Desmond Marrow

With under nine minutes to play in the third quarter at Syracuse, Toledo senior cornerback Desmond Marrow stepped up to make a tackle on Antwon Bailey. Crouched down low, Marrow was on his knees as his helmet collided with Bailey, then rolled away after the hit and lay on his stomach.

Marrow was taken off the field on a stretcher with his neck immobilized as a precautionary measure, giving the thumbs up with his right arm as he was carted off the field. A source with direct knowledge of the situation told Toledo Free Press that Marrow “actually got knocked out” on the play, adding that “he’s moving all extremities.”

Senior defensive tackle Johnathan Lamb sacked Ryan Nassib on the next play, and junior quarterback Austin Dantin found sophomore running back David Fluellen on a 29-yard touchdown pass on the Rockets’ ensuing drive to make it 20-13 UT.

As the Internet and mobile communication devices continue to shape media and force dramatic changes, it is difficult to stop and mark mileposts. It’s tough to put the forest in context when new trees spring up and grow seemingly overnight.
But there has been a clear shift in the impact of the local leading blogs and posting sites. Toledo Talk, SwampBubbles and Glass City Jungle have long been the leaders among local online news and commentary sites.
Not that long ago, a conversation about the three sites would have included their roles in breaking news and foreshadowing events in local politics, education, even nonprofit activities.
It was not uncommon for those blogs to post buzz that would become news in the mainstream media. But a look at the blogs now shows a decreasing role in breaking news that is detrimental to the evolution of new media as it melds with mainstream media.
Toledo Free Press’s long and fruitful relationship with Lisa Renee Ward of Glass City Jungle was forged from the great respect she earned with her newsbreaking history. Toledo Free Press has also previously collaborated with Chris Myers of SwampBubbles and very early on with JR of Toledo Talk, on everything from developing stories to hosting town hall speaking events. Ward recently left an editor post for employment with the city, and rightfully (albeit sadly) has stopped updating Glass City Jungle.
The shuttering of Glass City Jungle is the main factor in the dropoff, but there doesn’t seem to be any site that can step in to fill the vacuum. SwampBubbles, which once led the way with local education issues, has become largely a forum for posts filled with as much personal rancor as insight.
Toledo Talk remains a vibrant site for community discussion, especially cultural issues, but has chosen to literally put political discussions on a back page.
None of these bloggers have an obligation to break news and lead conversations, but for a few years it seemed as if they were not only keeping up, they were outpacing sources with far greater resources.
It is for the betterment of the community that we have a strong online discussion forum; the more sources speaking up, the better. Perhaps this is just a temporary pause and the cycle will strengthen.
For now, it is clear that some trees have fallen in the blog forest, and the result is a deafening silence.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

