My Story
It was, as Neil Diamond says, “A Hot August Night.” At the time I was working at United Missouri Bank City. I left work at the usual time, around 6 P.M. A dear friend was at the hospital recovering from a bout with cancer. I stopped by to see him, as I’d done a few times each week since his admission. The staff let me stay longer because Charlie was in such high spirits. When I left him I couldn’t have felt better. Upon arriving home I told my wife, Darlene, “I’m ecstatic…Charlie’s decided to live again.”
Fifteen minutes later I received a call telling me my father was in an accident and that it did not look good. Ten minutes after the first call I received the second notifying me that my dad had died under a tractor in Northwest Missouri…on the very farm where my grandmother gave him life.
He died at the age of 56 with no estate plan in place.
To some degree I felt it was my fault. Because of my encouragement Mom and Dad had started on their estate plan. But you know the rest of the story. They were busy. There were always other priorities.
Here’s where I had made my mistake. At that point in my life I didn’t have the confidence or experience to look my parents straight in the eye and say, “Go get this done…now!” We paid the price for that mistake.
We fought with the IRS for over two years and endured a costly probate for nearly three years before the estate was settled.
As a result of that experience my dad, Vance Parman, became the inspirational founder of our law firm. It was that experience that made me want to help families like yours avoid the perils of having no plan in place, or having the wrong plan in place.
If you are considering an estate plan or an estate planning law firm to help you design your plan, or if you are just unsatisfied with your current estate planning attorney, please keep reading and I will tell you WHY we are the right choice for you and your family.
“…I Trust Them Completely…”
“I fully believe Parman & Easterday is the right one. They are very caring, know their business from top to bottom, I trust them completely and know they tell me the truth… I have encouraged several of my friends who do not have Living Trusts to go talk to one of the attorneys at Parman & Easterday. I would recommend Parman & Easterday highly over anyone. The attorneys listen to your own story as if it is the only one that’s important at the moment. It means a lot to the person when they are talking about something this personal: your family and your assets; the things you have worked for all your life. Yes, it does mean a lot.” -M. Clements; Oklahoma City, OK
The Story of Those We Help
Look, estate planning is a big, scary, daunting, overwhelming, intimidating thing. And on top of that, no one wants to talk about death and taxes. And on top of THAT, we Americans think we’re going to live forever anyway, right?
In addition to that, we find that many families and individuals know that estate planning is a critical piece of their personal and/or family’s security, quality-of-life and well-being. But, they just haven’t done anything about it because, hey, we all have a million other things tugging at us every single day and “estate planning” somehow never manages to rise high enough on the priority list. And next thing you know, 1, 5, 10, 20 years have flown by and it’s still there, hovering at the bottom of your To-Do list and hanging over your head like a black cloud.
In fact, many people we visit with admit to feeling shame, guilt and embarrassment over the fact that they haven’t done anything about it yet. And that feeling turns into a shame-spiral of procrastination. And the longer it builds, the less you want to acknowledge it and admit to having done nothing about something you know is so important.
And then, god forbid, something bad happens – to you or to a loved one. Something that was completely unexpected – death or incapacity for example. You or your loved ones are stuck realizing that since you did no estate planning and set up no security or protection for your family, everyone is now in a much bigger world of hurt than you could have imagined.
Well guess what. If you’ve ever felt this way about estate planning, we’re here to tell you that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and it is OK.
We understand these feelings and the results of not taking action more than anyone. As I shared above, I personally experienced it with my family. And members of our staff have experienced it as well.
That is why our team has a special bond and power in achieving our Mission: educating and inspiring you to take action and protect yourself and your family from the dangers of having no – or the wrong – estate plan in place.
We help you move past the feelings that cause you to procrastinate; inspire you to take charge of your family’s well-being, security and Peace of Mind; and fix the problem NOW.
“Absolutely Fantastic…”
“We had put off talking to someone about setting up a trust because ‘we just had too many other things going on right now’ and we didn’t want to deal with life or death discussions. The seminar we attended that was presented by Parman & Easterday answered all of our questions and convinced us to finally do what we had been putting off. The folks at Parman & Easterday have been absolutely fantastic with getting our “affairs in order.” -John W Patterson; Oklahoma City, OK
Why Us?
It started with this question: Why should you choose our firm to help you with your estate planning over all of the other options available to you, including doing nothing?
First of all, our “True North” is guided by our Core Values:
⦁ Practice the “Golden Rule.”
⦁ Be a Promise Keeper.
⦁ Improve Every Day – individually and as a team.
⦁ Care for Clients Like Family – For Life and for Future Generations
⦁ Provide a WOWing Experience.
⦁ Believe in What We Do and Have a Passion for Sharing It.
As an example of holding true to one of these Core Values, our team reads a new book every quarter related to professional development. In our “Book Club,” we discuss the lessons learned, take-away’s and figure out how to implement those lessons in our business.
