Bio
Experienced Estate Planning Attorney
The greatest gift my parents gave me and my six siblings is that they took care of their own estate planning.
My mother spent three years in a nursing home at the end of her life. My father spent five months in a nursing home at the end of his life a few years later. The fact that my parents planned so that their children never had to pay for their care was significant to me.
My parents were hard-working people who lived modestly and planned for the future. They were not wealthy by any means, but their estate planning allowed them to spend extended periods of time in a nursing facility without depleting all of their assets.
As a result, they could pass their hard-earned assets onto their children.
In addition, my parents' estate plan reflected their life and they wanted to pass those values onto their children. With seven children, you can imagine there were a lot of arguments that had to be resolved.
Most of them were solved by drawing names or numbers out of an old kettle with a broken handle. On the afternoon of my father’s funeral, we were all sitting in one of my older brother’s house. My only sister, who had received all of my mother’s jewelry, informed us that she wanted one of her sisters-in-law to have my mother’s pearls.
Immediately, one of my nieces grabbed the old kettle and put all the brothers' names in it, and had my sister draw a name. I am sure my parents were smiling as they looked down knowing that even as adults, we settled things the way they taught us.
The other reason I do what I do is my children. Every time my wife and I go on a trip without our kids, we ask the question, “Have we planned for our children in the event something happens to both of us?” Our answer is "Yes."
What is your answer? Does your answer bring peace or panic?
At Oak City Estate Planning, we do what we do because we want to help our clients give their children the gift of creating a plan today to secure tomorrow. A plan that takes care of their children when they are young and takes care of themselves when they grow old. A plan that reflects their values and how they lived life.
Lars grew up in Southern California. He received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Oklahoma. He then earned a Law Degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.
Lars has practiced law in California, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and North Carolina for over 30 years. He has spent the last 18 years practicing law in Raleigh, NC. Lars has been married to his wife for over 25 years.
They have two children.
Lars is an avid baseball fan and loves all things Red Sox.