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Episode 22: Legal Shortcuts and Life Hacks
17 Plays3 months ago
Join Lorie Burch and the Burch Law Team (Cyntia, Sara, and Sam) this week as we take a closer look at the shortcuts some people attempt in the legal world of estate planning and probate. We’ll explore the potential pitfalls and unexpected consequences of trying to cut corners in legal processes that are meant to secure your future and legacy.
And stay tuned for Sam and Sara's best lifehacks for making everyday life just a little bit easier 😉
Join us every Wednesday for new episodes!
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Visit burch-law.com/podcast to reach out!
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Transcript
Introduction and Importance of Wills
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of One of Us Knows What They're Talking About. And the other one is you. I'm Lori Burch, your host. Join us as we discuss and unpack wills, trust, estate planning, and probate law in a way that's actually informative, interesting, and well, hopefully entertaining. Because if you don't have a will, the state of Texas has one for you. Let's dive in.
00:00:39
Speaker
Okay.
Holiday Anecdotes and Legal Shortcuts
00:00:40
Speaker
Shall we kick this off? We shall. I'm in the office today. Or is this a virtual background of my office that I'm now using in the pod? It's not. I'm in, I'm in the office. Everything about this week feels weird. And even though when you're listening and watching this, it won't be today.
00:01:04
Speaker
But we're recording this on a holiday week right after Labor Day. And I was mentioning that i think i I think going into three-day weekends sound exciting. But then when you're in that week, it just everything feels thrown off. I almost kind of don't want to do it. And then I kind of added to the confusion because I normally work from home on Wednesdays, and I am instead in the office. So left is right, up is down.
00:01:33
Speaker
Added to your own confusion though, right? Right. Okay. Yeah. There were some people who agreed with the weirdness of it. so So today, what are we going to talk about, Sam? Shortcuts. Shortcuts. Laughing at me, Sarah. So do people take shortcuts ah in the legal profession, in our experience?
00:02:04
Speaker
Never. I mean, wait, what? Never don't Sarah. That's allowed. Shortcuts. So what? So let's. see So let's start there before we completely fall off.
00:02:22
Speaker
into some other mysterious conversation. But what are the type of shortcuts?
DIY Legal Pitfalls
00:02:27
Speaker
So state planning, wills, trust, probate, what are some shortcuts people take? Let's start with estate planning. Because we can also talk about shortcuts with probate. Can't we Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Mm hmm. I feel like Well, it's like a DIY. I mean, I'd say that's a big one. That's a big one. That's a really good one. Try to shortcut it. What are they trying to shortcut? Do you think? Because in my experience, it just takes longer. But what are they? Why why do people
00:03:00
Speaker
go to the interwebs or go to AI and decide I'm going to create legal documents all by myself. Well, to not have to pay for expertise on it. I think it's quicker. I think it's quicker. I think it's quicker for their family after they die. Oh, dropping a truth bomb. So I know we talk a lot about the dangers of DIY and the AI and even the forms and even some of the programs that we see, including unfortunately, I mean, I guess fortunately, unfortunately, um, but HR, uh, departments and corporations that offer HR benefits. So I was trying to say when it comes to legal services and I understand the
00:03:52
Speaker
idea behind that, but in reality, it's like, I think some of the shortcuts that I'm hoping are going to be discussed today. We didn't really nail down this theme today, but, um, end up not being shortcuts at all. And probably when it comes to, uh, legal planning, the DIY stuff is one of the greatest examples about how almost every single time this is not shorter. It's not less expensive and it doesn't even get you where you want to go.
00:04:24
Speaker
So, worst shortcut ah
Graceland Stories and GPS Mishaps
00:04:26
Speaker
ever. ah Speaking of shortcuts, the story came up recently and it it makes me giggle and feel kind of warm and fuzzy. So, I recently was in Waco, Texas with my sister Julie for Elvis Fest.
00:04:41
Speaker
And we were reminiscing about trips to Graceland and how many there have been, and there have been many, ah but we're talking about how many for Elvis week. And so, which of course, everybody knows is August because it's around the anniversary of his death, which of course everybody knows is August 16th. So we're talking about trips to Graceland and Elvis week that we had taken.
