We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Montana State University Extension is kicking off the new year with several workshops and seminars that may be of interest to Blaine County residents. All of these programs are free and available virtually so that even those engaged in winter travel can participate, provided they have WiFi access. These programs include MontGuide Mondays and Tuesday Tips.
Blaine County Extension Agent, Juli Snedigar explains that MontGuide Mondays will run from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. each Monday in January and February and be delivered via Webex. Webex is a video conferencing platform that allows users to host or participate in online meetings.
These sessions will be hosted by Dr. Marsha Goetting, a Professor of Estate Planning and Financial Management at MSU-Bozeman who also serves as the MSU Extension Family Economics Specialist. She earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University in 1996. Each week, different Extension Agents from across the state will co-host with Goetting and share their expertise on the featured topic. This series of MontGuide Mondays intends to offer Montanans a chance to discuss and learn about estate and legacy planning.
According to Goetting, the sessions will operate like a book club, where participants will read a MontGuide and take part in a virtual discussion. Participants can ask Goetting and the co-hosting agents questions about the reading or simply listen and learn.
The MontGuides series will focus on the following topics:
• Dying Without a Will in Montana: Who Receives Your Property
• Whose Name Is on Your Property?
• Non-Probate Transfers and Transfer on Death Deeds
• Probate in Montana and Duties of a Personal Representative
• Revocable Living Trusts
• Wills, Plus Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?
During the past several years, Goetting has presented more than 800 educational sessions, reaching over 25,000 Montanans with financial and estate planning information. She has also authored over 75 MontGuides and bulletins and has received national, regional, and state awards for her financial management and estate planning programs.
Registration is required for MontGuide Mondays. Those interested should complete the registration form available on the Montana State University Extension Service website: montana.edu/familyeconomics/montguidemondays. A printable schedule is also available, and those seeking additional information are encouraged to email Goetting at marsha.goetting@montana.edu.
Anyone who misses a topic of interest can download the MontGuide by clicking on the portable data file (pdf) link and reading the information online or printing it. Alternatively, MontGuides can be ordered from the MSU Extension Publications Office.
Another MSU Extension webinar series on estate and legacy planning began on January 5. Termed Tuesday Tips, that series will run from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. each Tuesday in January and February, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session lasting until 11 a.m. The series is co-hosted by MSU Extension educators Dr. Marsha Goetting and Emily Standley.
Standley, who is an Agent with MSU Extension in Fergus and Petroleum Counties, will serve as a technology expert for the series.
As the Extension office "techie," she solves computer problems, so whenever there is a glitch, Standley is the one to find a solution.
The topic featured on January 5 was What You Can and Cannot Do with a Will and the topic on January 12 discussed how to avoid probate with a transfer on death deed.
Future topics will be
• Comparing Life Estates and Joint Tenancies as Estate and Legacy Planning Tools
• Long-Term Care Costs: Alternative Plans, including Medicaid
• Powers of Attorney: Financial and Health Care
• Letters of Last Instruction: What to Include
• Using Trusts to Accomplish a Variety of Estate and Legacy Planning Goals
• What is Probate? What Are the Duties of a Personal Representative?
According to Snedigar, these topics were voted on by Tuesday Tips participants in 2020.
Registration is recommended for theses webinars, as well, and can be accomplished at https://www.montana.edu/estateplanning/tuesdaytips. In addition to registration information on this website, potential participants can learn how to use Webex on their computers or smart phones and how to respond and interact with the Chatting and Polling features in Webex. From this website, a person can also view past recordings and access other resources.
If anyone has any questions on either of these educational opportunities, those individuals are encouraged to contact the Extension Office by phone (357-3200) or email (julianne.snedigar@montana.edu).
"For updates and more information, you can also like MSU Blaine County Extension on Facebook or send us a message from there," Snedigar added.
