NT_040518

16 | April 5, 2018 | The Northbrook tower news
northbrooktower.com
Northbrook-based attorney publishes book on estate planning
Alan P. Henry
Freelance Reporter
The challenge, as Eric
Matlin saw it, was to write
a how-to handbook on the
dry-as-dust subject of estate
planning that was not
just comprehensive, as
many such books are, but
also approachable and fun
to read, which are not descriptors
typically associated
with such a topic.
The reason for such a
strategy: “the best book to
help you learn about estate
planning is one you
will actually read,” said
Matlin, an attorney whose
Northbrook-based practice
has concentrated on estate
planning for 28 years.
To that end, the Winnetka
resident has authored “Not
Dead Yet” (Ozanam Publishing),
a serious, A to Z,
estate-planning handbook
that also includes a 110-
page hand-drawn graphic
novel that demonstrates the
kind of nightmares that occur
when people of any age
do not plan for life’s uncertainties.
Each of “Not Dead Yet’s”
24 chapters is preceded
by a comic book-style vignette,
often relating to the
text that follows.
“Together, they tell the
story of Don, his family and
his friends, and why estate
planning is important, even
to those who cannot fathom
why they would need it,
now or ever,” Matlin said.
“You’ll recognize parts of
Don’s story in yourself or
in people you’ve known.
You may even come to realize
the urgency of putting
your wishes to paper.”
Matlin, who wrote the
book over the course of
eight years while at his second
home in South Haven,
Mich., hopes the book will
relate to many.
“No matter who you are,
you will see yourself somewhere
in the pages of ‘Not
Dead Yet,’” Matlin said.
Matlin’s core philosophy
is that estate planning benefits
everyone, regardless
of age, health or economic
circumstances, and “Not
Dead Yet,” both through
the text and the graphic
novel, demonstrates a continuum
of needs for people
of all ages, including:
• The college student
whose power of attorney
for health and HIPAA authorization
may help ameliorate
a catastrophic situation
for parents.
• The new parents needing
a will to name a guardian
who determines their
child’s living arrangements.
• The blended family needing
a trust to avoid one side
of the family being left out
• The typical needs of the
affluent, elderly, ill and
those with special needs.
Matlin believes the
unique approach appeals
to younger readers who
would never consider reading
a book on the subject.
“Some people can read
by text, some people like
the visual,” Matlin said. “I
was always into comics. I
wanted to expand the demographic
of people who need
estate planning but don’t
realize they need it. I asked,
‘how can I appeal to younger
people?’ Through a comic
book.” The graphic novel
was a collaborative effort
between Matlin and graphic
artists Troy Locker Palmer
and Gabriel Bautista.
People of all ages, he
said, need to understand
that “life is not a calendar
item.” To those who don’t
plan ahead, he warns: “decisions
are going to be
made by other people, not
the people that you would
necessarily choose. What
we want to do is keep the
courts out of people’s lives.
Not doing this is in itself
a decision, because by not
doing it everything is by
formula and court involvement.”
In “Not Dead Yet,” Matlin
offers a user’s guide
of sorts. Similar to a dining
guide listing prices in
restaurants, chapters are
marked with different numbers
of $ signs. The more a
person is worth, the more
closely he should look at
chapters with the increasing
numbers of $ signs.
Chapter 8, on health care
and financial powers of attorney,
living will and HIP-
PA authorization, is marked
by a “cent,” and should be
read by all, because “it just
makes good sense.” Matlin
singles out Chapter 18 as a
must-read for anyone who
views estate planning as an
opportunity to charitably
spread the wealth around
for the “greater good.”
Matlin is a graduate of
DePaul University and The
John Marshall Law School.
He has written estate plans
for thousands of families,
ranging from people with
a negative net worth to
people worth more than
$10 million. His first book
on estate planning, The
Procrastinator’s Guide to
Wills and Estate Planning
(Penguin Group), was published
in 2004.
Eric Matlin, an attorney whose Northbrook-based
practice has concentrated on estate planning for 28
years, recently published “Not Dead Yet,” a serious,
A to Z, estate-planning handbook that also includes a
110-page hand-drawn graphic novel. Alan P. Henry/22nd
Century Media
Sales of “Not Dead Yet”
are supporting various
charities, including The
Josselyn Center in Northfield,
a community mental
health resource provider of
which he is a board member.
Matlin also volunteers
for CJE Senior Life at Lieberman
Center, and enjoys
the Chicago Botanic
Garden and practicing his
ukulele. He also gives estate
planning seminars to
interested groups and is
available for public speaking
engagements.
Matlin and his wife Gloria,
a Glencoe-based realtor,
raised their two children
in Glencoe and have
been married for 42 years.
Matlin’s book has been
commended by numerous
high-profile industry professionals,
among them
estate planning experts and
authors Jane Bryant Quinn
and Natalie Choate.
“Not Dead Yet” can be
found through amazon.com
and notdeadyetbook.net.
Retired teacher, former Northbrook resident pens fictional book set at school
Available at
The Book Bin in
Northbrook
Eric DeGrechie
Managing Editor
During his 31 years of
teaching in Wilmette, Jack
Spangenberger enjoyed
switching up schools now
and again.
Whether
at Central,
Harper or
McKenzie
elementary
schools, or
Highcrest
Middle Spangenberger
School, the
New Jersey native was
busy learning just as much
as his students.
“I wasn’t as familiar
with the neighborhoods,”
said Spangenberger, who
raised his family in Northbrook.
“It was a lot of fun.”
Spangenberger, who
retired in 2002, recently
penned his first book of
fiction, “Takeover.” At 220
pages, it tells the story of
what happened when a
group of fifth-graders took
over their school one day.
“I started the idea of this
book in the 1980s. It was
like a pipe dream, really,”
Spangenberger said. “I did
write things down from
time to time. I kept the
notes in a file.”
When he retired, Spangenberger
decided to write
a non-fiction book about
his travels in Fairbanks,
Alaska. While camping
there with his two sons, he
would write down notes
about each day’s activities.
Spangenberger would later
flesh the notes out into a
book.
While pleased with that
endeavor, he knew it was
time to finish “Takeover.”
“It was a completely
different experience. One
was, grossly put, a regurgitation
of what I did,
including feelings and
the romance I had in my
mind about the wonders
of Alaska,” Spangenberger
said. “Writing fiction is a
creative activity and very
different. It was more difficult,
but also much more
rewarding for me.”
Though the name of the
school where the action
takes place in “Takeover”
is Central, like the Wilmette
school, much of the
similarities end there as indicated
by a map included
in the story with a very different
school layout. The
Please see book, 18