00:05:04
Speaker
And there was one where we went with my mom um and my great aunt Norma. And not only was she my great aunt, but she also was a great aunt. And in fact, it's who my second child, Poppy Jean, was named after, because Jean was my my great aunt Norma's middle name. So in case ah Sarah and Sam didn't know that, feel confident that Cynthia did, that is why Poppy has the middle name Jean, Poppy Jean.
00:05:32
Speaker
so we were I don't know why we were just talking about this. Don't worry, this is about shortcuts. My mom had just gotten a new Cadillac, and it's right when OnStar was a thing. and and so This was before like all the different GPS or even garments, I think.
00:05:51
Speaker
But it's it's when OnStar was a thing. And so she was overusing it, technology abuse, for like directions. And i so i I remembered this story about how she was using the directions. And it was taking us through this neighborhood like completely out of the way, not made streets, no no highways, or anything like that. And we'd all spent some time in Memphis before, because of previous Elvis weeks, and we were like, where is she taking us?
00:06:21
Speaker
And my great aunt Norma said, I don't know, maybe she's from around here.
00:06:28
Speaker
ah We were so tickled by that. and so now Our preferred at home, GPS, is Waze, although it's a love-hate relationship, but we like Waze. Do not tempt Waze with shaving five seconds off a route. they They will have you go through the most ridiculous neighborhoods and everything.
Critique of Subscription Legal Services
00:06:53
Speaker
and so I always think about my grade at ARMA when it's having us go uh on some in some neighborhood well maybe they're from around here so shortcuts right um so what are some other so what are what are some other shortcuts i mean i kind of mentioned them you know there's also
00:07:15
Speaker
these um There's these legal services, I won't name any companies, but it's like if you sign up for, it's almost like legal insurance and it's sold to you by people who aren't attorneys, guided by people who aren't attorneys. um There's usually some law firm at some point that will maybe look at something that you've sent in.
00:07:34
Speaker
But ah what's missing in all of this, and you know you ask why does it take extra money and extra time, is because the shortcut is they're shortchanging the advice, the customization, the guidance that you're going to get. And that's what leads to it being being ah messy. So you know for all of you listening to this, the reason why you need to trust the experts is because we're from around here. We know where we're going.
00:08:04
Speaker
We know what we're doing and um, and then also these hr benefits and again, I think what gets confusing for people and I understand Is that they usually are law firms that they send things off to but it's not necessarily law firms that are going to take the time and attention To really understand what you're trying to do or what your family dynamics or circumstances are or they aren't firms that even know how to do estate planning. I mean, where we all graduate, we pass the bar and technically, I mean, I could represent you in a DUI case. I don't think you should hire me for that. I don't know the first thing about that. um I could, I don't know, I guess technically I could take on some toxic tort ah litigation, right?
00:08:55
Speaker
you could but why would you i have a law license but um i'm not from around here so i do not know uh what what we're doing oh by the way speaking of shortcuts and gps if you're ever coming to visit us at birch law um Ask us for directions for some reason. Yeah, this this is such an easy building to get to it is on the southwest corner of Beltline and Coit in Dallas, Texas very very easy um however We see people's like GPS taking them over on Spring Creek and turning there and turn it like it's just it's all sorts of weird So just ask us where we're going because we're from around here
00:09:33
Speaker
Or also, it'll take you for some reason to the other end of Beltline, Delic and Carleton. That one's been one. ah We get issues. So first of all, Beltline where we are is two words, but other places, it's one word. And then there's Beltline Drive, Beltline Road, Beltline, all these different things, which I've never really understood why they do that. Like, especially cul-de-sacs, they'll like have Beltline Way, Beltline Road, yeah Beltline but Boulevard. and It's like, why are you, like, do you think that makes it easier? Because it does not. Yeah, if you go um east from here on Beltline, there's another, like, there's little branches off that are also Beltline something. And it's like, well, that's not helpful. Yeah, yeah, no. So other types of shortcuts that we see
00:10:28
Speaker
And you all have heard us talk about this, but but bear with us because it's hard to believe this is an issue or that it's as big of an issue as it is.
