From Fifth Third Bank,

Your trust and estate plan should evolve as your life changes. Major life events, such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, significant changes in wealth or the purchase or sale of property, are key times to review and update your plan. Even without a major event, it’s best practice to revisit your estate plan every three to five years to ensure it reflects your current goals.

We are back with another Lubnau Law team feature: Abbigail Crank Forwood.  Abbigail works in our Cheyenne office. She is a lifelong, Wyoming resident. She is married to TJ Forwood, and is mom to two wonderful, rambunctious children. She has over a decade of experience serving as General Counsel to many Wyoming governmental entities and hospitals, as well as a number of private Boards, businesses, and commissions across Wyoming. 

Tom Lubnau is a shareholder, attorney. His family founded the firm in the 1930s. He is an accomplished and experienced legal mind. He also is and has been incredibly active in his community for decades. A few highlights of Tom’s service include 21 years on the county fire department; service as Commissioner, Vice President and President of the Wyoming Bar; and 10 years representing Campbell County in the Wyoming State House of Representatives including terms as Majority Floor Leader and Speaker of the House. 

This week we are featuring attorney and shareholder, Nicholas A. Norris. Nicholas is an experienced estate planning attorney with deep roots in Wyoming. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Oversized Heart Foundation, Inc. He is a Rotarian through the Rotary Club of Cheyenne.

Sometimes it helps to be able to go at your own pace when tackling estate planning. Kiplinger.com shares some helpful tips for discussing and preparing for an estate plan in their recent article, “How to Talk to Your Family About Estate Planning (Without the Drama).” Here are three of our favorite tips from that article.

In this article, we are going to discuss Advance Healthcare Directives. From the National Institute on Aging, “Advance directives are legal documents that provide instructions for medical care and only go into effect if you cannot communicate your own wishes.” Advance Healthcare Directives include a living will and a durable power of attorney for healthcare. These are important pieces of your estate plan because you might become incapacitated and unable to care for yourself or your estate. These documents provide your family with clarity and direction. You can choose who can make decisions on your behalf in case you are incapacitated, and you can create documents that help guide that person while you are alive regarding your medical care.

From MetLife.com, “If any assets are unaccounted for, a pour-over will ensures they’re automatically placed in a trust for a grantor’s named beneficiaries. This type of will can also include a backup plan, should the trust dissolve or become invalid. In that case, a pour-over will provides instructions to distribute any assets previously in the trust to the named beneficiaries.”

From Fidelity.com:

A revocable trust is a legal structure that allows the "grantor" or "trustee" to retain control over their assets during their lifetime, as well as specify exactly how and when their assets pass to their beneficiaries. After the grantor's death, the trust acts as a will substitute and enables the assets to be privately and quickly distributed without going through the time and expense of the probate process. This will allow the grantor full control and use of their home during their lifetime while providing for efficient distribution at their death.

This month, we discussed why a Will is not a substitute for an estate plan. In this blog, we will discuss the elements of a strong estate plan for you and your loved ones. ‍

First, an estate plan is just that, a plan. It incorporates all the documents and legal obligations specific to your estate. “While a Will is a single tool, an estate plan involves multiple tools,” from SmartAsset.com.  A Will does not govern all your property or assets, nor does it aid your loved ones in the event you become incapacitated and unable to make decisions for yourself while you are alive.

Many people put off estate planning because it feels complicated or because they assume their situation is simple. In Wyoming — with its strong culture of land ownership, multigenerational family ranches, and independent spirit — the decisions about how wealth passes from one generation to the next are rarely simple. A Will is a starting point, but it is rarely a complete answer.

The cost of a well-crafted estate plan is modest compared to the cost of probate, family conflict, or assets passing in ways you never intended. More importantly, the peace of mind that comes from knowing your family is protected is invaluable.

Lubnau Law is pleased to announce that Nicole Romine, J.D. has joined the law firm’s Gillette, WY office as of May 12, 2026. Romine’s practice will focus on estate planning and government entities. Romine brings nearly two decades of legal experience, with a career spanning complex litigation, government representation, and high‑level leadership. She served as the Criminal Division Chief for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming. In that role, she managed a large team of attorneys and support staff across multiple offices throughout the state and directly supervised prosecutors handling a wide range of complex criminal matters.

Why is it important to talk about estate planning for women specifically?

Women tend to live longer than men, which means that women will be more likely to survive their spouse or partner and therefore have to manage the estate, end-of-life decisions, and more.

The estate planning process helps you take control of your assets and explain with clarity what you want for your estate and your loved ones. Part of this process includes understanding estate taxes and how that might affect your estate goals.

Tax Season, for all its stress, is a great time to start your estate planning journey. You already have collected dozens of documents for your taxes, from mortgage interest, to investment reports, to the simple w-2. You have a year’s worth of financial information at the ready. Take that hard work one step further and check your current financials against your estate plan. Don’t have an estate plan? After you submit your forms, contact a trusted estate planning team like Lubnau Law to start thinking through your personal estate goals.

Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) publishes its “Dirty Dozen” list of the most notorious tax scams from the prior year. The Security Summit, a partnership among the IRS, state tax agencies, and the nation’s tax industry, has enacted a broader campaign under which the Dirty Dozen falls. For the nerds reading this blog, March 5, 2026, was “National Slam the Scam Day” and the IRS released the Dirty Dozen on that day to help raise awareness. The list alerts both taxpayers and tax professionals alike of the most common tax cons during the last year. The scams run the gamut from impersonating IRS officials to creating fake charities. Let’s break the Dirty Dozen down.

While most people associate spring cleaning with scrubbing baseboards or clearing out the garage, there is one area of your life that deserves a season refresh as much, if not more than any other: your estate plan.

The Lubnau Law team wants to ensure your wishes are honored, and your family is spared unnecessary stress during a time of crisis. This is why we provide a free DocuBank Membership for a year after you complete your estate plan.