About Us

Testimonials


We don’t have that much of an estate but we have a good income. We were able to give each of our three children a check for $100,000 for Christmas. It was a great feeling that they will not have to worry so much about children in college.

Thank you for all I have learned in your classes.

Stay well,

01/2021

~Barbara

I wanted you to know the Estate workshop was a real eye opener for me. I thought with only one heir I would not need a will or living trust. I learned a lot. I appreciate your time in leading this workshop.

Thank you,

~M.P.

I wish to thank you very much for all your hard work in putting this fantastic workshop together. The information and resources presented are invaluable. I’ve enjoyed all of your presenters as well as your knowledge, humor and especially the structure of each meeting. My intentions at this time are to take your next workshop and repeat the current workshop.

It’s Your Estate Huntington Beach

~D.P.

What you are doing is a true service to our community, thank you for your unbiased information and advice.
I found the sessions to be eye opening and very useful. Next time I plan to bring all my friends.

It’s Your Estate Newport Beach

~Jane

I have taken your estate planning workshop which I found very helpful. I have finally organized all my information and am now ready to talk to an estate attorney about setting up a trust and obtaining the powers of attorney. I am so thankful for your workshops. I have learned a great deal and I find it is easier to understand the information in such a fun environment. You are wonderful at this job!

Thank you,

~Kathy

I can’t tell you how much your workshops have meant to me and to my husband as well.  When I first started attending  (lo, those many years ago), I only knew that I needed to know a lot more about the world of personal finance and how to be able to manage our affairs should the need arise.  Gradually, I absorbed enough of the information you provide that I could identify our needs and at least be able to ask reasonable questions of financial professionals.  My husband always dealt with money issues professionally and had the background and the interest to handle our personal financial affairs as well.  Although I participated in investment decisions and understood the structure of our financial life, I depended on him to lead the way and explain what was going on.

Based on the knowledge from your workshops, we started our search for a financial advisor about 5 years ago, eventually agreeing on an individual and company that meets our needs.  Our objective was to establish a working relationship with a professional while we could discuss and agree together on the goals we were setting and the arrangements we wanted to make and have time to change our minds if we found ourselves heading down the wrong path.   The timing was good because bubbles were bursting everywhere, Bernie Madoff was in the news and the financial landscape was rapidly changing.  Even my capable husband realized it would be helpful to work with a professional (fee-only, of course) financial advisor.

Almost two years ago, my husband was diagnosed with very serious cancer, and our attention was diverted to his health care needs.  We now have the peace of mind to focus on our important personal issues, knowing that our financial decisions have been made, that we are working as a team with our financial advisors and that I now have enough money knowledge and confidence to understand what is going on and not be totally vulnerable to the “very nice people” about whom you have so effectively warned us throughout your workshops.  We cannot thank you enough for providing the workshops that made this possible for us.  We wish you great success in spreading your series far and wide so that many others can benefit as we have.

Very sincerely,

~Diane Buchanan

How grateful I am for the workshops. Your mission to educate people regarding their money and their estate has been a godsend to my husband and me. We appreciate you for the user-friendly style of presentation and the life changing information.

~Sharli Cartwright

It was a pleasure to meet you today after the workshop you presented in Tucson.

In evaluating the It’s Your Estate workshops on behalf of American Bible Society, I asked a donor friend to attend both the It’s Your Estate and It’s Your Money workshops I had heard about in Reno, NV.  I have the responsibility of working with donors in AZ and NV as well as a few other states in the Southwest and West.  The truth of the matter is that I rarely travel to NV these days because of the cost effectiveness issues of these trips as far as the Bible Society is concerned.  However, I did meet the donor in question in person while in NV several years ago.

The donor who went to the Reno workshops spoke in glowing terms about how she was educated about many aspects of estate and financial planning without feeling the presenters were being self-promoting or trying to sell products.  The knowledge attained by the attendees was always in the forefront.  Also, she mentioned that she felt each presenter had integrity.  She has been so enthusiastic she’d like to attend again and she is encouraging a number of co-workers to do so, too.

This truly has been a win/win/win/win situation for all involved.  Our donor is happy with the experience.  I know she will be talking with at least one of the advisors who presented, if she hasn’t done so already.  I was able to use my time and the resources of our ministry wisely with an objective third party evaluating the workshops from the viewpoint of one of our donors.  Finally, I wouldn’t be surprised if American Bible Society ultimately benefits as well.

Thank you for being the founder of It’s Your Money/It’s Your Estate.

~Lynn Barcklow

My wife and I have been attending the workshops on “It’s Your Money” and “It’s Your Estate” a number of times. We found the material presented of great value and the guest speakers very knowledgeable and informative. It was especially important that we were able to attend the sessions more than once since the material is complex and we were able to ask many questions. We plan to attend future workshops in Laguna and avail ourselves of the services offered for our consideration. Last, but not least, we enjoy the workshop presentations by Peter Kote who conducts the meetings with a sense of humor and clarity of purpose.

Both Workshop Series are a valuable service for the residents of Laguna Beach; we hope they will be continued.

~Mr. & Mrs. Roeder, Laguna Beach

Congratulations on the completion of another great session of Estate Planning!