Mistakes in Legal Document Signing
00:10:35
Speaker
Shortcuts in how it's signed. Oh, yeah. I don't know what people's general perception is when it says witness one, witness two, notary. Like to me, you got one witness,
00:10:56
Speaker
then you got a second witness, then you got a notary. Seems to indicate that those are necessary signatures. um One of my favorite recently is someone who decided that's not necessary. So just put the N-A in place of the witness signatures. That's not how that works people. That's not a good shortcut.
00:11:26
Speaker
I mean, I understand you don't want to have to go get witnesses. The other shortcut we see is people get their family members to serve as witnesses. Oh, yeah. There's it's actually a very nuanced answer, because can you use family members as witnesses technically sort of kind of maybe in some cases, but it's very messy. Yeah, nine times out of 10. That's not going to work out for you very well. There's lots of problems with it. One of the favorite my favorite things is whenever I'm going somewhere with Luke,
00:11:53
Speaker
And he has like the GPS, or he has the map for some reason. like It's not plugged into the car or anything to where I can hear it. Sometimes I'm like, OK, am I turning at this next street? And he's like, I mean, well, you could. I'm like, wait, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. ah but What does the GPS say? He's like, well, it wants you to turn like in the street after. But if you turn here, you could get there. like Yeah, you changed your own adventure.
00:12:21
Speaker
but which was urine adventure to zero Yeah, so there's a lot of times whenever when we get in the car and we're going somewhere we've never been before, Luke is not allowed to just have GPS or a map in hand. It has to be plugged into the car to where I can. Yeah, if I'm if I'm ever driving y'all and Luke is navigating, I'm gonna make him I'm gonna make you do it. I need to know what lane I'm in three miles before I get there.
00:12:46
Speaker
Yeah, he's very much. Well, you could turn here. Well, actually, you could turn back there too. And I'm like. Some people go this way and some people go that way. And some people go both ways. want You want a U-turn and go down that other street?
00:13:06
Speaker
Make a U-turn. Or circling back. I made a, I made Cynthia test out the ways voice that I currently have, which is this like corporate speak. Oh God. It's really, it is. It's made me want to stop using expressions. Um, like circling back, like, or some people call it circle. Yeah. Let's put a pin in that and circle back.
00:13:39
Speaker
Yeah. Or, you know, like if there's construction ahead, let's hope this doesn't affect our KPIs, our, blah, blah, blah. Yeah. Like, oh, man. but it's it's good. So yes, we see a lot of shortcuts. Other shortcuts that I see when it comes to what we do is people don't realize that there are other assets that need attention. They just get a will done and they shortcut or forget that they also have things like life insurance or retirement. And those are things that you put beneficiary designations on.
00:14:16
Speaker
And the way that you assign that beneficiary
Beneficiary Designations and Probate Shortcuts
00:14:19
Speaker
actually overrides whatever your will or trust says. And quite often you need some guidance to make sure that the beneficiary designation is coordinated with what your overall plan would be. A big example of that is for people um with small kids or kids of regular size, but under 18 is the point.
00:14:41
Speaker
cool
00:14:45
Speaker
or in my case, large kids. the look large kids 90 plus percentile kids like and virtualch can Nine months in wearing 18 month old clothes like she was it's fine. Oh Yeah, I actually think Poppy might end up being taller than Adley I just she doesn't like Just you can tell how tall a toddler is By how far to the center of a table and a counter you have to put things
00:15:19
Speaker
It's very fair. It's like, what? How did you reach that? How is that possible? And then if it's got, you know, anything where they can get a fingertip on it and like get it to like scoot. You're done. Just forget it. Just forget it. Like we have so much right now on our fireplace mantle.
00:15:40
Speaker
yeah but i ah yeah But she'll, she'll figure that out soon enough. She'll probably figure out how to climb on the couch. Yes, that's what I was thinking. Or, you know, every once in a while we have this step stool in the dining room and we'll hear. She's like pushing it into the kitchen to like get to a counter. Oh, wow. She knows. Yeah. Has she gone on top of the fridge yet?