My children have three different sleep patterns. My 8-year-old, Jack, likes to stay up somewhat late, but wakes up smiling at 7 almost on the dot every morning. My 5-year-old, Elaine, gets tired earlier in the evening, and likes to sleep in until she is sufficiently rested. My 2-year-old, Lucy, is a night owl who likes to then sleep late into the morning. My husband and I have spent, nay, wasted, hours and hours of our evening life the past eight years trying to change this to no avail.
It was our understanding that children should fall fast asleep by 8 p.m. after a nice bath and a quiet book. However, we have discovered over the years that whether we start bedtime at 6:00 or 8:00, run the kids ragged in the fresh air or not, read a book or turn on the TV, Jack still falls asleep between 9 and 10, Elaine goes down about 8:30 and Lucy wills herself awake until 10 or later, whether she takes a nap or not.
Perhaps we were just shy of finally breaking them into more socially accepted habits, but we have instead given up on reconditioning and now allow their natural inclinations to stand.
It has occurred to me that our society depends heavily on its members holding onto distinct, varied and complementary inclinations and skill sets. We need individuals who are energetic enough to work tirelessly for the better part of a day, biologically built to stay up all night, gentle enough to care for the frailest among us, brave enough to run into a situation when their instincts tell them to run out, contemplative enough to keep us on our toes, focused enough to search until answers are found, patient enough to do the most repetitive of tasks and confident enough to repair the most delicate and complex of circumstances.
We all have our inherent strengths. Discovering, honing and maintaining those strengths is an essential process for any well-functioning society.
Our decades-long preoccupation with identifying what is inherently wrong with each and every one of us, especially our children, concerns me. Classifications once reserved for the most extreme cases are now readily applied to the slightest of quirks. Many of the great artists, actors, scientists, teachers, inventors, athletes, motivators and innovators we grew up admiring and respecting would likely spend their childhoods bogged down by diagnoses of attention deficit, hyperactivity, obsessive-compulsiveness and anxiety disordersin today’s social climate.
I recently read an interesting article by Elaine Hall titled “Autism: Is It An ‘Obsession’ Or Just A Preferred Interest?” As Hall discussed the merits of having a particular passion, I quickly gained a sense of relief that someone else viewed the world in a similar manner. Although Hall focuses on the interests of autistic children, the idea of recognizing and encouraging passionate interests can be applied across the board in our current “well-balanced is best” society.
Although a balanced life is no doubt a worthy accomplishment, so much of the paradigm-shifting innovation we have adopted and depend on today was born of the obsessive, single-minded pursuits of passionate individuals allowed to be so. To renew our reputation as innovative leaders, we must renew our willingness to recognize and accept a person’s strengths as such and stop attempting to instead categorize them negatively.
Differences need not be defined as deficits and disorders. There are challenges in this world that require impulsive, energetic, quick-thinking, detail-oriented, animated and hyper-aware people to overcome them.
The trick is that these solution-offering individuals are often viewed as challenges themselves, especially in their early years. The seeds of excellence and innovation are often the most difficult to feed, nurture, grow and harvest.
However, it is not just the squeakiest wheels that need the greasing. All people have an inherent worth that is a parent’s responsibility to quantify.
In doing so, we raise generations of people who grow up to say, “I’ve wanted to be this since I was a kid” or “I really love what I do” instead of generations who flounder in and out of various schooling trying to chase down the next big thing.
How much time and energy are we wasting attempting to fix what isn’t really broken? How much more could we be as a society if we recognized our children’s natural inclinations and instead worked to harness their potential? Our individual talents and idiosyncrasies are not a fluke; they are pieces of a puzzle challenging us to create the best possible whole.  O

Columnist Shannon Szyperski and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. Email her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

The Greater Toledo Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children and Other Homicide Survivors is hosting a candlelight vigil to remember loved ones who have been murdered. The vigil will take place at 5 p.m. Sept. 25 at Blessed Sacrament Church, 4227 Bellevue Rd. This fifth annual National Day of Remembrance was enacted by Congress as a day to remember loved ones who have been taken by murder. According to a news release, the event honors the lives of those taken by violence and publicly recognizes the impact of homicide on their surviving family members and friends.  The public is invited to gather with families and friends who understand the unspeakable loss of losing someone to murder. You may also honor the life of your loved one by adding their name to the Memory Scroll by calling (419) 309-7759. Please be prepared to spell the victim’s name and provide date of birth and date of death. There is no charge for this service.

