Local attorneys David M Frees III and Douglas L. Kaune, both of Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees are proud to announce their sponsorship of Phoenixville’s first ever TEDx conference to be held this September at the Colonial Theater on Bridge Street in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
“I am a big fan of the TED Conference and the speakers at TED run the gamut in terms of topics, skills and ideas. So it’s very exciting to be a part of the great team of people and sponsors helping to bring the local version of TED to Phoenixvile.” said David Frees a local lawyer. “TEDx isn’t about law or legal issues but it’s a great event and fantastic for the Phoenixville area. And we try to support the Borough of Phoenixville and many of the projects that we believe improve the quality of life in town.”
For tickets and information click this image or the links below.
For tickets and information on TED in Phoenixville click this image
To get more informaion on TED and specifically, on the local TEDx programs to be held in Phoeniville click the links below:
For more information you can also call the Colonial Theater at 610-917-1228 or the law offices of Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees at 610-933-8069. Our client relations manager, Beth McNulty will be happy to get you additional information about the conference.
If you need more information about planning your estate or acting as a trustee or executor, we have many free resources. Appointments are also available with David Frees by contacting Beth MacNulty, Donna Brownback, or Denise Fox at 610-933-8069.
Attorney David Frees can also be reached by email at dfrees@utbf.com
Mention this blog to get a free report at the time of your appointment or to request that a free report on executors or estate planning be sent to you. You can also request these reports on line at www.PaEstatePlanners.com
We would like to take this opportunity to say “Happy New Year and Thank You” from the entire firm and from the Trust, Estate and Wealth Preservation Section of Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees.
We know that in this area of the state of Pennsylvania, you have many choices for your trust, estate planning, and probate lawyers as well as for your elder law needs.
For that reason, we both thank you and want to let you know that we have once again, in preparation for the new year, spent time, resources, and money in making changes that we think will enhance your experience as a client of the firm.
Jennifer adds more depth of tax practice (especially tax issues facing trusts and estates) and will also be helping us to focus on the unique issues facing women in their estate planning.
We have added two blogs designed to bring you more and timely news and information on estate planning, asset protection planning, and information and news for executors and trustees. In addition, we are currently working on a new web site and blog oriented just for families in need of elder law and nursing home advice and information. Be sure to read and watch www.UTBF.com/trust-estate and www.PaEstatePlanners.com for the latest news and information affecting you, your business, investments, and your family.
We have also invested in new software that we believe will take us to the next level in preparing and updating your tax returns, estate and trust accountings, and the family settlement agreements that we often use to avoid much of the probate process.
Several other associates and partners of the firm, including Denise Werkley, Theo Claypoole, William Burke, Don Turner, John Fiorillo, and Stephen LaGoy will be working on matters with the Estate Section – especially when planning involves family limited partnerships, closely held businesses, and real estate or when there are matters involving litigation.
We would also like to welcome Beth MacNulty as our new client relations manager. Beth’s jobs will include helping you to get appointments that fit your schedule, confirm appointments, making sure that your estate planning documents have been received by you and are stored safely, and in assisting you in emergency appointments, and with your other needs as they arise.
Beth can be reached by calling 610-933-8069.
In addition, David Frees was recently honored by receiving AVVO’s highest lawyer rating of 10.0 or Suberb and presented again to the prestigious Pennsylvania Bar Institute Estate Institute on the topic of Estate Planning for Families with Young Children. David has also just finished, with his brother Robb Frees, a soon to be published book and report on What Consumers Need To Know about insurance law.
Douglas Kaune was admitted as a member of NAELA (National Association of Elder Law Attorneys) and Doug in addition to his work in the are of sophisticated estate planning is working on three new reports for consumers on the changing laws in the area of Elder Law and Nursing Home issues.
In conclusion, we thank you for your continue support ans we look for new ways to help you through this difficult time with the many changes and the uncertainty now that Congress has allowed the state tax to lapse but at the same time is threatening to restore it retroactively.
For estate planning questionnaires, estate planning appointments, appointments to update older estate plans, or for any of our free reports for executors please call 610-933-8069.
