210: Aging in Place, Part 2: How JoeyCo Home Sharing Actually Works
Absolute Trust Talk
Once a student is living in your spare room and working for your household, the questions get practical fast. Can they have a friend over? What did the screening actually check? And if it stops working, how does it end? In Part 2 of her conversation with JoeyCo founder Alison Donnally, host Kirsten Howe asks all of them — and gets straight answers, including who tends to apply for these arrangements and, just as usefully, who doesn't. Every JoeyCo match rests on two agreements that reference each other — a lodging agreement and a household employment agreement — and Alison explains why,...
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209: Aging in Place: How JoeyCo Matches Older Adults with Student Housemates
Absolute Trust Talk
What if the answer to aging well at home isn't an expensive caregiver --- but a college student in the spare bedroom? In this episode, host Kirsten Howe sits down with Alison Donnally, founder of JoeyCo and a healthcare innovation veteran of Amazon Care and Kaiser Permanente. After three of her own family members experienced major health events while aging alone, Alison asked a question that wouldn't let go: if the au pair system gives American families relatively affordable live-in childcare, why isn't there an equivalent for older adults? Her answer is JoeyCo, which matches older adult...
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208: Downsizing on Your Terms, Part 2: Buy First, Sell Later
Absolute Trust Talk
In Part 1, host Kirsten Howe and real estate agent Nathan Jines of Jines Real Estate Group talked about why more people 55 and up are choosing to relocate --- and how to make that choice on your own terms. Now, in Part 2, they get into the how. Nathan's first piece of advice flips conventional wisdom on its head: if you're financially able, buy your next home first, start living your new life, and let a full-service team handle the sale behind you --- decluttering, staging, repairs, negotiations, all of it, even from across the country. He shares how bridge lenders make buying first possible,...
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207: Downsizing on Your Terms: Moving After 55
Absolute Trust Talk
When most of us picture an older adult moving out of a long-time home, we imagine a crisis — declining health, a loss of independence, a move someone else decided was necessary. This episode is about the opposite. Host Kirsten Howe welcomes back real estate agent Nathan Jines of Jines Real Estate Group to talk about homeowners 55 and up who are choosing to relocate — not because they have to, but because they want to. Nathan explains why this is his favorite group to work with, and why the most important question isn’t “where should I go?” but “what do I want this next phase of my...
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206: Estate Planning Misses: The Mess You Leave Behind
Absolute Trust Talk
In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe shares an estate planning miss that has nothing to do with your documents — the literal, physical mess we tend to leave behind. Drawing on years of trust administration experience, Kirsten explains what really happens when one child is named trustee and inherits the job of emptying a home filled with decades of belongings: stalled home sales, frustrated siblings, and inheritances delayed by months. She also shares the story of a daughter trustee who nearly hauled a box of "trash" to the dumpster, only to find $2,500 in...
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205: Estate Planning Misses: How to Document a Loan or Gift to Your Child
Absolute Trust Talk
In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe tackles a quietly common source of family conflict: parents giving money to their adult children without documenting whether it's a gift or a loan. Drawing on years of trust administration experience, Kirsten shares a real family story where canceled checks sparked a bitter dispute among siblings after their parents passed, and she walks through the simple documentation steps that could have prevented it. She also addresses a second pitfall most families overlook: when a loan is properly documented up front but the...
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204: Estate Planning Misses: Addressing Separate Property in a Joint Trust
Absolute Trust Talk
In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe tackles one of the most common — and commonly overlooked — estate planning scenarios: what happens when one spouse inherits money, assets, or real estate after a joint trust is already in place. Kirsten breaks down the difference between separate and community property in California, explains why adding inherited assets to a joint trust doesn’t change their character but does affect who controls them, and walks through the two practical solutions her firm recommends. She also reveals a lesser-known complication: that...
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203: Estate Planning Misses: How to Make Cash Available Immediately After Death
Absolute Trust Talk
In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe tackles one of the most overlooked practical challenges in estate planning: making sure your loved ones have access to cash immediately after you die. Kirsten walks through why the most common account structures — trust-held accounts, individually owned accounts, and pay-on-death designations — all come with delays that can leave families unable to cover urgent expenses, such as funeral and burial costs. She then breaks down the one strategy that actually works, adding a trusted co-owner to a small joint checking...
