Estate planning, once considered a daunting task, has been modernized, simplified, and made accessible by the founding team of LVED.com. Drawing from personal experiences with the chaos that ensues without proper estate planning, founders Ryan Andersen, Terry Anderton, and Travis Johnson set out to create a platform that streamlines the process while incorporating personal values and memories. Together, they have created a solution that takes a huge weight off your shoulders and off the shoulders of the people you love.
Their combined expertise in technology, entrepreneurship, and law has resulted in a solution that eases the burden for individuals and their loved ones. Andersen's expertise in technology, stemming from his early start in programming and his experience leading strategy and innovation teams at Dell, is complemented by Anderton's diverse entrepreneurial journey across various industries. Anderton's knack for identifying opportunities and fearlessly executing his visions adds depth to the team's approach. Johnson, with his legal acumen and experience in intellectual property law and entrepreneurship, perfectly rounds out the trio, ensuring legal compliance and supporting the development of the LVED platform.
LVED stands out from traditional estate planning companies by offering a comprehensive approach that goes beyond static legal documents. Andersen explains, "Essentially the templating companies have a legal document that can work in each of the 50 states. You plug in your data, your name, who you want things to go to, and then you get a one and done legal document. You're going to pay for that document, but all you've done is just plug in information, and it spits out a static document for you."
One of the LVED platform's key features is its ability to capture and manage users' wishes and assets dynamically while ensuring that estate plans remain relevant and up-to-date. Unlike templating companies that provide one-time legal documents, LVED's platform continually evolves with the user and adapts to the changes in their wishes, family dynamics, and the estate. "Our platform is different because it safely stores key information. It is smart about wishes, smart about estates, smart about changes, and smart about your people. It can tell you when you need to update your legal documents," Andersen notes.
Anderton adds, "That's the main difference with what we're doing. It's a kind of change management tied with the traditional estate planning doctrine, and we handle that change management piece. In the estate planning world it would be called settlement. So, we help assist in settling the estate. We don't do every aspect of it yet, but we do a lot of the things that are very difficult to do in terms of giving access to people that need to have access at the right time."
A vast departure from traditional estate planning, LVED's integration of digital assets and secure credential management within the platform makes it easy to consolidate everything in one safe, secure place. Users can consolidate their digital assets, ensuring a seamless transition of information to designated beneficiaries. Additionally, the platform's time-based release feature allows users to control the accessibility of sensitive information, ensuring that data is released at the right time and to the right people.
Andersen elaborates, "The LVED platform moves a lot of data to a digital vault, but we haven't forgotten the need to make families aware of its existence. To make this work, we send a physical letter to the subscriber's home to be stored with other sensitive documents. That letter has a unique QR code on it. When anybody scans it, they are immediately put in touch with the latest account agent. For example, if I passed away or if I became incapacitated, my family would discover or retrieve the letter, then follow the instructions and scan it with their phone, and suddenly they're in contact with my plan and those that I've designated in my plan."
The user-friendly interface of LVED simplifies the estate planning process by guiding users through each step while maintaining transparency and control. The platform's visual approach, which allows users to photograph and assign heirlooms and assets, adds a personal touch as well as ease of use to the planning process. Anderton shares, "It isn't about the thing, the item; it's actually about the story behind stuff, behind the assets that you have collected in your lifetime. Why did you get them? It is these interesting stories that people want to tell to the people they're giving them to, and our platform allows people to share those stories and make sure their loved ones get them."
Additionally, LVED's 'user circles' feature extends the platform's reach, encouraging wider adoption among family members, beneficiaries, and helpers. Andersen asserts, "If you ask someone to fill a role in your estate plans, such as guardian or trustee, or if you ask someone if they're interested in one of your story-backed knickknacks, they're made aware of the platform, its capabilities, and will have the opportunity to create their own estate plan with us as well. They will also be able to access the secure vault if you've given rights in the LVED app."
Anderton adds, "The other thing is we don't just focus on people, we focus on pets and institutions that you love. If you want to allocate some money to a nonprofit or to your school or whatever. You want to make sure your pet goes to somebody that has agreed to take care of them if something were to happen to you. That's all handled by our platform."
LVED's commitment to affordability and compliance is also evident in its state-specific and closed-loop legal document process. The team is working on ensuring that legal documents are valid for each state and validating users' wishes against legal requirements. The team is continuing to expand the platform with additional legal templates and continuous refinement of its features to further their mission to provide a comprehensive and compliant solution.
LVED is a leap forward in modern estate planning, driven by a team of experienced professionals with a passion for innovation and for making sure you and your loved ones can rest easy at night. By combining technology, entrepreneurship, and legal expertise, LVED offers a solution that is not only practical but also emotionally meaningful. As estate planning continues to evolve in the digital age, LVED is at the forefront, empowering you and me to protect our loved ones efficiently and effectively.
Check out LVED and get started creating your estate plan at www.lved.com.
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