00:16:08
Speaker
there There is no top to like, you can't get to the top of our fridge because it shoved into that one. Yeah. ah I'm certain one of the cats could get stuck there. Yeah. Luke and his siblings like to find themselves on top of the fridge. His mom didn't appreciate it. Yeah.
00:16:28
Speaker
No, no, they're actually both Poppy and Adley are the worst at hiding because they usually, it's usually behind something soft and you can see the imprint of their face. And then when Adley's home, there's like one place. So it's actually my seat on the couch, but it became her seat as well. Cause you know, we're buddies and we have to have our buddy time. So we sit there, but she'll sit, she sits there like 90% of the time.
00:16:55
Speaker
I mean, when she's sitting, and it's that's her spot. And she'll hide and the way that she hides is she just puts a blanket over her. Like I like, can you see me? And then I hear her voice coming from the blanket. Like how she can't see you, you can't see her. How far do I have to go with permanent? Yes.
00:17:18
Speaker
Yes. So maybe it's so obvious she's throwing me off. But yes, so um anyway, if you have you realize what God is there because I do I go on tangents, but I always know how to bring us back it has to with children and their sizes, but I didn't really mean their sizes. I mean their ages.
00:17:35
Speaker
So if you have a young child a minor child under 18 and you've got something set up where it says Yeah, i'd want everything to go to them But if they're underage then it needs to go into a trust for them. I want you know, my sister to be the trustee I want um age 25 and 30 to be be when they can take care of it themselves but then you go over and you add the minor child as the beneficiary on life insurance The life insurance company is not going to care that you've got this will or trust With that set up. It's gonna well first the the life insurance company The first offer they're going to make is we'll just hold on to the money until they're 18. Is that all right? Um, the second issue is that our second option I guess is you'd have to go to the court registry or go to the court if we put in the court registry and at age 18 it's given to the child which
00:18:25
Speaker
and firmly against 18 year olds making any decisions basically in life, but that's for another another podcast ah ah it's It's too soon. I think it's too soon. It's too soon. I I think ah the the late teen in my life. um One day she'll be able to look back at herself and laugh, but it's too soon. So I'll reserve some of those stories ah because I know she is tuning into our podcast constantly is what she listens. hello i'm so I'm sure.
00:19:01
Speaker
ah Sarah says hello. ah yeah so So it's important to make sure that you've got experts who are from around here that know how to make sure that those beneficiary designations are set up correctly. So there's also shortcuts that you can take in probate that failed miserably. But are there any other ones before we move on team that we can think of when it comes to wills, trusts, powers of attorney?
00:19:29
Speaker
Um, I do think that one worth mentioning is people think that if you just write it, like for like, you know, like how you can write a note for your kid for school and you know, that says, okay, somebody can pick them up or they're being picked up early. yeah That doesn't work for medical things. Yeah. Once you get to be on a certain age.
00:19:53
Speaker
Yeah, that also makes me think of the one back to kids under 18, small, large, average size, um but under 18, is that um when people are like, well, they're the godparents, we told them that that's who we would want to take care of. Like that, at least in Texas, that doesn't work. You can't tell somebody and just utter it in that, have any sort of standing or effect whatsoever, not gonna work.
00:20:22
Speaker
I'm certain that if we put more thought into this, we could come up with other examples, but let's go ahead and dive in probate. So what are some, um, probate shortcuts? And by the way, probate is the legal process that one has to go through when somebody passes
Misleading Legal Advice and Humor in Law
00:20:38
Speaker
away. If there's a will, if there's a trust, if there's no, it's all, and depending on assets, it's all, it's all different, but what are, what are some shortcuts? There's one that people think is a shortcut, but in reality does nothing.
