Author: Christy La

National Estate Planning Awareness Month: Estate Planning for Everyone

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Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

64% of Americans say that having a will is important — but 68% don’t have a will in place. October is National Estate Planning Awareness Month and all month long, the San José Public Library Foundation (SJPLF) is celebrating by spreading awareness to the community about the importance and relevance of estate planning. We invite you to consider these important questions: 

  • Who do you want to care for your children or pets in the event of an unforeseen circumstance? 
  • Have you made decisions around finances? 
  • Do you want to support SJPLF through our legacy? 

Estate planning is designed to give individuals security and control of their finances and the transferring of their finances while informing the community of the different methods and costs that each decision entails. An estate includes anything you own, such as automobiles, real estate, investment, and personal possessions. It is important to have an estate plan in place because it will give you the ability to decide how your belongings will be distributed ahead of time when unexpected circumstances occur. SJPLF moves proactively within the City of San José through the twenty-five San José Public Library locations to bring philanthropic power to their communities, which includes ensuring that community members are given proper resources and knowledge to create an estate plan that protects their possessions and their loved ones.  

What most people might not realize is that without an estate plan, the state has the power to assign someone to handle your business if you are suddenly incapable of doing so. If there is no estate plan to specify an individual’s wishes, then the state will decide what happens with your belongings. This often might not align with what one intended, so specifying how your assets should be distributed among your heirs or beneficiaries to align with your intentions is why estate planning matters immensely.  

There are many areas that estate planning addresses, including asset distribution, business succession, minimizing family disputes, and avoiding probate which means ensuring that assets pass directly to beneficiaries. A significant purpose of estate planning is to protect and guarantee the care of loved ones when unexpected and untimely events occur. For instance, if a beneficiary is still under the age of eighteen, a guardian may need to be appointed to manage the account until the beneficiary becomes an adult. Estate planning takes a significant amount of consideration to address all the unique circumstances that potentially could occur as well as the cost and consequences of those decisions. Estate planning can also minimize estate taxes, gift taxes, capital gains taxes, and income taxes on an estate and the beneficiaries. Ultimately, estate planning is meant to give you peace of mind for when difficult times do surface so that you can focus on your situation stress-free knowing that you already made important decisions ahead of time.  

The Foundation also recognizes that estate planning may appear to be a foreign and daunting task. With our partner, FreeWill, you can create your plans in just 20 minutes online and protect the people and causes you love. This free tool not only helps you to protect your loved ones and assets, but also helps you support our collective will to make our city as equitable as it is diverse for years to come. 

Create my free will

On October 21st, we are hosting a FREE workshop, Estate Planning for Everyone, from 3 PM to 4 PM at the Bascom Branch Library (1000 S. Bascom Ave San Jose, CA 95128). This event is perfect for individuals and families seeking peace of mind and financial security. Featuring guest speakers

• Maris Martinson (Estate Planning Attorney at Berliner Cohen)
• Todd P. Langton, CLF (Financial Services Professional, NYLIFE Securities LLC)
• Pat Wolfe (SJPLF Board Member & Epilogue Society Member)

These industry experts will provide invaluable tips, advice, insights, and resources. Whether you’re starting your estate planning journey or looking to refine your existing plan, we encourage you and your loved ones to join us.  

Register for free
Estate Planning for Everyone Workshop Banner

No matter the size of your assets, no matter your age or how wealthy you are, estate planning is beneficial for everyone. It saves time, energy, and resources for you and your loved ones while preserving the legacy you decide to leave behind. Understanding the importance of estate planning and its process will not only give you more peace and control over your possessions, but also empowers you to support causes and organizations you care about through charitable bequests and trusts. When estate planning is executed with competence and confidence, individuals are able to push past just planning, and also leave a legacy that they and their family can be proud of. Thank you for considering the San José Public Library Foundation in your estate planning, and we hope to see you at our Estate Planning for Everyone workshop. 

Support SJPLF in your legacy today RSVP to our free estate planning workshop

Signature Author Event 2024: Top Moments & Media Highlights with Chef Martin Yan

On Saturday, September 21st, the San José Public Library Foundation hosted its first ever Signature Author Event featuring the renowned celebrity from hit show Yan Can Cook, Chef Martin Yan. This inaugural event raised significant funds and awareness for the San José Public Library while providing guests with a truly memorable culinary experience. 

