Lately I have been hearing from women who would love for me to return to creating new podcasts. I took 2011 off from the work, but hope to return this year with new shows -- and perhaps a webinar series! I currently have 46 shows available, with more than 39,000 downloads. Here's what's available.

A will is a critical part of your estate plan, but it is only useful after your death. To protect yourself in the event that you are unable to speak for yourself, you must do more.

Did you know you can save money with Trust planning? And that a revocable living trust is not simply for the wealthy?

One of our Choice Mom-friendly legal experts, Chris Tymchuck, of Unique Estate Law, used third-party reproduction to build a family with her partner. Here is her special insight on what to know about the process of using a known donor.

If you're thinking of using a surrogate -- and I know a few Choice Moms who have -- there are important legal considerations. Here is advice from Choice Mom-friendly attorney Chris Tymchuck (Minnesota) about this method to motherhood.

At the Philadelphia Choice Mom networking event, estate planner Laura Stegossi offered these 5 steps to a healthy estate plan.

From new Choice Mom-friendly estate planner Chris Tymchuck, of Unique Family Law: When we saw a man on the side of the road asking for money, my 3-year-old daughter asked, "what is he doing with that sign?" I braced myself for a difficult conversation.

Three noteworthy news items to share with you this week....

A Choice Mom who is always thinking of ways to boost the community emailed recently to suggest a "sperm sharing" service.

Here it is! For a limited time, the special new baby for our Choice Mom community. Our Choice of ChoiceMoms.org tips from 2010, featuring everything from Organization to Building a Support Network, Q&A to Commentary.

I've been reminded in the last week just how fragile life is. A Choice Mom friend unexpectedly lost her younger sister last week -- a mother of three -- in a tragic accident. And a neighbor couple are BOTH battling cancer, one of them terminal, with 7- and 9-year old daughters at home.

There are 20 major markets where Choice Moms live. There are Choice Moms everywhere, of course, but I'm focusing on 20 communities where this website gets the most traffic from single women. I'm building resource guides for the cities listed below, with your help.

This service is designed to recommend estate planners who have a special connection with the Choice Mom community, either through commendation by a Choice Mom client, or sponsorship of Choice Mom workshops or other educational resources (signified here with direct website links).

The topic of using estate plan templates -- kits with fill-in-the-blank options about guardianship and will issues -- came up among a group of single mothers by choice recently. A Choice Mom and attorney in the group offered her insight.

The relationship between a single woman and her adoption attorney is vital. This person can and should be your strongest ally for finding the placement that works -- and making sure the adoption is finalized in a timely way. This advice was posted to the Choice Mom discussion board by Holly, a wonderful resource for Choice Moms who use the foster care adoption route in particular.

This is a continuation of Lori's story, who realized that someday her donor-conceived child might need to qualify for federal student loans. Since the paperwork requires income records for both parents, and since there are plenty of other occasions in her state of Alabama where having a blank or "none" on the birth certificate might not work with government employees, she wanted to be proactive. She was surprised to learn recently what she really needed it for.

submitted by Lori
Will you ever have to prove your donor child doesn’t have a father? When I gave birth to my daughter via anonymous donor IUI in 1999, I hoped that the information regarding her father would be left blank on her birth certificate.

A woman on the Alternatives to Marriage Project Facebook page wrote that she was denied coverage for fertility treatments because she isn't married. She's on the Choice Mom path. Let's weigh in on which insurance companies do a better job of coverage.

I have managed to go 11 years without holding a full-time job. I am Choice Mom of two kids, own a large home, and am self-employed with ChoiceMoms.org now as my primary source of income. So...how have I managed to do that?

We usually include an estate planner at Choice Mom networking events, to make sure women understand everything they need to about protecting their child both BEFORE and after motherhood. Here's a tip that Julie, 28 weeks pregnant, learned from attorney Chuck Roulet at the Minneapolis event.

After a Choice Mom died in her third trimester, leaving a son born posthumously, we became more aware of the importance of having an estate plan in place -- as this Choice Mom had done -- even BEFORE we conceive or adopt.

Choice Mom adviser Ami Jaeger (Santa Fe) generously offers this advice and more, as available in the Choice Mom Guide to Fertility:

If you decide to conceive with the assistance of a known donor, there are several critical legal steps that you should complete with him to clarify your expectations and intentions. It is important to take these steps to protect your legal relationship with the child.

Three important documents have been supplied by Choice Moms.
1. Jessica created a list of comprehensive questions to discuss with her known donor candidates to help put expectations into contract form.
2. Fiona is a Canadian family attorney, who offered a sample agreement to use as a template for a known donor contract.
3. A co-parenting agreement has also been offered as a sample.

There are many things to talk about with a known donor candidate. This Choice Chat podcast covers many of the issues with two unique experts.