Secondly, we have a unique, proprietary process that empowers us to create estate plans that are:
⦁ Customized for each client and their family’s needs, wishes, and desires – NO boiler-plate, “McDonald-ized” documents;
⦁ Completed within 30 days: We have a proprietary system that leads you through the estate planning process step-by-step in an easy, organized, understandable, efficient, no-hassle manner;
⦁ Completed at a fixed investment: NO after-the-fact or hidden charges; and we…
⦁ Have an IRON-CLAD GUARANTEE for 30 Days of Our Services or YOUR MONEY BACK! If you are unhappy with our services within 30 days of completion, we will move mountains to fix it and if, for some reason, you are still unsatisfied, return your estate plan and we will return your money. No hard feelings and no questions asked.
“I Was Very Much Relieved…”
“My husband had passed away and I felt like that it was essential for me to get something done about having an estate plan in place. I felt very much relieved, and still do. And I was pleased with everything that Parman & Easterday did for me…everything. I just think their team is wonderful. They were kind with me; patient with me; and spent all this time explaining things in detail to me.” -M. Lundy
About Us
Of course, you may want to know our “credentials.” But this is not about us. This is about YOU – your problems and the best way for you to solve those problems.
That is why I have left the “credentials” for last. I believe that the most important thing to share first and foremost with you is WHY we exist, what our Mission is and how we achieve that Mission.
Hopefully this has helped you understand us better and helps you make a well-informed decision as to whether you should learn more about how we can help you.
But, I know the above information won’t satisfy everyone and you may want to know more about our experience and expertise. So, for those that do, please keep reading…
Since our beginning in 1985, we’ve always known we wanted to be different from other estate planning law firms. We always knew we were going to do great legal work. That was a given. But we’ve always strived to do more…to rise above and be different from other lawyers and law firms.
Our goal is to create the best possible consumer experience for our clients. We know the typical experience in today’s service economy is not good. All of us have experienced the bitter taste of poor service with companies constantly proving that they could care less about their clients.
We show our clients and their families we care by GUARANTEEING they feel safe, comfortable, confident, and secure about their family, assets, and legacy.
We are licensed attorneys in Oklahoma and Missouri, and are so passionate about what we do that we have co-authored two books on estate planning, Estate Planning Basics: A Crash Course in Safeguarding Your Legacy and Guiding Those Left Behind In Oklahoma: Settling the Affairs of Your Loved One.
Our firm is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys – meaning we have exclusive access to leading-edge resources, research, education, training, and knowledge in the estate planning and elder law industry. Academy membership requires 36 hours of annual Continuing Legal Education – just in estate planning. That’s three times more than what is required by the Bar Association of a typical attorney in all areas of practice!
Consumer Reports Money Adviser, Money Magazine and best-selling financial author, Suze Orman, in her book, “The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom” have all recommended the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Member Firms to consumers looking for qualified attorneys.
“Like It Was Meant For Us To Take The First Step..”
“Not many people could have dreaded it more than my husband and I, but at the Educational Program, when it was over, it was like it was meant for us to take the first step. So we made the appointment with the attorney for our free consultation and we felt so comfortable, we just kept moving and it fell into place. Then we met with Kathy Stanka, a senior paralegal and it all went so well. Thanks to all of you!” -Norman and Juanita Lenhart; Yukon, OK
We are also members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
In addition to our unique approach to our clients and Academy membership, our attorneys have extensive experience and expertise in business, estate and elder law planning matters.
One is an Accredited Estate Planner with the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils, a prestigious national estate planning organization.
Another thing that is different about us is that we limit our practice exclusively to the areas of estate, business, and elder law. Creating premier legacy wealth estate plans is all we do – no other legal areas to distract us from our mission: Protecting you and your family.
“Priceless…”
“Having peace of mind in knowing your estate plans are both legally correct and personal wishes are in order is priceless. Parman & Easterday provides the help to make peace of mind possible.” –Sharon Whitney; Stillwater, OK
But Our Credentials Are Worthless To You Unless…
We’re very proud of our professional memberships, experience and expertise – but it would be worthless if it had no love behind it.
And that is why I feel so strongly about our ability to help you. We not only have the expertise, we have a team that cares for our clients like family. A team that understands your challenges and feelings about this process and how to overcome them.
We are here to educate, empower, inspire and help you in any way we can. Please let us know how we may be of service.
To Your Peace of Mind,
Larry Parman
Author, President, and Founding Attorney
Parman & Easterday
“They Always Follow Through With a Smile.”
“We have two different families, two different backgrounds, and two different financial institutions that are merging. I went to Parman & Easterday’s office and just talked about it. I want you to know it is a pleasant encounter. To meet an organization who is not only professional, but you feel comfortable because you know the things are going to be done right. In this situation, you are talking about details that are very vital. But they are friendly, they make you feel warm, and they follow through; and they always follow through with a smile. If you have a problem, you can call them. They will knock themselves out to get it taken care of.” -S. Novotny