I didn’t get this all down on the evaluation form, but you can quote me:

“Peter Kote’s classes on Estate Planning and Financial Investing are the best bargains in town!  (No matter which town.)  Everyone worries about college for the kids.  But it’s the adults who need further education on how to manage their hard-earned money and prepare for their later years.  Peter will hold your interest with a fresh, humorous, honest and understandable approach to complex and vital money issues we all face.  And it’s free!  Definitely the best bargain in town!”

Many thanks for everything.

~Dariela

“Peter Kote is a wonderful ethical soul with a beautiful heart. On top of that he is extremely knowledgeable with regulations, financials, rights and case management.”

~Andrea

I’ve learned so such and have put it into action. You’ve saved my estate many dollars. You are the BEST!!

~Guido

You are doing such a wonderful service for all of us with your helpful knowledge and insights. Your theory that giving charitable gifts makes a person feel happy must certainly be true, because I have never encountered a person with such a cheerful, happy mood at all times! It is a wonderful attribute, and reflects itself on others around you.

Keep up the good work! I really learned things and had fun doing do!

~Donna Robinson

Thank you for organizing and offering the two workshop series, “It’s Your Money” and “It’s Your Estate.” Had I been able to attend sooner I would have made a lot of financial decisions differently!

~Julie Chan

Observing the “It’s Your Money” and “It’s Your Estate” series unfold over the past several weeks, has helped me to understand your deep commitment to educate the public about:

how to work best with financial services professionals; the need to engage legal professionals to avoid conservatorship and probate; and for those of means, to introduce strategies that serve multiple constituencies -one’s family –one’s community- and oneself.

Pete, your programs fortify the participant to face the financial and life issues that many people would rather ignore.

Thank you for all of your efforts to bring these two programs to the community and thanks to your sponsors who help fill the seats in the room with eager and engaged learners.

~Kim Selby

Your workshop last Fall there was so wonderful that it was like a life changing experience for me. I didn’t know anything about money, and your workshop opened my eyes. After the workshop I started understanding and controlling my financial life ….. and influenced by my interest, now my16 year-old son started interested in stocks and world economy, and spends hours for researching them, instead of doing his school homework…..:(

I am looking forward to attending this wonderful workshop again to keep learning in such fun and informative way, with great guest speakers and the greatest coordinator, Pete!!

~Keiko

Thank you so much for the series and for helping me with my Dad and sister. I did get Dad to a lawyer and the lawyer convinced us to set up a trust for her. I found a trustworthy neighbor to take them grocery shopping. It’s not perfect, but safer than it was. Your advice and the series was so helpful and timely.

~M. L.

“It is our privilege to host Pete and his wonderful array of speakers.  It is such an incredible service [workshop series] to our members and the community at large and we feel privileged to be the lucky host!”

~Mariann Tracy

At the NBPL sessions – “Thank you VERY much for the money programs you provide for us all.  They continue to be exceptionally worthwhile and the best community service/education offering ever.  You and your efforts are greatly appreciated.”

~Diane Buchanan

Since I retired, I have learned so much from attending It’s Your Estate / It’s Your Money workshops that I tell everyone about them. Very empowering!

The nice thing about the workshop is they are given at multiple locations so that you can attend the two series simultaneously, and if you have to miss one session, you can make it up a different location. As a result, Jim and I attended sessions in Mission Viejo (of course), Laguna Hills/Woods, Irvine and Dana Point.

We have also repeated the same session in the next series (Spring) and/or from a different presenter. We have never failed to learn something new, and we always get whatever the most current law says (and the laws are always changing). Oh, and by the way, we really appreciate that the presenters are not allowed to sell to you. These are free, sponsored by non-profits, and not designed to line someone’s pockets with your money. Peter Kote is the facilitator/presenter at all of the sessions, plus he has other presenters who specialize in the various topics. Most folks will like his style.

Okay, you can tell I highly recommend the workshop series. Be sure to check out the list of charitable sponsors at the top of the schedule.

~Trudy Burrus

I would like to let you know that you are doing an excellent job explaining everything in this class. I am in exactly the position you described yesterday about being a POA and living far away. As POA to my parents, I have had to quit my job, lose my benefits, leave my family (husband, 2 children – one a minor) in Chicago and move here to California so that I can assist my parents since my Dad had a stroke in April. Thank goodness my circumstances are that I can do this for my parents, but most people could not.

And thank you for really driving home the point about discussing end of life care with your designee for a AHCD, POA for health care. As a Critical Care Nurse, I see this every day at work, when the patient’s end of life care was never discussed. You might want to mention to your audience in the future, that appointees will do for you what they would want done for themselves, if you have not given them any instructions. Many feel that since you came into the hospital to be treated, you would want everything possible to be done for you. So if you haven’t talked to them about this, and you have no idea what their outlook is in this situation, you could be setting yourself up for something you did not want. Also if a person has not designated a POA, and the patient is unable to communicate, a family member will be appointed to make all the decisions for you, and you may not have wanted this person to be placed in this role. Or the legal system could get involved and you could end up with a court appointed stranger making all of your health care decisions… I could go on and on with this forever, so let me just say again – you did a wonderful job with this topic!

Thank you so much for this opportunity to learn about estate planning.

~Karen B