00:20:51
Speaker
Um, so for example, well, people think it's a shortcut. Uh, for example, let's say that you have a parent who recently passed away and they had a home and you call up the central appraisal district and you say, Hey, um, I am now paying for the taxes. My parent passed away. They will 100% put the taxes in your name. They will 100% they want to get paid. However,
00:21:20
Speaker
that does not change who owns the property. And a lot of people think, well, I'm paying the taxes, so it's mine. It's like, well, no, no at all. Yeah. Remember when we had the case where, um,
00:21:39
Speaker
the person's husband passed away and she consulted with us. And I believe it was the house. And we're like, yes, the house, you need to go through probate to make sure the house is titled in your name that we get it transferred. And she reported back to us and said that she didn't need to do that. She found a, was it a non-lawyer way? Yeah, a non-attorney way to do it. A non-attorney way to do it.
00:22:09
Speaker
Guess what? um She then pat passed away years later, come to find out she did not get the home. Transferred in a attorney way or a non-attorney way, whatever that was So I think you know, so we we battle a lot with bad advice um Unintentionally, I think in most cases but bad advice whether it's you know your sister's uncle's roommate 30 years ago in Arizona was able to do XYZ therefore you should be able to do XYZ and
00:22:43
Speaker
Or I don't really understand why um financial institutions like banks, considering they never try to give helpful information, why in this case they think they're giving helpful information, telling people they can do what's called a small estate affidavit.
00:23:00
Speaker
and
00:23:02
Speaker
in a lot of cases they can't and in some cases they should not. yeah um But you know to do a small estate affidavit in Texas there's some very um specific guidelines that you have to follow. It is something that you technically don't need an attorney to do for you but you should get the attorney for the advice of whether you can do it or not because Um, it's it's not a straight board and even part of the statute refers to excluding the home, but it has to be a homestead and so um, that's the only way it's excluded from the small estate value and if you're the daughter and your It was your mom's house. Um, that doesn't qualify as a homestead and so a lot of a lot of nuanced stuff and so
00:23:49
Speaker
what happens is is they make us look like the jerks because then someone meets with us and like, yeah, I just, you know, I want to get some help with the small estate affidavit. The bank told us that we can do that. And then we're like, well, we need to find out a little bit. No, no, it's just what I need. I just need a small estate affidavit. I mean, would you call the hospital or would you call a doctor and say, um, yeah, I need my arm amputated. It's, it's in a lot of pain. Well,
00:24:14
Speaker
Maybe we should find out what no, no, no, no. This is what I need. I just need you to do it. um Well, maybe we should find out what your symptoms are and and what goals you have and what you're trying. No, no, no. Just cut off the damn thing. Um, so, you know, it just doesn't work that way. And, um,
00:24:30
Speaker
the you know you While you technically don't need an attorney to draft a will or trust, guess what? 99% of all probate procedures but in Texas require an attorney. so You may think you're getting a shortcut on the front end, but we're going to get you later.
00:24:49
Speaker
Wow, okay. One of my favorite stories with um the banks is we had somebody who came to us and they said, okay, the bank told me I could do this to get access to the money. So in order to do, um this was like a small staff David case, we need to know the value of the estate. So we need to know how things are categorized. Do you want to know what the bank refused to do?
00:25:16
Speaker
tell us the amount of money in the accounts. So we had no clue if we could actually do it, but they're like, yeah, no, you can do it. We're like, but we need this for the you know for the court filings. They're like, no, we can't give you that. Ultimately, what we did have to do is we did have to um compel the bank to at least give us like, hey, what like amounts so we could put them on the order or like on the documents or the court. And then the judge was like, yes, we we need that. Thank you. Yeah. Another shortcut that you'll see in Texas when someone passes away is what's called an affidavit of airship. Sarah, how do you spell airship?
00:26:04
Speaker
A-I-R, no.
00:26:08
Speaker
I was like, no no, no. I need to check everything you've done. Certainly by now. yeah H E I R ship. Yeah. How, how do our, a lot, I can't believe we haven't done a whole segment on so the wrong way. People say or spell things. How do you think a lot of our clients spell it? Oh God. Do they spell it A I R? What do you think?
