Chris Bukatz refused to put Christmas lights up on Thanksgiving weekend because he wanted to enjoy some outdoor activities of his own and did not want to miss the great football games. “I don’t look at 10 day weather forecasts,” said Chris. “So, I had no idea it was going to be freezing for like two weeks. I tried to tell my wife it was too cold to put them up, but she didn’t care, saying I had my chance Thanksgiving weekend.”
Chris’s wife Lori insisted the lights were put up in the freezing weather two weeks ago, but before doing so, she made sure everything was set with the family. “I contacted Yvonne over at Olivere Law to make sure everything was good as far as our will and estate planning. I also bulked up Chris’s life insurance a little bit, as well as making some other minor changes.” Lori said that she was not hoping Chris would die, but it would not in any way have been her fault. “He could have put those lights up in 60 degree weather, but chose to put it off. He knew I wanted them up the following week and could have planned accordingly.”
Chris said he was initially unaware of the addition to his insurance policy and the tweaks in his estate planning. “After I was done getting everything set with the lights and got her final approval, she kind of told me in passing what she did,” said Chris. “It was the right idea, but it probably could have been handled better. There were definitely times on that roof I thought I could die, and certainly times that I wanted to die, so nice to at least have my family taken care of.”
Estate planning attorney Yvonne Olivere said that although traumatic experiences or upcoming events often trigger thoughts of setting a plan for your will and estate, it shouldn’t always be the case. “The best time to get these things in order is when you are in good health, mind and body, so that external factors don’t cause you to make irrational decisions,” said Yvonne. Lori says she is happy with the changes she made, and will remind Chris next year that he may want to get the lights up on the first warm day after Thanksgiving.
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