Chef Martin Yan captivated the audience with a lively cooking demonstration, sharing the stories and inspiration behind his 30+ cookbooks. Attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch featuring Chef Yan’s award-winning dishes, paired with thoughtfully curated wines that were generously provided by Bouchaine Vineyards. Each guest was gifted an autographed copy of his newest cookbook “Best of Yan Can Cook“, and additional autographed copies of his latest works including “My Asian Kitchen” were also available for purchase at the door, with a portion of proceeds going back to the Library. 

The event concluded with an exciting lion dance celebration out in the plaza as Chef Martin Yan met and greeted guests.

Thank you to our dedicated staff, volunteers, vendors, event sponsors, and most importantly, our community for helping us bring this event to life. We truly could not have done it without each and every single person! 

Want to see the event in action and learn more about its impact? Check out our official recap video and curated collection of media coverage to see how our first ever Signature Author Event made headlines! 

Watch the recap video Read the media highlights

About Chef Yan

“If Yan Can Cook, So Can You!” has always been the motto of Chef Martin Yan! With his extraordinaire, popular television host of more than 3,500 culinary and travel TV shows and author of 34 cookbooks including his brand-new cookbooks – “Martin Yan’s Best of Yan Can Cook” and “MY Asian Kitchen”. He is one of the most recognizable Chinese Chef in the culinary world, from Shanghai to San Francisco, with a career spanning over four decades. Promoting Chinese and Asian cuisines, making the food easy for the cook has been his life-long mission. 

His award-winning public television series, Yan Can Cook, airing since 1978, has introduced generations of audiences to Chinese and Asian cuisines.  Chef Yan has received numerous awards and recognitions including the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, and the lifetime achievement award from the International Association of Cooking Professionals. He was also honored with the 2023 Culinary Excellence Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival. 

Never the one to rest on his laurels, Chef Yan has remained an active international food and cultural ambassador. He roams the world working with home chefs and top chefs to entertain and educate the public, sharing his unique humor and strong passion for cooking. 

 

View photos from the event

Chef Martin Yan headlines San José Library Foundation fundraiser

Originally Published: August 25, 2024 at 7:14 am

Rosie’s Donor Story: Why I Give To The Library

Born in Zacatecas, Mexico in 1927, my father Hijinio Reynoso, Sr was born with a passion for learning. Unfortunately, he was told by my grandmother that learning and any form of education was a thing of the devil…so… he was not allowed to go to school. But that didn’t stop him. He took it upon himself to acquire items like eggs from the neighbors’ chickens and other knickknacks he could sell so he could get the money to purchase school materials. He proudly walked into the first day of school only to have his mother storm in and pull him out after only one hour. That was the extent of my father’s formal education. 

Rosie and Dad

It wasn’t until he was 25 years old that someone shared with him that you could travel the world through books. Up until that point, he was illiterate. His passion for learning was reignited….so…. he taught himself to read and write. 

 My father’s primary occupation was as a farm laborer picking oranges. After a long exhausting day of manual labor, his co-workers would return home to relax and watch T.V. My father rushed home to read. I don’t ever remember coming home and not seeing a book in my father’s hand or near him. 

Growing up my father would always ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I’m sure it’s a common question all parents ask their children. In my case, no matter what I said, he would always respond “well you know you have to go to school for that and you have to study lots of books”. As a young child, I wanted to be a ballerina and a firefighter. 

Books were as common in our house as food in a refrigerator. When we ran out, we would go to the library to check out more to “fill our pantry”. I learned to read when I was 3 years old and, from that age, it was engrained in me that books are to be respected, honored and cherished. We were not allowed to write in books, mark pages with “dog ears” or lay books on the floor. 

Now, imagine my shock when I went off to college and I was told to mark the “important points” in my textbook by highlighting the section or underlining it with a pencil (and maybe even a pen). That was culture shock! 

Education, learning, and books were always important to my father. When I lost him at the ripe age of 94 in 2021, I wanted to honor his memory and his influence on me and his influence on others by doing more than just a yearly donation to the San José Library Foundation. I wanted to find a way to honor him and the public libraries that have always been at the center of my life as a child, a young adult and now with my own children. That is why my husband and I decided to include the San José Public Library Foundation in our Family Trust.

Rosie SJPLF Epilogue Society Member

By adding us to her Family Trust, Rosie joined SJPLF’s Epilogue Society, what we call our community of legacy givers. We are so grateful for Rosie’s passionate support and openness to share her library story.

Please join Rosie in sharing your library story with us at development@sjplf.org.

Learn more about legacy giving