With Your Family in Mind

If a married couple decides to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy together, they can file a joint petition, and both of them will get the benefit of the discharge and negative credit impact of a bankruptcy filing.  In such cases, whether the couple qualifies for Chapter 7 depends largely on their combined income in the six-month period prior to the anticipated bankruptcy filing date.
There are times, though, when only one spouse decides to file, and the other does not want to be involved. 

Law: the only game where the best players get to sit on the bench. – Author Unknown
Divorce mediators often cite as one of the advantages of mediated, or uncontested, divorce that you never need to go to court.  While that is generally correct, it doesn’t mean you avoid the court process.  Instead of “going” to court, you file the various court forms required to obtain a legal divorce (or legal separation). 

There are a lot of choices when it comes to help for your family.  There are many expensive out-patient and in-patient recovery centers that offer little more than pre-fab formulas and stylized babysitting of those who truly need to be helped before they are lost forever to the disease of addiction. 

Every child deserves to have a safe, loving and permanent home.  Children’s Bureau needs foster parents who will care specifically for infants and toddlers during the reunification process with their parents.  There are also 114,000 children currently in foster care who are unable to return to their families of origin.

Spousal support and child support is often set based on the payor spouse’s base or guaranteed income.  Any additional income such as bonus income or commissions (usually in the form of a percentage of additional income) can be calculated as additional support.  The case creating additional support is called Ostler & Smith (1990) 223 Cal.App. 3d 33.  An Ostler & Smith percentage is assessed over and above guideline support “for any discretionary bonus actually received.” 

Students are back in school this month and most of our local schools are assigning homework on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, it is typical for children with disabilities to spend more time on homework than their nondisabled peers.  Since students with learning problems are also more likely to be burned-out at the end of a long school day, homework time frequently becomes a test of wills between parent and child. 

Man creates from what is.  The artist uses his pencil, oil, canvas and the image in his mind.  He uses elements, whether concrete or abstract, to create his work of art.  In each work of art, the human creator began with elements that “exist.”
God creates from what is not.  Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” 

What will happen to your estate if your primary beneficiary—the person you name to inherit your assets—dies before you do?  If your estate documents do not name an alternate beneficiary, then your estate will be divided according to state law—which might mean it will go to someone you don’t like, or someone who is unable to handle significant assets.

What is probate?  Probate is the court procedure whereby we establish the authenticity and sufficiency of a decedent’s will, if any, identify and evaluate the decedent’s assets, pay administrative expenses and approved claims of creditors and distribute the remaining estate to the beneficiaries.
Probate involves at least some court supervision and is a matter of public record.  The whole process typically takes at least eight months.

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.  And this year’s theme is Prevention Works, Treatment is Effective, People Recover.  Substance use disorders have taken an enormous toll on the health and well-being of too many Americans.  It has also taken its toll on Santa Clarita Valley residents, especially teens.

Following are a few Webster definitions of a con artist: A person adept at lying, cajolery, or glib self-serving talk.  A person adept at swindling by means of confidence games; swindler. Someone who makes a living by swindling people.
One of the most vulnerable demographics of a con artist, and is increasing exponentially, are our seniors. 

Most people start the process of estate planning to deal with “What If”.
What If you died and your children were still too young to care for themselves?
What If you were no longer physically able to care for yourself?

After an automobile accident, the insurance company for the other party will probably call you within a day or two and ask you to give a recorded statement.  I am not in favor of giving these kinds of statements, especially so early on in the case.  The sad truth is that the insurance adjuster doesn’t really have your best interests at heart. 

Inner Circle Foster Families are so excited when they first bring a child home with them.  After hours of preparation, they are thrilled when the news arrives that a placement is available.  One recent foster parent received a baby girl directly from the hospital and was overjoyed that she was able to provide the tenderness and care that was needed.  

NorthPark Invites You to Bring Your Head and Your Heart to Church! Some people look for an experience when they go to church.  They want to be moved--inspired even.  Others look for intellectual stimulation—they want their minds engaged and enjoy the wealth of wisdom and insight scripture offers.  At NorthPark, we desire to engage both the heart and the mind!

There are times when what we see currently happening in our lives does not match what we have believed in the past.  It is during these times in our lives that our motivation and momentum has to become driven by what we believe for our future and not what we see in our present.  No matter what we may see in the natural right now, we must believe that God is still in control and before it is all said and done, we will achieve all that we have believed to happen. 

Gardening has many health and therapeutic benefits for older people, especially when you create an edible garden.  September marks the beginning of the fall planting season for those of us living in warm climates!
Seniors can get particular benefit because gardening:

Begin with the end in mind.  Hart School District students are encouraged to think this way as families begin to make decisions about education options following high school.
The Hart School District is hosting a College & Career Fair on Wednesday evening, September 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at West Ranch High School, to assist students with the very important step of drafting a career plan to be followed while making post-secondary education decisions.