Many of you out there are in fear of facing foreclosure.  Interest rates are rising, your adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are resetting.  And you are scared.

What should you do?

Well, before we talk about that, let’s talk about what you absolutely shouldn’t do.  And that’s just to bury your head in the sand, leave your keys on the counter and walk away!

It’s not only the chicken way out, it also leaves you in the worst possible situation because you have options and, if you don’t seek them out, you are making a bad situation worse.

So, here’s four steps to take if you are facing foreclosure or think you might be in the future:

1.  Ask for help!

There is no better way to get what you want than to ask.  Most of us are too afraid or ashamed to ask for help and so we give up and give in before exploring all of our options.

You have nothing to be ashamed of and you don’t need to be afraid.  When you ask for help, you will get the help you need.  But, you’ve got to ask first.

2.  Don’t get conned.

You do need to be aware of people who will try to prey on your circumstances.  This can be a time of confusion, worry and fear for you.  And you must not allow this fear to cause you to make bad decisions.

But how do you know what’s a bad decision?

Well, first off, never sign any legal documents without having them reviewed by a trusted lawyer.  While you may think having a personal lawyer is not accessible or affordable to you, it’s not true.  A personal lawyer can save you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime by saving you from bad decisions.  Find a lawyer who won’t bill you hourly and you can turn to throughout your lifetime before making important financial and legal decisions here.

And never, never, never sign over the deed to your home without talking to a lawyer.  Doing so could cost you and your family dearly.

3.  Get help from trustworthy sources.

There are some trustworthy sources to turn to if you are facing foreclosure.  Start with these:

Gold Cross of America

USA Freedom Corps

Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America

Homeowner’s Hope

Acorn Housing

And, even when working with a trusted resource, don’t enter into any agreement without first talking to your own personal lawyer first.  This is a scary time for you, but with good advice and trusted guidance, you can come through the other side in a better position than before and ready for massive success in your life.

4.  Keep your chin up!

I know this seems like the worst thing that could possibly happen to you, but you can choose to see it a different way.

Look at this as an opportunity for growth and learning and see it as the first step on your journey towards the life of your dreams.

Many famous and very successful people have experienced bankruptcy and faced foreclosure.  And several of them have even been heard to say that it’s a rite of passage.

The real test is whether you can get back up, brush yourself off and create something even more amazing.  You can, but not if you bury your head in the sand, don’t take responsibility and act like a chicken!

Hold your head high, take responsibility, ask for help and make this the turning point of your life.

Posted in Family Wealth, Uncategorized | Comments(1)
Digg This! • Email This • Add to del.icio.us • Subscribe to this feed • Stumble It!

You probably can’t imagine how the case of a multi-millionaire, fallen from grace pop star could have any application at all to you.

Well, you might be surprised to know that Britney’s case has a lot of lessons for all of us, no matter how much money we have in the bank.

The other day I told you that Britney’s dad had been appointed as conservator of her person and co-conservator of her estate, which means dad’s now in control of what Britney can do, who she can see, and he’s controlling all access to her bank accounts and credit cards.

Well, apparently, over the weekend, Britney attempted to hire her own lawyer (Andrew Streisand) to fight her dad’s attempt to take over her personal and financial affairs.

But, the Court refused to recognize Streisand as Britney’s lawyer because the court-appointed lawyer assigned to evaluate Britney said that Brit doesn’t have capacity right now to hire her own lawyer at this point.

So, she’s out of luck.

For the life of me, I can’t imagine why Britney didn’t have a relationship with her own personal lawyer before now, but apparently she didn’t. You’d think that someone with her wealth would have a Will, a Trust, Health Care Directives, Powers of Attorney, Guardian Nominations … basically a comprehensive estate plan to protect her kids and her money.

And you’d also think that her estate planning would have been handled by her personal lawyer.

Guess not!

If it had, her lawyer would have had standing to appear on her behalf in Court today. But, because she didn’t, there’s no one representing what Britney wants in this whole fiasco.

How is this applicable to you?

Because it highlights how important it is for you to have a relationship with a personal lawyer before you need it.

