The Death Readiness Podcast: Not your dad’s estate planning podcast
You’re the one prepping for your child’s IEP meeting while trying to talk your aging dad out of getting a puppy. You’re booking medical appointments, managing the money, juggling work emails during school pickup and still expected to keep the fridge stocked and know who has practice, rehearsal, or a field trip tomorrow. Your parents are struggling, but they still insist they’re fine. You see the mobility issues, the memory slips, the unopened mail, but every offer to help feels like an argument. You’re scared to push. You’re scared to wait. And there’s no clear roadm...
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Why Small Acts of Care Matter More Than You Think
<p>In this Friday episode, Jill shares the unexpected lessons she’s learning from fostering a puppy named Boots, and how chaos, inconvenience, and small acts of care reveal what agency really looks like. Through stories about raising a guide dog puppy as a child, parenting, and estate planning, this episode reframes death readiness as something much more human: choosing small, meaningful actions even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. </p> <p>What You’ll Learn in This Episode</p> <p>Agency isn’t always big or visible. Sometimes it looks like fostering one dog, making one appointment, or organizing one folde...
Why You Should Beware of Tax Advice Via Social Media
<p>A viral Instagram reel claims California’s Proposition 19 “hijacks your kids’ inheritance.” In this Tuesday Triage episode, Jill walks through the facts behind the fear. Using a real-world example, she explains how California property taxes actually work, what changed under Proposition 19, and why federal tax rules like step-up in tax basis still protect many beneficiaries. This episode is about slowing down, adding context, and replacing social-media sound bites with real understanding.</p><p>What You’ll Learn in This Episode</p><p>Why estate-planning advice from social media can be misleading without context</p><p>The difference between property taxes and...
How to be Fair to Your Children in Your Estate Plan
<p>What happens when you give one child a house during your lifetime but want to keep your estate plan “equal” later? In this Tuesday Triage episode, Jill answers a listener question about lifetime gifts, equalizing inheritances, and how beneficiary designations can complicate even the best intentions. Through practical examples, Michigan law, and a real court case, this episode explains why documentation matters when fairness between children is at stake.</p><p>What You’ll Learn in This Episode</p>A lifetime gift to one child does not automatically count toward that child’s inheritance.In Michigan, when a person has a Wi...
Why Knowing Your Rights Isn't Enough
<p>After her daughter attends a student-organized ICE protest at school, Jill steps back to examine the legal framework behind immigration enforcement, protest, and constitutional rights. This episode walks through what ICE can and cannot legally do, how the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Second Amendments apply in real-world encounters, and why preparation matters even when you understand your rights. The goal isn’t to tell listeners what to do; it’s to help them understand the law well enough to make informed decisions in uncertain moments.</p><p>Key Takeaways</p><p>Understanding ICE and local cooperation</p>Immigration and Cust...
How Geography Can Wreck Your Estate Plan
<p>Where you live can cost, or save, your estate hundreds of thousands of dollars. In this Tuesday Triage episode, Jill Mastroianni breaks down a listener question about estate taxes, domicile, and owning property in multiple states. Using a real-world scenario involving Washington, D.C., Maine, Georgia, and Kentucky, Jill explains how state estate and inheritance taxes actually work, why domicile is more than just a mailing address, and where people get tripped up when geography and estate planning collide. This episode helps separate fear from facts so you can make informed decisions about where, and how, you live.</p><...
How to Avoid Mistakes with Debt After Death
<p>When someone dies, their bills don’t generally become yours, but the wrong step can make them yours. In this episode, Jill Mastroianni breaks down what really happens to debt after death, when you can walk away, when you can’t, and why the order in which you pay bills matters more than the amount you owe.</p><p>Using a real client story, listener Tracy’s question from Virginia, and clear legal examples, Jill explains how fear, grief, and misinformation lead people to pay debts they don’t legally owe, and how to protect yourself instead. </p><p>What You’...
What You Need to Know When Justice Feels Out of Reach
<p>What happens when someone is killed by a federal officer—and no criminal investigation follows? In this episode, Jill connects Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final words to the modern-day death of Renée Good, then walks through the legal doctrines that shape accountability in the United States. You’ll learn how immunity works, why investigations matter, and what legal paths, however limited, may still exist when the system feels silent.</p><p>What You’ll Learn in This Episode</p><p>Why Dr. King’s final speech still speaks to moments of national confusion and grief</p><p>The story...
Why Selling the Lake House Can Rewrite Your Will
<p>A listener in Michigan asks what happens when her Will leaves a lake house that she sold years ago. Jill breaks down how Michigan law treats the sale of specifically gifted property, why the gift doesn’t disappear the way it would under traditional ademption rules, and how that one missing update can unintentionally shift millions of dollars and destroy family relationships. </p><p>What You’ll Learn in This Episode</p>What “ademption” means and why it wipes out gifts in many statesWhy Michigan law doesn’t automatically cancel a sold asset giftHow Michigan converts a sold house into a cash...
How Business Interests Create Estate Planning Blind Spots
<p>A beautiful estate planning binder doesn’t mean your plan is complete, especially when business interests or stock grants are involved. In this Tuesday Triage episode, Jill Mastroianni unpacks a listener question about distributing a family business in a blended family and uses it to expose one of the most common estate-planning blind spots: assumptions about ownership.</p><p>Through real-world examples and practical guidance, Jill walks listeners through how to identify who actually owns a business interest, what that ownership really means, and why these details matter long before a crisis forces the issue.</p><p>What You’ll L...
How Poor Estate Planning Cost a First Lady Her Home
<p>What really happened to the home of President James K. Polk? Jill revisits the fate of Polk Place in Nashville and walks through original deeds, wills, and trust language to explain how a presidential estate plan unraveled over decades. The result is a cautionary tale about life estates, unclear ownership, failed trusts, and how even “well-documented” plans can quietly erase a legacy.</p><p>What You’ll Learn in This Episode</p><p>Having documents isn’t the same as having an effective estate plan. James Polk had a will, and a trust but unrealistic assumptions and expectation still led to a w...