Rutherford B. Hayes was a Civil War general, a U.S. congressman, a three-time Ohio governor and the 19th president of the United States. He was also apparently a psychic who saw straight into the future of Ohio and Toledo — and offered sensible development advice.
This week, Ohio Gov. John Kasich convened the “21st Century Energy and Economics Summit” at The Ohio State University. One of the hot topics at the Sept. 21-22 summit was capitalizing on Ohio’s natural gas and oil resources by allowing for Utica shale drilling. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland recently reported on a study, released Sept. 20, that concluded, “Ohio’s natural gas and oil reserves are a multibillion-dollar bonanza that could create more than 204,500 jobs in just four years.”
Kasich has consistently been a proponent of shale gas development, understanding the economic opportunities. Kasich has favored shale drilling in addition to, not in place of, the exploration of newer, alternative energy sources.
It is Economics 101 that for business and investment to thrive, energy prices have to be kept in check. It is Environment 101 that shale drilling, which has acquired the less-than-flattering moniker “fracking,” is going to attract strong opposition.
As described in The Plain Dealer, “Shale gas production involves drilling deep wells and one or more horizontal shafts from each vertical well. By pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into the horizontal borings, producers fracture the shale, releasing the gas and oil, which is then produced through the vertical well.”
The study that predicts the economic windfall was based on information from oil and gas companies, with contributions from several universities. It is easy to get excited by the report’s projections, wages from production at $12 billion per year by 2015 and annual tax revenues of $478.9 million by 2015. It is also easy to be alarmed by the claims of shale drilling forcing methane into deep-water wells.
So, here we — and our governor — stand at a crossroads, needing to decide whether to take advantage of this natural resource or to regulate and stall our way into falling behind as surrounding states move forward.
And that is where Gen. Hayes has some words of advice. Almost exactly 124 years ago, in September 1887, Gen. Hayes stood on a platform at the corner of St. Clair Street and Madison Avenue in front of the Boody House. He was in Downtown Toledo to mark the first use of natural gas for light. Among his remarks:
“It must be confessed at the threshold that the growth of Toledo during the last 25 or 30 years has not been as rapid as friends had hoped and expected. … The location of Toledo, on the map, is decidedly and unmistakably favorable to the building up of a great city. It is on the noblest freshwater highway in the world — the highway formed by the Great Lakes of North America and the matchless rivers which connect them with each other, and the ocean. On this highway Toledo sits near its middle point, at the mouth of the largest river that enters from the south the waters of the lakes, surrounded on three sides by the richest lands of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, and at the southwestern end of Lake Erie — that one of the central lakes whose shores are more densely peopled and more productive than any other lands on the great water highway.
“The promise which the map made for Toledo was so large and so boundless, that, by reason of a single element the map did not show, it could not in the nature of things be immediately and fully realized. …
“At all times in the history of Toledo its business has greatly exceeded that which is usually found in cities of the same population. The plain truth is that the increase of population and business has always been healthy, but it did not equal the sanguine predictions of its friends. Hence disappointment, and a disposition with some to underrate the real advantages of the city. One explanation of this is that a mere map cannot show all the elements of progress in our modern civilization. … During the early history of this city, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati all had cheap coal, and Toledo had not. … Now comes to this favored spot [natural gas] … will this beautiful fuel last? Will it be exhausted in 10 years — or 20 years — will Black Swamp from her depths continue to give this city natural gas? Nobody absolutely knows …
“A group of towns near enough to Toledo to share its prosperity, and to contribute by their growth to the prosperity of this city, are all in possession of the coveted prize. Findlay … Bowling Green, Fostoria, Fremont, Oak Harbor and Tiffin all enjoy the benefits of the new fuel.
“In conclusion … where natural gas is abundant and cheap, other conditions being favorable, population will surely and rapidly increase, and all legitimate industries and business will flourish.”
More than a century since Gen. Hayes made those remarks, the point remains valid. Ohio and Toledo need to capitalize on their natural resources to have any chance to compete and thrive. You don’t have to agree with “drill, baby, drill” to connect Gen. Hayes to Kasich, but if we’re still having this discussion a century from now, it will be to our detriment.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Desmond Marrow

NOTE: This is the sixth installment of a weekly series in which staff writer Mike Bauman will follow sixth-year Toledo senior cornerback Desmond Marrow for the 2011 season.

Toledo senior cornerback Desmond Marrow knows that as a Division I college football player it’s important to hold your own weight, especially as a member of the Rockets. With a non-conference schedule that frequently features formidable opponents, as this year’s did with back-to-back games against Top 25 teams in No. 15 Ohio State and No. 4 Boise State followed by a trip to Syracuse, staying in shape is paramount to withstand the physical play.
“I think the more weight you have, it can help you out as far as injuries,” Marrow said. “You can take bigger hits, things like that.”
Marrow is no stranger to injuries, having missed two full seasons during his UT career after suffering a torn hamstring in 2007 and a torn ACL and meniscus in 2008.
“That was one of my issues,” Marrow said. “I just want to try to stay healthy this year and play every game.”
Though Marrow’s family has both football and size in its history, adding weight was an issue for him as a teenager. When he entered Youngstown Cardinal Mooney as a freshman in 2002, Marrow had good height at 6-foot-2, but was a lean 160 pounds.
“As a freshman, I was a little pencil neck there running around in high school,” said Marrow, who is now 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. “I put on a lot of weight. I just try to deal with it because sometimes my weight fluctuates.”
Marrow credits his added weight to Toledo’s training staff and steady weightlifting program, as well as proper nutrition and hydration, adding that staying in shape is a constant process.
“I had to change up the way I was eating last week because the first two weeks I was dealing with cramps,” Marrow said.
Marrow went up from 203 pounds last year, eating four to five times a day to maintain it.
“It’s more, like, a personal goal because I knew with the injuries and losing people in certain positions that I could possibly have to play safety or move around and play certain spots on the defense, just to be ready at any moment to help my team out [and] just make sure my weight was right,” Marrow said. “It’s a good 210, though, because I can run with it, too. I don’t feel like I lost a step or anything, so pretty much I’m fine.”
Another Rocket who beefed up to counter past injuries was junior quarterback Austin Dantin, who put on 10 pounds of muscle for the 2011 season.
“From last year, I really played at about 190, and I’m up anywhere from 200 to 205,” Dantin said. “Adding that extra weight just allows me to be able to take the hits. It just helps overall, and I think it’s the same for all the guys in the offseason trying to add weight to be able to be more durable for the season.
“With the heat, it’s just rehydrating because all it is is just water weight. In the offseason, [I was] lifting and eating the right things. I wouldn’t say that I really increased how much I ate; it’s just what I ate and when I ate it.”

Desmond Marrow

While Marrow and Dantin both hit the weight room and fueled their bodies, one group they can’t keep up with is the UT linemen. After Toledo’s matchup with Boise State, Dantin’s aunt and uncle took him and the starting offensive linemen out to eat at Mancy’s Steakhouse.
“We had a pretty good meal,” Dantin said. “I think they would all say that they got enough food to feed them for a couple days. It was more food than I’ve ever seen, so it was a good time.”
Marrow doesn’t go that route with the defensive linemen.
“No, no, no, no — I can’t eat with the d-line,” Marrow said. “They eat a lot more than I can. I just try to do what I can, get in and get out of the buffet. T.J. Fatinikun eats the most. Hands down.”
Senior defensive end Malcolm Riley was approximately 240 pounds when he arrived as a freshman at UT in 2008 and now plays at 281 pounds, something that requires lots of carbohydrates, protein and frequent eating in general.
“Well, I mean, I do like to eat,” Riley said. “That’s not too much of a problem.”
Part of Marrow’s weight gain can also be attributed to at least one particular place.
“Chipotle, that’s my spot,” Marrow said. “In the summer, I went there every day and then I started to get sick of it, kind of neglected it, but that’s my spot.”
Just more proof that the Rockets are hungry, on and off the field.

Elmer J. Molnar, 82, of Toledo, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011 at home surrounded by his loving family.
He was born April 22, 1929 in Toledo, Ohio, to Andrew and Elizabeth (Varkoly) Molnar.  Elmer served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.  On February 11, 1956, he married Virginia Hornyak.  He was employed with LOF in Rossford for 40 years, retiring in 1987.  Elmer’s father was a founding member of St. Stephen’s Church, serving as the first Hungarian choir director.  Elmer later served as the choir director. He was a longtime member of St. Stephen’s Holy Name Society, Knights of Columbus Fatima Council and VFW Post 4906. Because of his love of the church, he and his family were always involved in church functions. He was master of ceremonies for all of the church dinners and added a “Wow” factor during all of the raffles.  He also followed his brothers as a bingo caller.
Elmer is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Virginia; children, Paul (Jen), Mary, Pam (Glenn) Taptich; grandchildren, Jessica, Allison, James, Kaleigh, Justis, Hailey, Zoe; great-granddaughter, Olivia, and sister-in-law, Grace Molnar.  He was preceded in death by his parents, loving step-mother, Rose, and siblings: Anna, Joseph, Stephen, Andrew, Frank, John, Bert, Elizabeth, Anthony, Emery and Verna.
The family would like to thank Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their compassion and caring during Elmer’s time at home.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to St. Stephen’s or Hospice of Northwest Ohio.
Elmer left a legacy of service, of compassion to others, and of the importance of sincere gratitude.  We leave him with the words he so often said to us. Godspeed, Elmer.  And thanks a lot.