Enjoy the fall and this holiday season from
David M. Frees III and your lawyers, friends and team at Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees:
Will and Estate Attorneys: David M. Frees III, Douglas L. Kaune
Paralegals: Tara Walters, Donna Brownback, and Denise Fox
Our law offices are conveniently located in Phoenixville, Malvern and West Chester and serve
all of Chester, Montgomery, Berks, Bucks and Lancaster Counties. 610-933-8069 or 610-240-0750
dfrees@utbf.com
As many of you know, the Trust, Estate and Wealth Preservation Section of the firm is a very paper intensive operation. And, as many of you have observed, law offices are notorious for their wasteful use of not only paper but many resources.
Hello. I’m Dave Frees, and I Chair the Trust, Estate and Wealth Preservation Section of Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees with our offices in Phoenixville, Malvern, and West Chester.
At Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees, the firm and our practice section have been “Greening” the firm for many years now. Even when we did not have municipal recycling, for example, partner Doug Kaune was our resident enforcer of recycling glass, aluminum, and newspaper.
For the last five years, we have increasingly sourced recycled paper products and have been actively looking for ways to further reduce our carbon foot print. However, in a recent audit, and after some additional research you have helped us to identify and to detect a number of ways to further improve our efforts to reducing, reuse and recycle whenever appropriate.
So what is a green business, what are we doing and why does it matter to you?
Why Green Businesses Matter and What We Are Doing
Earth Share recently offered the following definition:
A “green” business strives to have a positive impact on the environment and community. It develops and practices business strategies that go beyond regulation and demonstrate commitment to a healthy and sustainable future. A green business adopts principles, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life for its customers and employees.
And that is exactly what we have been doing and what we are about to do even more aggressively.
For example, many clients do not realize, how many pages of paper are used until you sign the final draft of your estate plans. Many plans have over over forty to fifty pages of documentation ( and some plans including asset protection plans, trust plans, and even simple wills containing trusts for protecting your heirs from divorce and lawsuits run to the hundreds of pages of documentation).
And, we have often reviewed two to three drafts of some documents before they are even sent to you for your review and at least one more set will be produced as final copies for execution at your signing appointment. For those of you who have found typos of a misspelled name of “uncle Joe” in your wills, it may not seem like it, but before we are done many plans have used over two hundred pages or more of paper. Most of which is actually shredded and recycled already.
However, we are now conducting a more comprehensive audit of our many practices and procedure, as well as our products and have identified a number of new initiatives including but not limited to the following:
1. We are now sourcing a higher percentage of recycled paper without sacrificing the bright white appearance and acid free content that we currently use for your documents.
2. We are attempting to identify vendors who use and who offer more environmentally friendly products ranging from recycled paper in writing paper, document paper, and coffee cups to tissue, and will shift our purchasing to these “greener” vendors whenever possible without sacrificing our products and services.
3. We will use long lasting and green bulbs in light fixtures whenever possible. Although for the time being, some areas of the office are still lighted in incandescent bulbs for the comfort of our staff who must read in that environment for extended periods.
4. We are currently replacing computers and electrical equipment with more efficient models and are implementing policies of turning these devices to a dormant mode if they have not been used for 10 minuets or more (that rarely happens since we’re working on documents all day long!) and completely off at night so that they do not continue to use power after business hours.
5. We will be selecting and sponsoring educational programs in our community that offer real world education and actionable information to young people about how they can positively impact their local and global environment.
6. We are creating an employee green team and will be taking these initiatives to the entire firm.
7. We are actively seeking ways to send more to you electronically – such as the Estate Planning Questionnaire rather than printing it and mailing it needlessly. So, many of our documents, articles, and tools for our clients are now posted on line which saves paper and is often more convenient for the client.
8. We are using recyclable ink cartridges and are exploring the use of other ink products.
9. We also value your comments and input on this issue just as we do in all other respects. Many of our best client service policies originated with you. And, we hope that you will share suggestions on this topic by calling, emailing or leaving a comment below. Have a green strategy at your house or at your business that you want to share with us. Let us know.
Anyone who comments below with a suggestion, or who calls or emails with a suggestion will be eligible to win one of our new Green Law Firm shopping bags (to help you to avoid using plastic and paper bags when shopping, and one of our green suggestion books about how to make your life more environmentally friendly. Finally, our grand prize winner will get a check for $100.00 payable to a green charity of your choice.
So act now! You could be a winner and you’ll be helping the environment for all future generations.
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