00:26:37
Speaker
What does your heart tell you? Yeah. Or people who think that probate is the same as probation. They'll say probation. Or instead of executor, they'll say executioner. Yeah, they'll say executioner. Like, well, let's hope not. Yeah, just just some free advice for people. If you kill the person, that's probably going to disqualify you from inheriting the estate.
00:27:07
Speaker
drts um do that dry ah do um and there I'm just saying make it look like an accident.
00:27:17
Speaker
planning on that holdinging ah and that your advice Well, didn't you all say in a recent episode that murder is something that you should. Those two, those two. Yeah, that was our bad.
00:27:34
Speaker
Yes. they're How about something you should never do? Right. Yeah. listen i Unless it's defending yourself or a small child, regardless of size, just an age or size. Are you saying like you're defending a small child or it's you're defending yourself? I'm a small child. he is Okay. ha Okay. We're going to need to develop that later.
00:28:02
Speaker
Yeah, simply for Sarah, because I'm pretty sure either of my kids could take her. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think Adley would like one punch her and just knock her out. I think Adley could take her down with a look. Oh, yeah. Granted, I will say there is nothing quite like having Adley run at you full speed and you have to catch her. Yeah. She's got some momentum behind her. She is fast.
00:28:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's remarkable how much you get kicked in the face when you have small kids. Small kids of above average size.
00:28:42
Speaker
Okay, we should move on. Yes, so affidavit of airship something in Texas and I will lament something to you all because I I've been doing this a while going on a couple decades and Some of these shortcuts for probate used to be pretty awesome used to really like them used to really work and then I somebody's got to ruin it for the bunch of us and these things that you can have like an affidavit of airship where you get people to say, Oh yeah, I knew this person and I knew they had these kids. I knew they were married to this person or to this person, or this person, this person, you know, I knew all that and then they sign it and then it gets recorded. That used to be a ah lot better alternative than it is now, but we're, we we're having issues ah more and more with title companies, um,
00:29:38
Speaker
and the like with honoring these, accepting them. My favorite one is where if you do an affidavit of airship for a home, and let's say you do it in the year 2000, but then you're not going to sell the home till the year 2020, and the statutory requirements of affidavits of airship have changed in that time, then you'll get a title company telling you that the affidavit of airship that was done in 2000 is not correct.
00:30:08
Speaker
and until you talk to this kid. Right. And then are you same experience here or a little bit a little bit. I mean, I actually a lot of the times I don't think that I'm going to be successful. I just want to be a little snotty to a title company. um But I have to say, knock knock on wood, I have been 100% success. And I think in one recent And since I told someone that they need to do their due diligence and if it's accurate and in compliance with the law at the time that it was signed, then it's valid now. And anyway, i and it's worked.
00:30:45
Speaker
so last It worked. But again, if there had been a more formal procedure where there's a court order and there's someone appointed as executor or administrator or whatever you want to use, personal representative, what else are they called? They're called all sorts of things. But anyway, then that is going to be the highest level, not a shortcut and not the cheapest route, but ultimately the best route to make sure that you're going to be able to take care of everything that is in
00:31:17
Speaker
a decedent's name.
Conclusion on DIY Legal Advice and Podcast Wrap-up
00:31:21
Speaker
I don't use that expression very often, but it is the technical term. Yeah. What other other legal shortcuts we can think of? Hmm. Wow, Sarah's really thinking. I am really thinking.
00:31:38
Speaker
Oh, I'm picturing like a conversation bubble above your head when I was thinking, but there's but there's nothing there. Yeah, it's just three dots or like the loading screen where it's like the circle it just says it just says statues. Yeah. Yeah. a you um Yeah. Well, those are some big ones. I'm sure we could come up with more. I mean, basically the you know kind of takeaway here is there's lots of things that people try to do, at least in the legal world is, um, is, is to really try and shorten something, do something quicker, do something less expensive. And the vast, vast, vast majority of the time that ends up backfiring and to get, get it resolved in the first place would have,
00:32:24
Speaker
correctly in the first place would end up saving the time and money and effort when it mattered. With that, I think that ah Sam and Sarah, you you wanted to talk about some shortcuts as well?
