With Your Family in Mind

At Inner Circle Foster and Adoption Agency we find individuals who are willing and able to care for children when their parents are unable to do so.  When a foster parent provides a loving home there is an opportunity to change a child’s life forever.
As a graduate student, I am required to attend numerous trainings.

Even Though the Deed Says It Belongs to Your Spouse as His or Her Separate Property? A situation occurring frequently in family law cases is where, after the parties are married, they decide to put the family residence in one spouse’s name for the purpose of refinancing with the intent of getting a better interest rate based upon the other spouse’s bad credit.  The parties eventually split up and the question in the dissolution proceeding is whether the house is community property despite the fact that the deed says the house belongs to one spouse as his or her separate property.

You were created by God and God does not create failures.  In fact, God does not create average people.  God only creates winners.  God only creates over comers.  God only creates victorious people.  God only creates individuals with incredible destinies ahead of them.  When God created you, He did so with phenomenal plans in mind.  In fact, if the truth be told, you cannot physically, mentally, or emotionally handle God revealing to you right now all of the plans that He has in store for you.  So, you just have to believe that no matter what you see right now, you are destined for greatness. 

Attention Santa Clarita parents! What do your kids want to be when they grow up? There’s no simple answer, and it deserves serious consideration.  The SCV School & Business Alliance wants to give our kids a hands-on opportunity to explore jobs and careers from the men and women who do those jobs in our valley every day.  

Statistics tell us that most seniors will require some type of care as they age.  This care may be basic, such as help with cooking, shopping, and paying bills.  Or, it may be more advanced, such as bathing, incontinence care, and feeding.  Needing care and assistance is now commonplace as we all live longer.   Add stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer’s to the equation, and there is no doubt that more concentrated care and assistance will be required. 

There are many different types of addictions and different sorts of people struggling with it as well.  Yet there seems to be very few choices for treatment outside of 12 step programs.  Most sober living homes, treatment facilities and out-patient programs run 12 step based programs.  While there is nothing wrong with 12 step programs, their success rate is way down in this generation, something around only 10 percent. 

A revocable living trust is a particularly useful estate-planning device.  If drafted and funded properly, it can help ensure the implementation of our wishes for the after-death disposition of our property while avoiding probate and possibly Federal estate tax.
The living trust does not stand alone, however.  Other documents are necessary parts of a well-developed estate-planning package.  For example, the Last Will and Testament still has an important function as a “pour-over,” or coordinating, instrument, for directing the distribution of non-Trust assets.
Three examples are illustrative:

March is an important month in education.  For parents, it is crunch time for academic decision making.  Parents who have students who are falling behind in elementary school may start to consider grade retention.  Plans for summer vacations may have to be scrapped to allow secondary students to attend makeup classes.  However, grade retention and repeating classes only allows for another shot at the same material.  The underlying reasons for failure are not addressed.  School failure may be the result of specific circumstances such as poor motivation, illness, or family issues.  But some students fail due to the presence of learning disabilities.  

Every child in America deserves to have a safe and nurturing home!  Children’s Bureau is holding a monthly information meeting for those interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent on Saturday, March 19 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Westfield Valencia Town Center located at 24201 W. Valencia Boulevard in Valencia.  The meeting will be in the Community Room next to Ann Taylor Loft between J. C. Penney and Prince of Jewelers.

Does your estate plan include your pets?  Have you considered your pets when planning your estate?  If not, you should, according to the Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal protection organization.  “Since pets have shorter life spans, people don’t think to include them in their estate plans,” says Anne Culver, Director of Disaster Services for the Society.  “But animals left homeless when an owner has failed to make adequate provisions for their care are distressingly common in animal shelters around the country.”

If you are in the process of buying a home, you probably have questions concerning your coverage.  Here are a few of the most common questions we receive as well as their answers.
Does your homeowners insurance cover against losses due to fire, lightning, tornadoes, windstorms, hail explosions, smoke, vandalism, earthquakes and theft?  Your homeowners insurance will usually cover a large number of threats, including all of the above with the exception of earthquakes.  You should always consult with your agent; however, to make sure you are being provided with the level of coverage you need.

I hope all readers of The Magazine of Santa Clarita are enjoying the Southern California winter weather and not gloating over it with your friends and relatives back east!  This month, a voice actor asks about pronouncing the current year.
Q: How do you pronounce 2010?  Half of the time I hear “two thousand ten” and the other half “twenty-ten.”  Which is it?  And therefore, how do you pronounce 2011? –Harry S, San Diego, CA

Sex.  In some households, it’s a dirty word and in some households, it means open communication.  The month of March is designated nationally as “Talk To Your Teen About Sex Month.”  And while I believe that we should be talking to our teens on a daily basis about a number issues, I am grateful that the month of March has been established to talk to your teens about sex.  Hopefully, this will inspire you to take the time to have an open and frank discussion with your teen about sex.

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees. – Kahlil Gibran
Under California law, anything said or any admission made for the purpose of, in the course of, or pursuant to, a mediation or mediation consultation is confidential and cannot be later used in any non-criminal action (Evidence Code §1119).  What does that mean and why is that important?

Most people do not anticipate filing bankruptcy.  In fact, many try so hard to avoid filing that they end up waiting too long and not taking full advantage of the bankruptcy laws designed to protect them.  In many cases, prospective debtors seek bankruptcy advice only after they have depleted all their assets, emptied their bank accounts and have a mountain of debt.  While that is the noble thing to do, it is not always the most financially sound course of action.

Taking good care of your teeth while pregnant can impact the health of your unborn child.Although the care of neonates has come a long way in the past 50 years, babies are healthier when they are born on time.  Prematurity can result in a whole host of problems so it makes sense to do whatever...

The month of March tells us that spring is right around the corner.  And, of course, spring is planting time.  If we want to have a harvest in the fall, we need to plant the right seeds now, during springtime.  
What a wonderful picture life gives us of the principle of faith.  God gives us both the natural principle of sowing and reaping, and the spiritual principle of giving and receiving.  Listen to what He says.

Spring is in the air.  Can you feel it?  Within the next few weeks, even for us in sunny California, those chilly days of winter will come to an end and we’ll get to welcome that time of year characterized by fresh new beginnings.  For we who are impatient for winter to end (like my nectarine tree which already started to display beautiful perky pink blossoms well ahead of schedule), spring can’t come too soon.