With Your Family in Mind

Santa Clarita School of Dental Assisting, we provide a focused and intensive training environment using the latest dental technology.  Our teaching methods are stimulating, fast-paced and rely on your participation.  In class, you will spend all your time learning in a “hands-on” environment, practicing on our state-of-the-art teaching mannequin. 

Picture an assembly line where experts install different components as a product moves through a tightly controlled manufacturing process. The assembly line approach to education is much the same—with experts teaching core curriculum as a student moves through a system that doesn’t take into account different learning abilities and styles—and while it might have served us well in the Industrial Age, it is archaic in today’s global world of technology and innovation.

As many may know, I also practice personal injury law in addition to estate planning.  One of the most difficult things that I do as a lawyer is managing the expectations of my clients.  This is especially challenging on personal injury cases.
Everyone remembers the famous television commercial where an accident victim says, “Larry Parker got me $2.1 million!” 

When it comes to negotiating a contract, one often-overlooked subject is ADR—Alternative Dispute Resolution.  The whole purpose of your contract is to set forth the rights and obligations of each of the parties.  But what happens if one of the parties doesn’t live up to its end of the bargain?  As the name implies, alternative dispute resolution is an alternative to the high costs of litigation.

One of the most common questions I hear from potential bankruptcy clients is, “How will filing bankruptcy affect my credit?”  The answer varies from person to person.  Bankruptcy will lower a credit score, however many people considering bankruptcy already have a low credit score, so a bankruptcy filing will not lower their score much further.  Individuals (or couples) with a lot of debt also tend to have trouble getting credit or new loans even without bankruptcy.  Thus, the credit impact on many bankruptcy debtors is not always significant.

Everyone has heard the terms “will” and “trust,” but not everyone knows the differences between the two.  Both are useful estate planning devices that serve different purposes, and both can work together to create a complete estate plan.
One main difference is that a will goes into effect only after you die, whereas a trust can take effect as soon as you create it.  A will is a document that directs who will receive your property at your death.  By contrast, a trust can be used to distribute property before death, at death, or afterwards.

Below is an excerpt of an email between myself and a potentially new client who asked me how I work:
Sessions are over an hour long but typically less than an hour and a half.  I don’t charge any more for the longer session, it’s just the way I’ve been successful in getting results is leaving enough time to “catch up,” keep it light and casual, and make it more conversational.

(NAPS)—For many women who are pregnant or trying to conceive, a prenatal vitamin in conjunction with a healthy diet can help support a healthy pregnancy.  Prenatal vitamins are specially formulated multivitamins that provide certain extra nutrients a woman may need before conception, during pregnancy or during breast-feeding.  But all prenatal vitamins are not created equal.
Dr. James McGregor, Visiting Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, answers a few questions about prenatal vitamins.  His answers will help you work with your doctor to choose a prenatal vitamin that is right for you.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the diagnosis for a group of behaviors that are typically found in children who challenge our need to be in control of our environment, to be good parents, or to be competent teachers.  Problems arise because youngsters with ADHD are often disorganized, late to important events, have poor time sense, and do not learn well from mistakes. They may also have poor impulse control, poor self-regulation, and lack adequate self-monitoring skills.

Some clients dubbed me the people whisperer, so I decided to run with it: Ever since I was young I’ve had a hidden talent for knowing how to read people.  Over the span of my life and especially the last eight years since I’ve been a counselor I’ve cultivated this ability and fine-tuned it.  It is definitely intuitive, but I have come to understand just what intuition is.  Intuition is based on logic, reason, imagination and vision; it’s not really a psychic thing.  I’ve learned that the subconscious is the part of the mind that regulates our behaviors and that these behaviors are manifested in our every day speech, mannerisms, and more.  It’s like our subconscious is transmitting a secret signal that can be perceived like Morse code.  I’m not supernatural; I’m just good at reading the code.

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.  Children’s Bureau is seeking caring families to consider adopting these older children and large sibling sets.  The agency is holding a monthly information meeting for those interested in learning more on Saturday, July 30 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Community Room at the Westfield Valencia Town Center located at 24201 West Valencia Boulevard in Valencia.

Reverse mortgages can seem like a wonderful idea when a cash-strapped senior needs funds.  There are some situations where reverse mortgages make sense.  However, there are other situations where a reverse mortgage is not the answer.  As their popularity increases, many expensive mistakes are being made.  Here are some things you should know:

Most everyone is familiar with a prenuptial agreement.  However, most everyone is not familiar with the benefits of a prenuptial agreement.  My favorite analogy for a prenuptial agreement is to think of it as insurance.  For the sake of it, we’ll call it “flood insurance.”  You hope and pray that a flood never happens, but in the instance that it does, the insurance was a one time cost that ending up saving you a lot of money and stress in the long run.  You also have the piece of mind that should a flood ever happen, you’ll be covered.  Unfortunately, in today’s society, divorces are much more common than floods.

It began with a shoulder tap, asking an adult to purchase a fifth of vodka, drinking that vodka at a local movie theater, being disruptive and picked-up by the police for disturbing the peace, landing him in jail. To make matters worse, his disruptive behavior turned into anger as he kicked the windows out of the jail cell he was in, thus adding a felony vandalism charge to his troubles. His legal troubles have just begun.

This fall, the College of the Canyons Math, Science and Engineering Division will offer students an opportunity to match their educational pathway with the ongoing worldwide environmental movement, with two new courses in the disciplines of Environmental Studies and Environmental Science.
“The development of these courses is a momentous achievement for the college and a tremendous opportunity for our students,” said Omar Torres, dean of the college’s Mathematics, Science and Engineering Division.

“At least somebody wants me!”  These were the words spoken to me by Jenny, a 13 year-old foster child.  Her current foster parent was not in a position to adopt her, and her birth parents were not able to care for her due to their substance abuse problem.  Jenny had become good friends with another girl her age in the neighborhood.  Her friend’s parents expressed an interest in adopting Jenny, and we were on our way to meet them.  Jenny was fortunate to encounter a family willing to make such a commitment.  

“Individually we are one drop.  Together we are an ocean.” –Ryunosuke Satoro
Divorce is an emotional process.  Getting divorced is a legal one.  Some might see the Judge’s decision as the end of the process.  But in many ways it is the beginning.  The court’s judgment can influence the divided family for years.  Responsibilities for children or the financial well-being of the former couple are linked by obligations flowing from the divorce decree.

As a young boy, I heard an older minister proclaim, “Blessed is the man who can hear his alarm clock on Sunday as well as Monday.”  These words have never left my heart.  In the Bible, the Apostle Paul stressed the importance of being a regular attendee within the church fellowship.  I have discovered over time that going to church has slipped drastically on many individual’s list of “Things to do.”  This is until calamity strikes.  Churches were packed from front to back the Sunday after 9/11.