Most people are familiar with the term "estate planning," but often question whether it applies to them.  Some perceive that estate planning is only for those with significant wealth or property, and therefore avoid preparing a plan.  More often, we simply do not like to think about what an estate plan implies-death or disability!  That is a natural reaction, and I am often reminded of how difficult it can be to discuss end of life issues.  Despite that difficulty or the perception that an estate plan is only for the wealthy, having a plan is among the most important decisions one can make.  A good estate plan takes the burden away from your family and survivors regarding your possessions, and more importantly, gives guidance for decisions about your quality of life.  The components of an estate plan follow.

A recent water law ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court, Frees v. Tidd, 349 P.3d 259 (Colo. 2015), has raised eyebrows throughout the water bar about whether the decision condones the practice of a junior appropriator making a first use of the same physical supply of a senior water right.  Such a practice could turn the prior appropriation system on its head by, as argued by some commenters, no longer ascribing water diverted to the water right owner only.  In the worst case scenario, senior water rights could risk losing some aspect of control over their supply because it must first pass through another junior non-consumptive use – like the hydropower plant at issue in the Frees v. Tidd case. 

I don’t know about you, but my mornings are crazy.  I hit the ground running, getting my family ready for the day, getting my kids to school, getting into work on time and going full force for the rest of the day.  GO! GO! GO!  Most days are a total blur, but there is 10 minutes of my day that I have forced myself to slow down.  On the main level of our office building, is a little coffee shop called The Unseen Bean.  I think for the first six months of my job I rushed in and rushed out of the building without even giving it a second glance, but running around at that pace burns you out fast. 

Law partner Star Waring and I are recently returned from a teaching junket.  We traveled to the television studios of NBI – National Business Institute – to record a seven hour program on the law and practice of water title examination in the western United States.  Those 17 states – California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North and South Dakota – follow the doctrine of prior appropriation.  It is a continuing education class for attorneys.  In Colorado we are required to have 45 units of continuing legal education credit, including 7 units of study in legal ethics, every three years.