In this episode of Doctor’s Eyes Only®, Lauren Oschman walks through estate planning for physicians from a practical, financial planning perspective.

This is meant to be an orientation to how estate planning works, how assets transfer, and what needs to happen for a plan to function the way you intend.

You can use the timestamps below to follow along:

00:00 A Common Issue with Estate Planning
Lauren starts by sharing something she sees often when working with physicians. The documents are in place, but the trust is not funded and the accounts are not aligned, so the plan does not work the way it was intended.

01:00 What This Episode Covers
This is a high-level overview of estate planning for physicians. Lauren explains that this is from a financial planning perspective and that legal details should come from an estate planning attorney.

02:00 The Core Estate Planning Documents
She walks through the main components of an estate plan, including a will, a revocable living trust in many cases, healthcare and financial powers of attorney, and a living will. She also emphasizes the importance of keeping an organized record of accounts and passwords so your family knows where to start.

03:30 How Assets Transfer
Lauren explains that assets transfer in different ways. Some pass by contract through beneficiary designations, like retirement accounts and life insurance. Others, like bank and brokerage accounts without beneficiaries, typically go through probate. She also explains how POD and TOD designations work, along with joint ownership.

05:30 What Probate Looks Like
She describes what happens when assets go through probate, including the time it can take, the involvement of the court system, and the amount of work required from the executor.

07:30 Will-Based Estate Plans
Lauren explains how a will-based plan works, including situations where a trust is created within the will after death. Even in those cases, assets still go through probate.

08:45 Trust-Based Estate Plans
She then walks through how a revocable living trust works differently. The trust exists during your lifetime, and assets can be titled into it. If something happens, a successor trustee can step in and manage those assets without going through probate.

10:30 What Goes Into a Trust
Lauren explains how accounts like brokerage accounts and real estate can be owned by the trust. She also notes that investment properties may need additional structuring and that this is something to review with an attorney.

11:30 Why This Gets Delayed
She talks about why estate planning can feel difficult to get started, including finding the right attorney and understanding the terminology and structure.

13:00 The Process Does Not End at Signing
Lauren emphasizes that signing the documents is not the final step. The accounts and beneficiaries need to be aligned with the plan.

13:30 Beneficiaries and How They Work
She explains that beneficiary designations override what is written in your will. She walks through examples where outdated beneficiaries can lead to unintended outcomes, including after marriage or divorce.

15:00 Reviewing Your Beneficiaries
Lauren shares that beneficiaries should be reviewed regularly to make sure they reflect your current wishes.

15:45 Funding the Trust
She explains what it means to fund a trust and why it matters. If assets are not titled in the trust, they may still go through probate even if the trust exists.

16:30 Ongoing Review
She notes that estate planning should be reviewed over time to make sure everything stays aligned.

17:00 Talking to Your Parents
Lauren shifts to a related topic and encourages physicians to understand how their parents’ estate plans are structured, especially if they may be involved as an executor.

19:00 Knowing Where Things Are
She explains the importance of knowing where accounts are held so that if something happens, there is a clear starting point.

In this episode of Doctor’s Eyes Only®, Vestia Partner and CEO Lauren Oschman, CFP® sits down with Andrew Ibbotson, CEO of RatingsMD, to explore how physicians can take control of their online reviews, reputation, and AI visibility.

Many physicians assume that online reviews are secondary to the quality of care they provide. In reality, patients often search a physician’s name before scheduling, and what they find can shape trust before a first visit ever happens. Google reviews and third-party ratings have become part of how patients evaluate doctors, and AI tools are beginning to use that same information when recommending providers.

The challenge is that most physicians are not represented online by a complete or accurate picture of their patient experience. A small number of reviews often ends up defining how a physician appears in search results. This creates a gap between the care physicians know they provide and what prospective patients actually see when they evaluate options.

In this conversation, Lauren and Andrew walk through how that gap develops and what physicians can do to address it. They discuss how review systems work, why representative feedback matters more than perfect feedback, and how physicians can build trust more intentionally over time. They also explore how AI is changing how patients choose doctors and why consistency across platforms is becoming more important.

This episode is especially relevant for physicians who are building independent practices, transitioning out of large health systems, or thinking more strategically about how patients find and evaluate care. The goal is not marketing. It is making sure your reputation reflects the reality of your work.

Andrew Ibbotson is the CEO of RatingsMD, a platform that helps healthcare organizations collect and publish verified patient feedback to improve transparency, patient trust, and online visibility. To learn more or get in touch, visit www.ratings.md.

One hundred episodes. And it only felt right that this milestone land on National Doctors’ Day.

In this special episode, Vestia CEO and Co-Founder Lauren Oschman reflects on why this podcast exists, where medicine has been over the last several years, and based on her conversations with physicians, where she believes it's going. From the front lines of the pandemic, to the dramatic shift in physician employment models, to the quiet but powerful conversations happening right now between doctors and the people who serve them, Lauren shares what she and the Vestia team have witnessed, felt, and learned from working alongside physician clients.

This episode isn't about financial strategies or market trends. It's about you. The physician who ran toward uncertainty when the rest of the world ran from it. The doctor who, somewhere along the way, started asking different questions. Not just about money, but about what they actually want out of medicine, out of life, and out of the years ahead.

Lauren also takes a moment to recognize the people behind the physicians. The partners, spouses, and families who carry so much so that someone else can carry even more.

If you've been listening since episode one, this one is for you. If you just found us, this is a good place to start.

Topics covered:

- The origin of Doctors Eyes Only® and why 2020 changed everything

- The dramatic shift from independent to employed physician models

- Private equity's role in reshaping healthcare

- What Vestia is hearing from physicians across the country right now

- Why Lauren believes there is real reason for hope

- A Doctors' Day message to physicians and the families who support them

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