00:32:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. If the shortcuts is what you'll call them. um Okay. Well, just that was the idea. although So well, we tried to Google like funny shortcuts. Haha. You know, memes. We could not find anything. um Okay. Give me two seconds while you'll do that. Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. We, and we were just finding ones where they just weren't funny. Um, so we're doing life hacks instead because that's the closest.
00:33:07
Speaker
ah but they're supposed to make your life easier. Yeah. So there's like a short shortcut to make your life better or easier. Okay. So you want to start. Well, the first one's you Sam. Oh, it is. Okay. So if you're being chased, give the person who's chasing sorry Okay, if you're being chased give the person who's chasing you a pair of scissors because then they can't run after you Because you can't run with scissors, yeah okay um for laughing Okay, so you're saying wait wait, I need to recap I was slightly distracted my apologies if you're being chased Give the person who's chasing you a pair of scissors because you can't run with scissors
00:34:01
Speaker
Well, like, the person who's chasing you, yeah, they count around them. Like, do you hand it to them, blades up? Because that's a big no-no.
00:34:10
Speaker
I mean, isn't that... I think I just can't throw them at them if I'm running away. in the The scissors? yeah You might want to hang on to those scissors for defense, right? Maybe I have a secret second gear. My pocket.
00:34:26
Speaker
That's true. ah Only my mom carries around that many scissors, but she calls them scissors. And you can go to my mom's house and no matter where you are, you are within arm's reach of at least two to three pairs of scissors. but That's like my husband with pocket knives. Does she just use scissors that much or like that frequently? She thinks she does.
00:34:52
Speaker
We have pocket knives everywhere. That's like, it's going to be one of those things I'll have to tell my kids about Nana. Um, cause they may not always remember that. Like there were scissors everywhere and she called them skizzers. Oh, so good. Yeah. All right. Great. So there's another one. You have another one? We have a few more, unfortunately. Um, okay. So this one,
00:35:19
Speaker
I kind of love, uh, I saw a tick tock where this woman, she doesn't carry a knife for protection. She carries a hammer because it's much more intimidating. And I mean, you can miss with a knife, but I mean, you can mess with the hammers, I guess, but it's going to hurt more. Yeah.
00:35:40
Speaker
Okay. All right. Life hack. That's what these are. Yeah. Completely, completely useless life hacks by Sam and Sarah. Oh, 100%. Yeah. Excellent. All right. What's the next one? OK. If you hear weird noises at night, make weirder noises back. Or Sarah's favorite, you start barking at them. Yeah. Can you give us a demonstration, Sarah? Oh, no. no Actually, walk yourself into this. This is a good life tip. If like a dude is being creepy to you on the street, just start barking at him because it will get freaked out.
00:36:17
Speaker
Do you do you know this from personal experience? No, but I've seen many stories of people actually doing it and it works like video. Yeah. Let's see if I can find something. Yes, I I need to see this.
00:36:35
Speaker
Okay, yeah. ah If your car is making an unsettling noise, just turn your radio up. That way you can't hear. That works every time. Yeah. yeah Great job. I really, this next one, I really need, I need you to say it, and I need to say this again for the record. I regret reading these earlier.
00:36:59
Speaker
Who's who's gonna read this other ah worthless life hacks by Sam and Sarah? Get it out, Sarah. This is for our fans. Oh, she called me Sarah. Whoa. I'm cutting bagels in half. Get the first person to do that. When cutting bagels in half, put your fingers.
00:37:23
Speaker
To say it. Put your finger through the stabilization hole to keep it staying.
00:37:34
Speaker
You can't hear what you were saying. Say it again. Okay, I'll be serious. You won't be serious. Okay. When yeah you're not yeah ah when cutting bagels in half, put your finger through the stabilization
00:37:50
Speaker
and ah ah what Sarah, This is your fault, Sarah. Let me save them, but this one I really think is like, wow, y'all have reached a level. When cutting bagels in half, put your fingers in the stabilization hole to keep it steady. I'm like, why is it called the stabilization hole?