Bowling Green State University is in the midst of a transformation, with six new buildings set to open on campus before the end of the year.
The Stroh Center, which opened July 1, was followed by two dining halls and two residence halls for the start of the school year. The Wolfe Center for the Arts is set to open in December.
“The transformative effect that all six of these buildings will have on the campus is phenomenal,” said Steven Krakoff, associate vice president of capital planning and campus operations. “Alumni who haven’t been on the campus in four to five years are amazed what we’ve done in a fairly short period of time.”
With a total cost of about $250 million, the project is the biggest building initiative in university history, but only the beginning of developments outlined in a master plan adopted by trustees in 2010, Krakoff said.
“We are very actively planning additional developments on campus,” he said. “The master plan calls for at least that much more spending going forward, so by no means are we done.
“This is really all being done in accordance with a broader vision with how the campus should develop extending 10 to 15 years from now.”
Dylan Murphy, a 2011 graduate now working with campus organizations, said he’s proud to see his alma mater put out bold plans.
“In this economy, either universities pull back and try to save money or you make yourself a contender in the marketplace and I think, to a degree, BG is doing the second,” Murphy said. “I just feel like that’s the way you do it. You don’t see great things from being safe. Greatness comes from taking risks. People come to universities for many reasons, not just academics. I’d rather be a part of something that seeks greatness rather than plays it safe.”
Stroh Center
The Stroh Center, a $30 million, 140,000-square-foot athletic and event facility now home to the volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball programs, is “a signature building in a gateway location,” Krakoff said.
“It’s the first one you can see coming off I-75,” Krakoff said. “It really signals your entry into campus.”
All that’s left are finishing touches, like filling blank walls with memorabilia, said Jason Knavel, BGSU assistant athletics director for athletic communications.
A Sanctus Real concert on Aug. 13 was the first public event in the facility. On Sept. 9, the first athletic event was hosted at the facility when BGSU’s volleyball team beat Michigan State University as part of official grand opening celebrations.
Knavel said the Stroh Center, which replaced the 51-year-old Anderson Arena and Memorial Hall, is definitely an upgrade.
The building was named after Kermit Stroh, who donated $8 million toward its construction. The Anderson name will be retained in a section of high-end donor seating called the Anderson Club Section.
Unlike Anderson, almost all seats in the Stroh Center have chair backs. There are also several video boards, four concession stands instead of one, six restrooms instead of two and a practice court, Knavel said.
“Everybody that comes in and sees it, they’re just really wowed by it,” Knavel said. “I imagine fans going up those steps in front and coming out to that main aisleway and seeing the video board going and  hearing the band playing and the team playing on the court. It’s going to be really just a fantastic atmosphere.”
Residence halls
University staff and resident assistants began moving into two new residence halls — Centennial Hall  and Falcon Heights — the first week of August.
“When we made the buildings available for sign-ups, they were full within a matter of hours,” Krakoff said. “In both buildings, there are waiting lists numbering in the hundreds.”
Freshman-only Centennial Hall has 660 beds with two students per room sharing a private bathroom.
Falcon Heights houses 640 upperclassmen, offering suite-style living for four students with individual or two-person sleeping quarters, a common living area and two bathrooms. Both buildings feature Wi-Fi, lounges, meeting rooms, a recreation room, a kitchen and a laundry room. Falcon Heights also features a two-story lounge with a fireplace and balconies.
Sarah Waters, director of residence life, said the new housing options are modern, open and welcoming.
“It will add to the students’ sense of feeling at home and feeling comfortable so they can be most successful in their academics,” Waters said. “The newness, the privacy, the fantastic locations — it’s going to be a big deal for students as they return to campus and enjoy all the new and exciting things going on.”
Dining facilities
Two new dining facilities — The Oaks and Carillon Place — bring the total of full-service dining facilities on campus to five. Meal plan options will be increased from three to nine.
Both dining halls are replacing facilities built in the 1960s, said Mike Paulus, director of BGSU Dining.
“It’s a little bit like night and day,” Paulus said. “Both facilities are state-of-the-art, all-you-care-to-eat-dining facilities with a multiple service format, including ethnic cuisine, delicatessen, soup stations, full salad bar and wood-fire pizza oven.”
Portions of McDonald Hall were razed to create space for The Oaks, a 32,000-square-foot facility that also includes a Dunkin’ Donuts, solar panels, a rooftop garden and a full-service exhibition kitchen meant to encourage interaction between kitchen staff and students.
The 17,000-square-foot Carillon Place, located next to the new Centennial Hall, will feature a Eurasian Grill station, similar to the Mongolian grill concept, as well as Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt shop popular on the West Coast. BGSU’s Pinkberry will be among the first on a college campus, said Sara Meyer, marketing director with BGSU Dining.
Both buildings will be LEED-certified as “green” and offer outdoor dining on the second floor.
Wolfe Center for the Arts
Slated to open in December, the Wolfe Center for The Arts will provide performance venues for theater, musical and arts productions as well as a home for BGSU’s department of theatre and film.
The center will contain a costume shop, scene shop and a digital production suite as well as lounge areas to promote collaboration, said Ron Shields, chair of the Department of Theatre and Film.
“From the beginning, when the university put forward the idea of a new building for the arts, immediately the concept of collaboration across the arts units came to the forefront,” Shields said. “This building epitomizes that dream and that ambition.”
Designed by Norwegian architectural firm Snohetta — which also designed the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City — the Wolfe Center has been attracting attention in architectural circles.
“You’re seeing it in magazines now and it’s been a truly exciting thing to watch,” Krakoff said. “It is a truly signature architectural building and I think it really represents some of the best global thinking in performing arts facilities.”
Artwork in the building will include an abstracted representation of an Ohio sunrise by contemporary Norwegian artist Anne Senstad and floor mosaics from ancient Antioch in Turkey, said Katerina Rüedi Ray, director of the School of Art.
“Every space and view in that building was purposefully done,” Krakoff said. “Nothing was by accident and you can tell when you just walk through it.”
The shape of the building — which appears to be rising out of the ground — was inspired by the region’s glacial history.
“The architect was fascinated by the way the glacial moraine had left behind rocks in the Northwest Ohio plains that are rising out of the ground,” Ray said. “The entire width of the façade will face sunset, so evenings in the Wolfe Center will be glorious just before the performances start.”

