Q: Although generally you can make a simple living trust by yourself, you may need assistance if you have complex or significant assets. You also may be able to buy a book or use an online trust preparation service, either of which typically cost less than $100. However, if you hire an attorney to prepare your trust documents for you, expect to pay upwards of $1,000. Keep in mind you can always draft your documents and then have an attorney look over them to make sure you've met your intent. Typically attorneys charge less to review documents than they would to prepare them. Each state has its own requirements for creating a living trust. While most forms will be sufficient, an experienced estate planning attorney licensed in your state will be able to determine immediately if your trust documents meet your state's requirements. If you want to draft your trust documents yourself, you should be able to find free templates or sample living trusts on the internet. Make sure the form is approved for use in your state, and that it will cover the assets you plan to include in your trust. Some forms may not work if you have a large estate that exceeds federal estate tax exclusion limits. The first sections of your trust include your name, the name of your trust, and the type of trust you are creating. Since you are creating the trust for your property, you will list your own name as the grantor. The name of your trust doesn't have to be fancy. Just use your own name and identify the type of trust it is. For example, the name of your trust could be "the Sally Sunshine Revocable Living Trust." If you're using a form or sample as a guide, you can largely copy this language but read through it and make sure you understand what it means. While you are alive, you are considered the trustee of your own living trust. After you die, your successor trustee will take over and distribute your property to the people you've listed as beneficiaries. As trustee, you have the same rights and abilities to use, transfer, or sell your property as you did before you created the trust. After you die, your successor trustee will manage and distribute that property to the beneficiaries you've named. Your successor trustee will be responsible for reporting any income earned from the trust assets and transferring property ownership from the trust to your listed beneficiaries. The trust's beneficiaries are the people who will inherit the assets you place in the trust after you die. You can list the property separately on your declaration, or you can create a separate schedule of property and refer to that document. For example, you might write "At the death of the grantor, the trustee shall distribute the trust property in accordance with Schedule A, attached." To list the property and assets included in the trust, write a separate document and attach it as a schedule to your declaration of trust. By creating a separate document, you can easily amend it later on without having to execute an entire declaration all over again. You generally have the ability to change the assets in your trust whenever you want. If at any time you decide to take something out, or if you acquire a new asset you want to add, just update your schedule and change the property ownership documents to reflect the trust.
A: Consider consulting an attorney. Search for forms or templates. Name and identify the trust. Establish the identity and responsibilities of the trustee and successor trustee. List the beneficiaries of the trust. Create your schedule of property.

Q: If you feel like you're in a rut or can't improve a certain skill, changing the way you practice can help you approach your weaknesses through a unique lens. Focus your practicing sessions on your specific weakness, and try a variety of different exercises to strengthen your abilities. If you're learning to write poetry, for example, you could practice annotating poetry for a few sessions instead of freewriting. Meeting other people who are learning a new task could help you find new ways of approaching a topic and strengthening weaknesses. Find a practice group or club at your school or community center, or ask others practicing the same skill if they know of any groups. You could, for example, join a community basketball team if you're having trouble learning to dunk. If you can't find any groups in your area, you can always make your own instead. Sometimes, changing the way you evaluate your abilities can help you spot weaknesses and improve your strengths. You might focus on your accuracy or strength, for example, instead of speed or dexterity. Instead of measuring your painting abilities by how many pieces you make a day, for example, you could focus on how you're improving your shading techniques. If you're having a hard time improving, keep practicing and learning more about it every day. Focus on what you're doing well and, as you make progress in your weaknesses, celebrate your strengths to improve your motivation. Even if the skill doesn't come naturally to you, you may be able to develop and strengthen the skill over time. Try not to beat yourself up about mistakes you make. Mistakes can help you learn more about your technique and avoid issues in the future.
A: Change your practicing habits if you feel stuck. Join a study or practice group. Evaluate your improvement by a new measurement. Don't give up if you struggle with a specific skill.

Q: You can make your paper longer by adding in viewpoints that are different than your own. This could be an opposing viewpoint on your topic or a viewpoint that is slightly different than your own. Adding in different viewpoints can help to make your paper stronger and help you reach the required word count. For example, if you are writing a paper on reproductive rights in Oregon, you may include a section on an opposing viewpoint on abortion rights from a credible source. You can also increase word count in the paper by adding in more examples from your sources. Look in your body paragraphs for spots where another example may be relevant to support your idea. Use examples that are more detailed from your source text to strengthen your argument and add to the word count. For example, you may add another example from the source text that illustrates the theme of your essay. Or you may include another case study to support your argument in a paper. Consider if there are other references or sources that you can add to your paper to make it more well rounded. Add in references from other texts or include a new source that feels relevant to your topic. For example, if you are writing a paper on reproductive rights in Oregon, you may look for a recent government source that you can then pull content from to add to your paper. Or you may add scholarly articles to your paper to help support your ideas more fully. Try not to simply put in fluff, or unnecessary content, into your paper to increase the word count. Fluff includes things like stating the obvious and repeating the same ideas or thoughts several times. Avoid being redundant to help reach your word count. This will only tell your instructor that you are trying to pad your paper, rather than delve deeper into your ideas. You should also avoid using overly complex words in your sentences. Do not try to increase word count by adding a lot of "very," "really," and "rather" in your sentences. This will only clutter up your essay and weaken your sentences.
A: Put in different viewpoints on the topic. Include more examples in the text. Put in other references or sources. Avoid adding fluff to the paper.

Q: You should always stamp leather on a firm surface, as you'll need to use a considerable amount of force to get the stamps to stick. It's a good idea to place a piece of hardwood down on a flat surface. Stamp the leather on the hardboard. You can purchase blocks of hardwood at most department stores. Take your leather stamp. Place the stamp down where you want the image or letter to appear on your leather. Hold it in place with one hand. You will need to buy leather stamps. You can buy them online or at some craft shops. Use your other hand to hammer down on the stamp. This will secure the image or letter into the leather. Give the stamp a few firm strikes with the hammer until the image or letter transfers. Once your image or letter has transferred, repeat the process again with the second image or letter. Press the stamp down where you want it on the leather and then give the stamp a few firm strikes with a hammer to transfer the image.
A:
Place the leather on a firm surface. Position your stamp on the leather. Use a hammer to press the stamp on the leather. Repeat the process to complete your design.