Not Your Average Death Blog
Boots Got Adopted (And Yes, It’s Bittersweet)
Boots got adopted. She was curious, scrappy, and somehow always exactly where she shouldn’t be. The house feels quieter without her… and little less chaotic too. But mostly, it just feels different.
I got this message from Detroit Dog Rescue today about her new home:“She is fitting in incredibly well and they are obsessed with her!”
Why your life insurance trust might not work
New clients came in with two life insurance trusts—professionally drafted, signed, notarized, and organized in beautiful binders. There was just one problem: the trusts didn’t do anything.
In this episode, Jill breaks down what an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) is, when it actually makes sense, and how it fails when no one follows through. This is a real-life look at the gap between having documents and having an estate plan that actually works.
Michigan Just Changed How Advance Directives Work
Until a few days ago, there was a significant limitation built into Michigan law that most people didn’t know about.
If a patient was pregnant, their end-of-life decisions could be overridden, even if those decisions were clearly stated and even if they had chosen someone they trusted to speak for them.
Michigan law required advance directives to include this language:
“The patient advocate designation cannot be used to make a medical treatment decision to withhold or withdraw treatment from a patient who is pregnant that would result in the pregnant patient’s death.”
In other words, there were circumstances where your voice didn’t control, even when you had done everything “right.” That restriction has now been struck down as a violation of the Michigan Constitution.
Spring has sprung at Belle Isle.
This morning it was just me, my dog, and a field of daffodils that seemed to show up overnight. We went for a run, and I kept reminding myself to take it in.
How assets get lost after death and what to do
When someone dies, there’s no master list of what they owned and no automatic system that pulls it all together. In this episode, Jill walks through what actually happens when families try to track down assets, why unclaimed property isn’t the safety net people think it is, and how a lack of organization can turn estate administration into a frustrating, years-long scavenger hunt. This is where estate planning meets real life and where most plans break down.
Why saying yes to serving as agent under a POA can backfire
Agreeing to serve as an executor, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney often feels like the right thing to do but it’s also one of the most overlooked risks in estate planning. In this episode, Jill flips the perspective and walks through what you need to evaluate before you say yes to a fiduciary role in someone else’s estate plan. From compensation and liability to knowing when to step in and how to step out, this episode highlights the gap between estate planning documents and real-life execution. Because a well-drafted estate plan only works if the people named in it are set up to succeed.
What You Can and Can’t Do with the Trust You Inherited
Can you stop your child from inheriting money, even if the trust says they should? In this estate planning episode, we walk through a real-life scenario where a mother is trying to protect her son from receiving a large inheritance at the wrong time. Along the way, we break down how estate planning tools like trusts actually work in real life, what trustees can and can’t do, and why you can’t simply “use up” a trust to avoid passing money on. We also introduce a powerful (and often overlooked) tool, a power of appointment, that might allow you to adjust what happens next, even when a trust is irrevocable. Because sometimes the plan is set… but not completely locked.
Death Readiness Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum
My best friend came to Michigan this week, and we did what best friends do. We ran, we biked, we wandered, and we talked about everything. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, we also got her ready for her first meeting with a financial advisor.
Why That Retirement Account May Not Go Where You Think
What happens if you don’t name a beneficiary on your retirement account? Most people assume it goes to the estate. But that assumption can be dangerously wrong. In this episode, Jill walks through a real case where getting this wrong would have cost a surviving spouse more than $300,000, and explains what actually controls the outcome in your estate planning.
Why Giving Money Can Do More Harm Than Good
A viral GoFundMe campaign for a DooDash delivery driver reminds us that generosity, while beautiful, can have unintended consequences. In this episode, Jill walks through real-life examples from her law practice to explain how giving money, especially to someone receiving government benefits, can sometimes do more harm than good. Thoughtful generosity often requires slowing down and understanding the full picture.
What a Foster Puppy Taught Me about Estate Planning and Preparing the Next Person
It’s going to be bittersweet, and I’m definitely going to cry. This Saturday we’re taking our foster puppy, Boots, to an adoption event. There’s a very good chance she’ll meet the person who becomes her forever home.
We’ve spent the last month caring for little Boots. In that time, we’ve learned all of her quirks, what makes her happy, which toys she loves, what scares her, and what helps her feel safe. All this time, we’ve been preparing her for a life we won’t actually get to see. That’s the strange and beautiful part of fostering. You invest time, care, and energy into helping a dog become ready for the next chapter, and then you step aside so someone else can live that chapter with them.
Why Estate Plans Fail Adult Children
Your parents paid thousands of dollars for a revocable trust but none of the assets were ever transferred into it. Did their estate planning attorney make a mistake?
In this episode of The Death Readiness Podcast, Jill Mastroianni explains what it actually means to fund a trust, why this step is essential for the plan to work, and who is typically responsible for doing it. She also walks through a real-world example showing how failing to fund a trust can cost families hundreds of thousands of dollars in probate fees and create a huge administrative burden for adult children.
More importantly, Jill highlights the hidden emotional cost when estate planning work falls on family members instead of being handled during the parent’s lifetime.
Why Good Powers of Attorney Still Fail
Most people think signing a power of attorney is the hard part but the real challenge is making sure it actually works when someone you love needs to use it.
In this episode, Jill shares a real-life story of a daughter trying to help her mother and running into unexpected roadblocks with a bank, even though the legal documents were properly signed years earlier. You’ll learn why “good” estate planning can still fail in the real world and the five practical steps you can take now to reduce friction later.
This episode is about moving from legal theory to real-life implementation because Death Readiness isn’t just paperwork; it’s making sure your plan works when life gets messy.
How to Give Without Jeopardizing Government Benefits
A grandmother wants to divide her wealth equally among her grandchildren — but one grandchild has Down syndrome, and a simple gift could unintentionally jeopardize eligibility for important government benefits. In this Tuesday Triage episode, Jill walks through required minimum distributions (RMDs), why “equal” doesn’t always mean “fair,” and how thoughtful planning protects both generosity and long-term support. You’ll learn how special needs planning tools like ABLE accounts and third-party special needs trusts help families give with love without causing unintended consequences.
Why Small Acts of Care Matter More Than You Think
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.
Why You Should Beware of Tax Advice Via Social Media
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.
How to be Fair to Your Children in Your Estate Plan
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.
Why Knowing Your Rights Isn’t Enough
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.
How Geography Can Wreck Your Estate Plan
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.
How to Avoid Mistakes with Debt After Death
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.
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.