Austin Dantin

Junior quarterback Austin Dantin will get the starting nod for Toledo’s matchup this weekend against Syracuse on Sept. 24. UT Head Coach Tim Beckman postponed the announcement until after practice on Sept. 22.

Dantin is scheduled to start the game’s first two series, followed by two series for Terrance Owens.

Sophomore quarterback Terrance Owens looked to be making his strongest push of the season after playing in 10 of Toledo’s 13 offensive drives against No. 4 Boise State, but he will come off the bench again. Dantin will have started the last 13 games over Owens the past two seasons when both quarterbacks had been healthy.

Dantin has passed for 366 yards this season with five touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Owens has totaled 460 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

As an estate planning attorney, I (Mark) often deal with helping the clients of The Retirement Guys plan how to best pass their assets on to their loved ones when they pass away. This is a very serious matter if you think about it. Folks have worked hard all their lives to provide the best lives they can to their family members. They have sweated, sacrificed and gone without to make a better life. Think back on how you sacrificed.
The first thing everyone should consider is creating a will. This document decides where all your stuff goes when you die. How does it do this? By a process called probate. Many have heard the expression, “avoid probate,” or “probate is bad.” Is it really? Let’s take a moment to examine this and see if we can better understand this evil thing called probate. What is probate? My definition of probate is that it is a court-supervised process to get assets that are titled in your name to where you want them to go.
Let’s talk morbidly for a second. You have now died. There are assets that are titled in your name. You are no longer here to sign paperwork transferring the assets to someone else. Since you are not here, there needs to be someone to supervise the process of transferring your assets to those named in your will. The local probate court helps this person, called an executor, carry this out. Your will is filed with the court and the court then appoints your executor. The executor is then responsible for carrying out your wishes while giving an accounting to the court as to where every penny goes. Debts are paid, bills are paid, taxes are paid, etc. After a final accounting there is a final distribution of what is left and it is paid out to the named heirs. So, is probate bad? The intent of it is good as an orderly court-supervised process.
What about probate is perceived as bad? Two main things are the complaint of most — the time that it takes and how much it costs. Many times, it takes nine months to more than a year to complete the process. How about cost? The negative perception here comes from the fact that many times most of the cost in settling an estate is attorney fees. Those lousy attorneys! (Don’t hold it against me too much that I am one of them.) If I can defend my own profession for a moment, the attorney is the one guiding the executor through the many necessary steps to get the job done. In our county, attorney fees start at 4.5 percent of the value of the asset and scales down the higher the total of estate assets gets. In addition to the attorney fees, there are costs like taxes, appraisal fees, court costs, etc. When you start adding things up, it can seem like a lot of money.
Can probate be avoided? Sometimes. One of the things to explore may be if a revocable living trust is appropriate in your circumstances. A trust like this serves as a replacement to the traditional will and can possibly transfer assets in a more time-efficient and cost-efficient way. There are other ways to avoid probate like joint accounts, special deeds and transfer on death accounts. The Retirement Guys have a free report called “The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Setting Up a Living Trust.” You can get it by going to www.retirementguysnetwork.com and sending us an email request. O

For more information about The Retirement Guys, visit www.retirementguysnetwork.com.