00:38:12
Speaker
Is that, is that what's tickling you? Is the term stabilization holding? These are the whole thing. But then when we were looking these up, Sierra found it really funny. It's like back to the science. That's why I think we found them so funny for the first time. No, that's a visual. That's what I can think of.
00:38:33
Speaker
is Earlier today, whenever these were sent ah to 02 p.m., I did walk over to Sarah's office and I just looked at her and then just kept walking. ah All right. I believe there's one more useless life shortcut by Sam and Sarah, and it is. Yes. When your tires are bald, just retread your tires easily with a Sharpie. I can't I can't believe you didn't say put a wig on it.
00:39:03
Speaker
a wick on it. wait That's not how tires work, Lori. Why did that take me so long to get?
00:39:15
Speaker
A toupee? Yeah. See, I thought they would have at least done one of the ones like, um, if you're boiling water every time, just boil a few gallons at the beginning of the week and freeze it for later. Like, I thought they would do something like that. That, if you had said that Sarah, be like, that's a good idea. like well <unk> And then she'd say, wait a minute.
00:39:41
Speaker
Did you find another one, Cynthia, since this is all they have to offer? um and so Sorry. I think this is also a life hack, but this is going the way of them too. um If you sleep till noon, you only have to pay for two meals instead of three. I guess that's a shortcut. Yeah. That sounds very Sam and Sarah-like. What was the one that was like...
00:40:08
Speaker
If you break your arm in two places, don't go back to those places. yeah
00:40:19
Speaker
That's good. Why can't you come up with more like that instead of the stabilization hole?
00:40:26
Speaker
There's one on here. ah Fill your arms with puppies so no one can ask you for help. True. That's just a drawing of a man holding puppies. That's the one just sage advice right there.
00:40:41
Speaker
Oh, if you um stir coconut oil into your kale, it makes it easier to scrape into the trash.
00:40:52
Speaker
fair. But why would you ruin the coconut oil? Hold on. Are you having a crappy day? Put on sunglasses. Now you're having a crappy evening.
00:41:07
Speaker
good but fire One more, Cynthia. Bring us home. You want to turn your drink into diet? No problem. Just push the button on the lid.
00:41:21
Speaker
Great. Great, everybody. Well, um as you can see, um just like real life hacks. Oh, you want another one? come on so yeah you can you um This an encore. Add a touch of magic to your cold by putting glitter in your mouth before you sneeze. Ooh, like rainbow glitter. It sneezes like a unicorn.
00:41:48
Speaker
Oh, no. god Okay, some of these are my takes. If your phone screen is too small, put it in water, it will magnify the screen up to 200%. I'll do that. and That's a bad idea, everybody.
00:42:05
Speaker
but done hey What? You have a kid. So this might be, this might be good for you. This is, um, use this tip to help you save money. Um, my nephew is turning four today, but since money is kind of tight, we just, we're just not going to tell him it's his birthday.
00:42:24
Speaker
ah i try that one else ah um I've got a good one that I used on Adley. I, cause I told you how we sit in our buddy seats on the couch. I got up and when I was in the kitchen, I, I got some M&Ms. And when I sat back down, she looks at me, she's like, what's she eating? And I said, broccoli? She's like, ew, gross.
00:42:49
Speaker
Hold on, I think Sarah, and I'm just giving y'all some life advice at this point, Sarah, Sam. Saint full of dirty dishes, visitor's eminent, put some clean dishes in the drying rack. Now it looks like you're working on it.
00:43:01
Speaker
um
00:43:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's good. Yeah, I'm gonna need y'all never to bring something up with a stabilization pullover.
00:43:13
Speaker
So as you can see, like, ah just like shortcuts with legal planning and probate, there's also a number of really bad shortcuts when it comes to life hacks that Sam and Sarah now Cynthia have shared with you.
00:43:30
Speaker
Thanks for listening. And just to cover all our bases about what you just heard, I'm sorry and you're welcome. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode and tell your friends about us. We do webinars and live events.
00:43:46
Speaker
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00:44:16
Speaker
much better. Yeah I thought that had a lot of energy.