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202: Estate Planning Misses: The Timeshare Problem No One Talks About
Absolute Trust Talk
That timeshare you've been putting off dealing with? It could become a probate headache for your family. In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe breaks down the two types of timeshares — traditional deeded ownership and modern points-based systems — and explains why both need to be addressed in your estate plan. She walks through what's involved in transferring a timeshare to your revocable living trust, why it matters to act while you're alive, and what really happens when a timeshare is left unaddressed after someone dies — including the possibility...
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201: Estate Planning Misses: What Happens When Your Custodial or 529 Account Has No Successor
Absolute Trust Talk
In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe continues her estate planning misses mini-series by tackling custodial accounts and 529 education plans. While these accounts are incredibly popular for saving for children, most people don't realize a critical legal distinction: you don't actually own them. This misconception leads to a costly problem when account owners die without proper succession planning. Kirsten shares real cases from her practice where families ended up in probate court—spending thousands of dollars in legal fees just to access money intended for...
info_outlineIn this episode of “Absolute Trust Talk,” Kirsten talks to Geoff Zimmerman, Certified Financial Planner, Senior Advisor, and Chief Compliance Officer for Mosaic Financial Partners, Inc. Geoff is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most seasoned practitioners and concentrates on assisting both working and retired individuals and couples at the executive level prepare for major life transitions.
During their discussion, Geoff reveals his relatable anecdotes that describe the importance of why the individual pieces of one's finances should be integrated into a master plan. He shares real-life examples, observations and insights from his specialized life transition focus providing listeners with actionable tips and tools to help them understand how each element when properly coordinated works together to avoid adverse interactions.
Big Three From Episode # 002:
- Individual planning parts might seem good, but how do they all work together?
- Life transitions have SEVERAL moving parts, find an advisor that will ask the right questions and who will ask A LOT of questions
- Look at the BIG picture
Time stamped show notes:
2:45 – Thanksgiving dinner anecdote paints picture on the integration of financial planning
4:49 – Kirsten asks Geoff to highlight examples of financial planning pieces that need to be considered in context of overall financial plan
5:10– Geoff talks real life example of setting up 529 plans
5:50 – Big picture, Geoff recommends asking these four questions when considering a 529
8:00 – Did you know that the 529 plan distributions may count as income for the student under certain conditions?
8:45 – Geoff discusses what moving parts need to be considered when a client is changing jobs
10:00 – When there’s a job transition there are benefit changes, retirement plan changes, accelerated expiration dates on stock options, moves to another state – tax implications
11:00 – Geoff mentions interesting life insurance observation that speaks to his life transition expertise
11:40 – Executive compensation, what restrictions are you up against when you leave a company?
13:40 – Geoff reveals his musical analogy for financial planning
16:50 – Geoff discusses and gives access to special tools just for listeners
21:25 – How estate planning affects the big picture
25:00 – How the new tax laws affect charitable gifts
26:55 – Geoff breaks down above the bar and below the bar deductions
30:05 – Geoff breaks down the different types of compensation professionals get and how that affects the big financial plan picture
37:25 – The one thing people can do to help improve financial life
Episode # 002 Freebie:
If you’re a busy, smart, successful person who needs help defining your goals, finding out the why behind your what, and the balance in your life, Geoff is giving us exclusive access to two of the worksheets he uses with his own clients. The Wheel of Life and Financial Satisfaction are intuitive worksheets to help gain clarity and pinpoint the areas in life that you feel confident in and those that need more of a prioritized focus moving forward. Click here to get your copy!
Resources/Tools/Links mentioned in this episode:
Mosaic Financial Partners, Inc.
East Bay Regional Parks Foundation
East Bay Regional Parks Estate Planning Seminars
Take the Next Step in Your Estate Planning Journey
If this episode resonated with you, we'd love to help you with your own estate planning needs in California. Schedule a complimentary discovery call with our team at Absolute Trust Counsel. During this no-obligation conversation, we'll:
- Learn about your unique situation and goals
- Answer questions about our services
- Determine if we're the right fit to work together
Visit https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/scheduling/ or call 925-943-2740 to schedule your free discovery call today.
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