With Your Family in Mind

I tell some prospective clients that come in to see me for an estate planning consultation, that they actually do not absolutely need a living trust.  That does not mean that these individuals need not do any planning at all.  What it does mean is that their estate planning goals and concerns can be addressed in other ways which happen to be simpler and less costly than living trust planning.  

Many couples I meet with ask whether they must file bankruptcy together because they are married.  The short answer is no, one spouse can file without the other joining on the bankruptcy petition.
Whether it is a good idea for one spouse to avoid filing requires a full analysis of the relationship and the debt both individuals are facing.

“When anger rises, think of the consequences.” - Confucius
A Non-Giving Emotional Reaction.  Anger is a response to primary feelings that describe our self-image or our world view.  It arises when we experience unresolved hurt, fear, sadness, guilt or shame.  These are feelings that frequently get tapped into during divorce.  They make us “see red!”  The problem with seeing red is that it causes temporary blindness when you most need to see clearly.  The question is “What should you do about it?”

Every eight seconds an American turns 50; that is more than 10,000 people every day per AARP.  As more people enter the second half of life, many are worried about retirement.  Many believe that they will not have enough saved and some may use excuses to reconcile their perceptions with reality.
Even though the future holds many unknowns, what we say about our future could hurt us.  Have you ever heard someone say?

Readers of The Magazine of Santa Clarita always send me great questions about the voiceover business.  Last month, a voice actor asked about ISDN.  
Q: I need to know some basic info about doing an ISDN session.  After they’ve done voice levels on me how will I know when it’s time to start recording, will I get a cue from the engineer?  Should I slate my name before I start?  Do I then do a 3-2-1- countdown then start talking?  What sort of directions should I expect?  Will the client (who’s in another state) be talking to me in the studio through my headphones?  – Bob J., Los Angeles, CA

The term “hospice” invokes fear in the hearts of families… people often view it as a “death sentence” for their loved one.  But instead, hospice provides wonderful assistance and support to patients and their families in very difficult times.  Hospice care is provided when a doctor determines that a patient is likely to pass away within the next six months.  Hospice is a “service” that is provided by an approved team that must include a physician, nurse, physical therapist and other available staff.  The goal of hospice is to eliminate the patient’s discomfort and pain (“palliative care”), and make the end of life journey easier. 

A “Sacred Space” is a place which inspires, elevates and feeds the soul.  NorthPark’s new 11-acre campus (located in the Rye Canyon Business Park) was designed in every detail to do just that!  As we built the first of the three buildings which will eventually comprise our campus, we wanted it reflect our reverence for a creative God and our desire to bring people together with their Creator.  We wanted the folks who come our way to be inspired by beautiful murals and scripture engraved tiles.  We wanted the colors on the walls to speak of the richness grace.  We wanted the backdrops and images to make the chest swell as it comprehends the beauty of art, sculpture and architecture whose very inspiration is God.

Every child deserves to have a safe, loving and permanent home.  With 129,000 children currently in foster care and many unable to return to their families of origin, Children’s Bureau is seeking caring families to consider adoption of older children and large sibling sets.  The agency is holding a monthly information meeting for those interested in learning more on Thursday night, September 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Six Flags Magic Mountain Administrative Offices located at 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia.  Call 661-272-9996 to R.S.V.P. to receive directions and to have a drive on pass to the property.  

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur signify the start of the New Year.  For Jews across the globe, it’s a time of reflection and renewal.  At Temple Beth Ami, we are excited to begin the New Year with a new member of our synagogue family.  Cantor Kenny Ellis has joined Temple Beth Ami and the community will have a chance to hear his amazing voice during High Holy Days services at the Hyatt Valencia.  Cantor Ellis comes to Temple Beth Ami after a long, distinguished career. 

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, CleanWell is partnering with CANCER101 (C101) in their mission to empower Breast Cancer patients and their caregivers to get organized and informed to fight their cancer.  During the entire month of October, purchase the CleanWell All Natural Hand Sanitizer (six ounce) and 50 percent of proceeds will be donated to C101.

Does everyone have a guardian angel?  Yes, we all have a guardian angel that watches over us and protects us.  In fact we have many angels at any given time in our lives that surround us.  These angels are there to assist us when we need some extra guidance or extra healing.  They love us unconditionally and love to help us brighten and lift our lives up to a higher way of being.

Dreams can be quite a peculiar thing. Though they might be vivid, mysterious and adventurous while they are occurring, they are usually quickly forgotten and become but blurry images upon waking. We have all woken from a dream and tried our hardest to remember what happened but given up with little success. But what if remembering dreams didn’t have to be an eternal struggle between memory and subconscious? This is where Dr. Renee Coleman comes in. As a certified Dream Tender, she is the key to helping you remember and build a lasting relationship with your dreams.

The City of Santa Clarita is offering two fall child development classes designed to help prepare community kids for preschool and kindergarten.  The classes, My Buddy and Me and Terrific Tots, begin the week of September 13 and lasts for 14 weeks.
My Buddy and Me is an exciting parent participation class offering parents and children quality playtime together with stories, songs, motor development activities and free play. 

School is back in session; very soon parents will see their students with homework assignments.  All too quickly, some of those same students will begin to fall behind their classmates due to incomplete and missing homework assignments.  By the first reporting period, some students will resort to old habits of denying and lying about homework.  Parents will try to find the right mix of encouragement, punishment, and rewards to get their floundering student back on track.  Homework battles will begin to consume parents’ evenings and darken the household atmosphere for everyone.  But, it does not have to be that way.  There are a number of common sense interventions that can make a real difference in homework management.  

Terrible twos… Nope!  That was cake!  It’s more like terrible threes!  What I thought was a temper tantrum was nothing to what I have experienced with Sophia since she has turned three.  It started the day we took her for her three-year old checkup (B.T.W. It’s only one shot!  Thank Goodness!) When we arrived at the doctors office, she immediately realized where we were, which is not a good thing. 

This column space usually belongs to Cary Quashen, founder of the ACTION Parent & Teen Support Group Program, which meets 52 weeks a year at Canyon High School every Tuesday evening.  However, today it becomes my space, space to share the importance of seeking help and attending a parent and teen support group.
The teen years are tumultuous at best.  Having said that, I can tell you I survived the teen years and raising our two teens wasn’t always easy.  And for those of you who know me, many know that with our second teen we found ourselves in crisis.  A crisis that turned our lives upside down and honestly, a crisis we weren’t prepared for, a crisis that has changed our lives forever - and that’s not a bad thing.

Our course is designed to give you a “hands-on” training in a real dental office.  The office is closed to the public, so there are no Real Patients to be alarmed by learning mistakes there’s no one to criticize your lack of experience.  This is a real job training program.  You are not expected to already know everything.

Whenever opportunities are missed or lost there can be an overwhelming sense of discouragement or failure.  We can easily slip into a season of regret or a season in which we constantly replay mistakes or wish we could do it all over again.  These seasons tend to be monopolized by sorrow stemming from the fact that we are unable to change history or turn the hands of time.  However, one thing that I have discovered in life is that opportunities missed or lost are often regained.