Welcome back folks and a happy holiday season to all of you. Well, this year has been one for the books, huh! Here is a brief rundown of U.S. events that will shape our memory of 2021 forever:

January 6, 2021 Mob

January 6, 2021, marks the date where a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At this time, a joint session of Congress was assembled to count electoral votes that would formalize then-President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Five died during this mob.

Vice President

Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in on January 20, 2021. This marks the first time a woman and person of color would serve as Vice President.

Elon Musk

2021 marks the year Elon Musk found himself in the seat of being the richest person in the world. At $271.3 billion, Elon Musk does not need any presents this year! Of course, that should not dissuade anyone from trying to find Elon’s “Not-A-Flamethrower” on Ebay.

January 13, 2021 Impeachment

On January 13, 2021, the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, was impeached a second time. President Trump’s second impeachment resulted in the fourth impeachment in U.S. history. An article for “Incitement of insurrection”, in reference to the January 6, 2021 mob attack on the Capital, and an article for “lawless action at the Capital” was introduced to the House of Representatives on January 11, 2021. As a result of only 57 senators voting “guilty”, less than the two-thirds majority required, President Donald Trump was acquitted for the second time.

New Logo, Same Superbowl Championship

Tom Brady managed to bring his new team, except Gronk, to a Super Bowl victory. This marks Tom Brady’s seventh SuperBowl win and the second for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A fun fact: this was the first time an NFL team played and won a Super Bowl in their own stadium.

Mars

After more than a 7 months trek, the NASA ran Perseverance rover landed on Mars. Perseverance left Earth on July 30, 2020 (I bet we all wish we could have gone too at this point) and landed on February 18, 2021. If you want a great break to your day, check out the raw images of Perseverance’s travels here.

Derek Chauvin Trial

On April 20, 2021, Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter of George Floyd. The murder of George Floyd drew worldwide attention and brought the issues of racism, police reform, and bias to the forefront. George Floyd’s death has resulted in many cities investing more assets in violence prevention, mental health crisis response services, trauma counseling, and the impacts of systemic racism. Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years for his crimes.

COVID-19

While technically available at the end of 2020, the vaccine was truly mass distributed in the early part and throughout 2021. At this point, just short of 60% of the U.S. is fully vaccinated (not including the boosters). Worldwide, 3.33 billion people have been fully vaccinated.

2020 Olympics (misnomer alert)

While only attended by 20,000 spectators, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (actually held in 2021) were broadcast to 150 million Americans. In addition, America walked away with more gold medals, silver medals, and bronze medals than any other country in the world. Honorable mention to China who fell just one gold medal short of tying with America.

We hope 2021 was kind to you and yours. If you have questions about estate planning, you have a New Year’s resolution to get an estate plan done, or you simply want a fresh set of eyes on an older estate plan, contact us. In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season and a great 2022!

Disclaimer