniel believes people are more than their money, he offers a family wealth legacy interview. Through video, audio or a letter, clients memorialize things they don’t want to die with them. “It’s so important to build something into your plans about who you are and what you want your legacy to be,” he said. A legacy also ensures that trustees or guardians carry out your wishes—from giving advice to a daughter before her wedding or to an 18-year-old who wants to travel Europe instead of going to college, to telling the story of a special heirloom.
More than a Will
A good estate plan includes a host of documents that many wills do not—power of attorney, medical power of attorney, a HIPAA release—everything to protect you or your estate if you become incapacitated or pass away.
At a minimum, Daniel says everyone over 18 needs a power of attorney and an estate plan once they become parents.
“Anyone at any age could be incapacitated,” he said, adding that without proper documents no one has the authority to make legal or medical decisions for you. And although a will may appoint a long-term guardian for children upon the death of parents, Daniel developed a kids protection plan which appoints short-term guardians if parents are incapacitated.
Most importantly, a cohesive, detailed estate plan helps families avoid court and conflict—one of Daniel’s primary goals. “Anytime you put death and money in the picture, you are creating the opportunity for emotional situations. It’s ripe for conflict and issues.”
Communication is Key
Daniel meets with clients every three years as part of his initial planning fee, to check for changes in the law, his client’s life or assets.
He stresses the importance of those named in an estate plan knowing their roles. “The key factor is communication,” he said. “If no one knows their roles or where the documents are, you’re going to end up in the same exact spot.”
He recommends keeping estate documents in a cheap, fire-proof safe at home for easy access instead of a safety deposit box.
How do you get someone to plan? Although he believes it has to be their decision, Daniel recommends practical steps to start the conversation. “Talk about your own plan,” he said. “Tell them what would happen without a plan and ask if that’s what they want. There are countless stories of people who didn’t plan or did plan and did not communicate about the plan whose wishes were not followed.”
An Act of Love
Although some consider creating an estate plan morbid, Daniel said, “I have helped more than a thousand people create estate plans and I have never once seen a correlation between signing documents and passing away. I find that clients feel a sense of peace after getting things in place. I call estate planning an act of love. At the end of the day, you’re not doing it for yourself. The people I love are the ones who will have to deal with the impact of my planning or not planning.”
For more information about Campen Estate Planning visit campenestateplanning.com, or to participate in his free webinars visit www.danielwebinar.com.