By the time you need a relationship with a lawyer, it’s often too late. You are in a crisis situation and beginning a relationship during a crisis is often either impossible or very costly.

Instead, if you begin a relationship with your personal lawyer while everything is good and right in your life, you and your family will have someone to call who knows you and what’s important to you during that crisis situation.

One day you’ll need a lawyer, I don’t know when and I don’t know why, but when you do, you’ll be so grateful to have a relationship with your own personal lawyer.

It’s too late now for Britney, but it’s not too late for you … today having a personal lawyer is both accessible and affordable and if you own your home, care about your family, and want a trusted advisor to call when you are in crisis, you can and should have one of your own.

© 2008 Alexis Martin Neely

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: “Written by Alexis Martin Neely, mom, writer, speaker and Personal Family Lawyer. Alexis makes it super easy for your family to talk about and  plan for sticky subjects like money, death and taxes. Get Alexis’ humorous, enlightening, and often quite revealing “Family Wealth Secrets” at: www.FamilyWealthMatters.com.”

Posted in Family Happiness, Family Wealth, Uncategorized | Comments(2)
Digg This! • Email This • Add to del.icio.us • Subscribe to this feed • Stumble It!

To understand why Family Wealth Planning is “green”, you first have to understand my definition of “green.”

I define “green” as anything intended to leave the world a better place.

So a product is green if it makes less of an impact on the earth when it is discarded, thereby leaving the world a better place. A service is green if it helps people leave the world a better place, both during their own lifetime and for future generations.

That’s what Family Wealth Planning (often called estate planning) is all about - increasing Family Wealth from one generation to the next. And, that includes our global Family Wealth in addition to your personal Family Wealth.

It’s about making conscious decisions for your future and your family’s future.

And, I call that green.

If you consider yourself green, find yourself a Personal Family Lawyer, so you can make sure your kids are raised with your Values, Insights, Stories and Experience and will make a real difference with the Family Wealth you leave behind.

Here are a couple of other things that make us green:

• We just got solar panels installed at our 1920 renovated office.
• Our office is as paperless as possible for lawyers and we are about to begin working with a green consultant to see where else we can make eco-aware decisions

Agree or disagree with my conclusion that Family Wealth Planning is green?

Let me know by posting your comments here.

Posted in Family Wealth, Uncategorized | Comments(1)
Digg This! • Email This • Add to del.icio.us • Subscribe to this feed • Stumble It!

I can’t believe it, but 74% of U.S. parents don’t even have a Will to provide for the care of their children if they died today.

And, of those who do have a Will, most of their kids would still spend some time in foster care if their parents couldn’t care for them because a Will just doesn’t cut it.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way.

If you’ve been wondering what you need to do to get everything squared away for your kids and family if anything happened to you, come to MB on Saturday the 15th and I’ll fill you in.

On Saturday, September 15 at 3p in Manhattan Beach, CA* I’ll show you:

* how easy it is to make sure your kids would never be taken out of your home or raised by anyone you wouldn’t want … if you take action.

* how you can make sure the money you’ve been saving to leave your kids never falls into the wrong hands … and is available to care for your kids immediately.

* how to give your family the gift of knowing everything has been taken care of if anything happens to you.

All you have to do is register for my workshop

“7 Little-Known Steps You MUST Take To Protect Your Minor Children In Today’s Crazy World”

And, as my gift to you for attending, you will receive a F*R*E*E Kids Protection Planning Kit to guide you through the legal forms necessary to keep your kids safe and secure. This Kit sells for $397, but is my gift to you for attending.

Register at http://www.helpmealexis.com

I hope to see you there.

Much love,

Alexis

PS - If together, both parents should attend on Saturday, September 15 at 3p and to make that possible, we are providing childcare on a limited basis. So register quickly.

www.helpmealexis.com

*PPS - if you live outside Southern California or have friends who do, send them to www.FamilyWealthMatters.com to find a local event in their community.

Posted in Family Happiness, Family Wealth, Uncategorized | Comments(1)
Digg This! • Email This • Add to del.icio.us • Subscribe to this feed • Stumble It!