With Your Family in Mind

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
Looking for a job?  Whether it is your first job or your tenth we know that preparation is the basis for success.  You can get hired!  As you begin to consider which jobs might be right for you, here are some key questions to think about: Do you need further education?  What are the promotional opportunities? 

Historically, the Federal Estate Tax has been a fact of life (or, rather, a fact of death) for many Americans.  This tax is levied on the estates of decedents, and could consume almost fifty percent of a decedent’s net worth, above a statutorily determined exempt amount.  By applying estate planning techniques skillfully, the taxpayer could minimize the impact of such taxes on their beneficiaries and heirs.

There is no debate about minor drugs leading to bigger drugs, but not everyone who smokes pot and parties with alcohol in high school turns into an addict.  Parents need to keep things in perspective, because no matter how much a parent may feel these behaviors are ultra dangerous, most teenagers feel it is a normal part of their young lives.  Contradicting something someone feels is true, typically only causes conflict.  The best thing to do to prevent these behaviors is to seek out a professional and let them evaluate and advise you how to proceed.  Pressure and lecturing never works, but there are methods that will be more effective.

A growing number of Medicare beneficiaries who are transferred from a hospital to a nursing home are discovering Medicare won’t pay for the first 20 days of their nursing home stay.
Ordinarily, Medicare covers nursing home stays entirely for the first 20 days as long as the patient was first admitted to a hospital as an inpatient for at least three days.  But here’s the problem: A lot of people are discovering they were never actually “admitted” to the hospital for three days, but rather were in the hospital only under “observation.”

In Marriage of Kacik, the parties had a 16-year marriage.  Husband had earnings of $11,000 per month.  The parties had one child together.  In 2001, the Judgment awarded child support and spousal support to the wife.  However, in the Judgment, the spousal support was to reduce from $1,600 per month to zero by February 2008.  The minor child aged out of child support in 2006 so the child support reduced to zero in August 2006.  In February 2008, Wife petitioned the court to increase spousal support as Husband’s income increased to $14,000 per month. 

The 65-and-over population is the fastest growing population in the United States.  Advances in the medical field have produced a new population of frail, elderly individuals.  Our every day vocabulary now includes phrases and words that reflect our aging population, such as “sandwich generation,” “caregiver” and “senior moment.”  Now more than ever, adult children of all ages are called upon to care for their elderly parents, and the challenges can be overwhelming.

Every child deserves to have a safe, loving and permanent home.  With 114,000 children currently in foster care and many unable to return to their families of origin, Children’s Bureau is seeking caring families to consider fostering and adoption of older children and large sibling sets.  The agency is holding a monthly information meeting for those interested in learning more on Saturday, April 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.

That’s hearsay!  Non-lawyers love throwing around the word “hearsay.”  But do they really know what it means?  Hearsay is an out of court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter being asserted.  Try explaining that to your nine year old.  I hope you have better luck than I did.  With that kind of definition, it is easy to understand why most non-lawyers are clueless.  So let me try to explain it a little better.  If someone comes into court to say something and they are offering that testimony to prove what they are saying is true, that statement is hearsay.

Every 70 seconds, someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.  Dependable Senior Assistants LLC is helping raise awareness of the enormous impact of this increasing epidemic.
Structured activities that involve and interest the person with Alzheimer’s will help minimize the disturbing behaviors associated with the disease, such as:

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a debtor must decide whether or not he can afford to keep his primary vehicle if there is a loan secured by the vehicle.  Because a car qualifies as personal property, if the debtor wants to be sure to retain a vehicle, they need to reaffirm the loan or redeem the loan for the value of the vehicle.  Of course, if the debtor owns the car outright with no loan remaining, this does not apply.

As a family law attorney, I frequently hear this from people the first time they walk into my office.  The first thing I tell them is that people who spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not something is “fair” tend to have difficulties while going through a divorce.  Divorce is a process, governed by laws and precedent.  
Determining what’s fair and what isn’t can be a tough call in many areas of life, in business, in sports, even the grade on your child’s last test.  However, nowhere is it more difficult than in the midst of a marriage ending.

The headline read “Intoxicated Students Taken To Henry Mayo.”  These teens were drinking at school, not just any school, but one of our local high schools.  My young friend Allen, at the age of 15, was found close to death on the sidewalk near a Canyon Country park after drinking a quart of vodka in 15 minutes.  Lucky for him, his friend called an ambulance and his parents.  They saved his life.  Year after year, despite the best efforts of parents and teachers, there are headlines across the nation (and in Santa Clarita) about teen car crashes after an exciting evening at the prom when those who attend, attend after parties and imbibe. 

The marriage didn’t work out but the separation is great. – Liz Smith
There are three ways to change the legal elements of a marriage: divorce, legal separation and nullity.  Only a legal separation continues the marriage while ending most of its essential aspects.  Who would want that?

Summerhill Villa, Santa Clarita’s premiere senior independent and assisted living community is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month!  Summerhill Villa is proud to be called “home” by over 120 residents because of its friendly, warm and caring atmosphere.  Summerhill Villa is “the best of both worlds,” by offering seniors their own private apartment with the comfort of knowing that staff is available 24 hours a day to assist you if necessary.  

Readers of The Magazine of Santa Clarita continue to send in interesting questions about the voiceover business.  This month, a voice actor asks about videogame auditions.
Q: A producer found my website, called me up, and asked me to audition for a videogame, sending me the script the next day.  So I did the audition and he didn’t like it.  He said, “Delivery was flat.  Since we don’t have visuals, you have to be energetic and make the subtext the text, which is the opposite of visual acting.” 

In this day of iPods, texting, digitizing, and multi-tasking people require help in making life easier.  Since we are all more cautious about spending, we can use quick, considerate, and inexpensive solutions to everyday problems.  At Inner Circle Foster Care and Adoption Services, we know that people who are parents, foster parents, grandparents, can benefit from any of the following:

The number of unpaid family caregivers and its national economic value is staggering.  The most recent study I could find was from 2006 and according to an AARP Public Policy Institute estimate, was over 354 billion (with a B!) dollars.  This is more than formal health/home care and nursing home care combined.  Most older adults with long-term care needs live at home, either in their own homes, with or without a spouse, or in the home of a close relative or friend.  In this setting the major long-term provider is the family and, to a lesser extent, other unpaid “informal” caregivers.

I collect quotes.  I learn from ‘em.  I’m amused by ‘em.  So, in honor of April Fool’s Day, I decided to step aside and let ‘em speak for themselves.  Enjoy!
“There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody.” – Adlai E. Stevenson
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain