With Your Family in Mind

One of the primary reasons for comprehensive financial planning is protection from financial risk.  I don’t know many people who like to talk about insurance; but the truth is that without insurance financial resources are unprotected.  Even with the discipline of setting financial goals, increasing net worth, having a properly diversified portfolio and carefully managed finances, one can be wiped out by an unforeseen event. 

Spring is a time when we think of growth, change, and new beginnings.  At this season, I often find myself amazed at the sudden bursts of colors, sounds, and smells in the natural environment.  Each day, I start the morning by walking through my garden and am overwhelmed by the new shoots of green that sprout up overnight.  In observing them, I am reminded of the new start that every day offers us in our roles as parents and professionals. 

Great questions continue to roll in from The Magazine of Santa Clarita readers about the voiceover business.  This month, a voice actor writes in about producing a V-O demo at home. 
Q: I went to a workshop for voiceover and I was told by the instructor (Voice Manager and Agent) to never send in a CD to a voice agent.  So I guess the only way is Mp3?  What if you don’t have an email address? 

And why shouldn’t our feet hurt?  We cram them into ill-fitted shoes with inadequate support; we gain weight and expect them to carry it; and we run them into the ground.  Foot pain means something is wrong and feet are more complex than you may realize.  Did you know that 25 percent of the bones in the body are in your feet? Our feet are a complex system of 52 bones, 66 joints, 214 ligaments, 38 muscles and tendons.  It is no wonder that 75 percent of North Americans will experience foot health problems of varying degrees, at some point in their lives.

Everyone’s estate planning situation is unique. “One Size Fits All” usually doesn’t apply. Nevertheless, some questions keep cropping up.  Here are two of the most common:
Q: The value of my house has declined significantly since I bought it several years ago. My stock portfolio has shrunken, and my net worth has decreased dramatically.  Do I still need a Living Trust?

What should you do if you or someone you love has a drinking or drug problem?  Dealing with addiction is complicated, even for trained professionals.  Too often, family members feel they can contain the situation, but typically the behavior only spins further out of control. 
Any recovering addict will tell you, it is rarely a one person job to achieve abstinence or sobriety. 

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. 

In all Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, the court appoints a Trustee to administer the case.  In many cases, the Trustee’s role is limited because the debtor has no assets and there is no reason for the Trustee to object to discharge or try to dismiss the case.  The court also sets a meeting date at which time and place the debtor and Trustee must appear.  Creditors are allowed to appear at the meeting to ask the debtor questions, but most creditors do not appear at the meetings.

The City of Santa Clarita is gearing up to launch its new Green Energy Incentive Program, which offers grants to local businesses of all sizes that undertake projects designed to achieve eligible “green” objectives.  The incentive program was created as part of the City’s 21-Point Business Plan for Progress and will hit the streets on Thursday, March 18 with a series of informational workshops provided to local businesses interested in applying for funding.

Marriage, in its origins, is a contract of natural law.  It is the parent, not the child of civil society. — Dalyrimple
When you said “I do!” did you have any idea you were entering into a contract under California law?  To many, the vows are spiritual, emotional, or merely ritualistic.  But marriage creates legal rights and obligations.  What is the contract you are creating when you tie the knot in California?

Even though the old saying “opposites attract” is frequently true, living with someone who does not share the same values regarding clutter and disorganization can be a very stress inducing issue for those people who are orderly.  There are many studies that highlight the potential for conflict between people with dissimilar organizational habits.  Even Dr. Phil addressed the situation on his show when a wife thought she was a bad spouse because she was unable to organize her life and her frustrated husband thought she was a bad role model for their children. 

All children need stable, caring families with nurturing parents who can provide a safe home and good role models.
Foster and Adoptive children need parents who can:

Myth 1: Drug addiction is voluntary behavior.
You start out occasionally using alcohol or other drugs, and that is a voluntary decision.  However, as times passes, something happens, and you become a compulsive drug user.  Over time, continued use of addictive drugs changes your brain in dramatic, toxic ways at times, more subtly at others, but virtually always in ways that result in compulsive and even uncontrollable drug use.

Good nutrition is beneficial at any age.  Benefits worth noting are increased mental acuteness, resistance to illness/disease, higher energy levels, a more robust immune system, faster recuperation times and better management of chronic health problems.  Now, however, proper nutrition for older adults is even more important, with research revealing that poor nutritional decisions can eventually lead to cognitive decline and dementia.

Ken Striplin, a long time community advocate, was approached five years ago and asked to serve on the MHF board of directors.  The Executive Director at the time saw passion, commitment, and a call to action within Ken.  Since that first moment, Ken has continued to assiduously support and advocate for the Foundation. 

Girls from the Boys & Girls Club and women from the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley united for a friendly robotics challenge on February 26 at the Club’s Newhall site.  The girls, ranging from 11 to 16 years old, worked with the ladies to build robots within a 95-minute timeframe.
“As the competition was coming to a close, the teams were still making adjustments to their robots’ programming.  Then at the last minute, one robot took a final run and made it through the obstacle course and across the finish line,” said Janine Fairall, education director at the Newhall Clubhouse of Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley. “It was very exciting for everyone.”

“There is a loving in dream-work.  We sense that dreams mean well for us, back us up and urge us on, understand us more deeply than we understand ourselves, expand our sensuousness and spirit, continually make up new things to give us—and this feeling of being loved by the images permeates the analytical relationship.  Let us call it imaginal love, a love based wholly on relationship with images and through images, a love showing in the imaginative response of the partners to the imagination in the dreams.”

With spring upon us, gardening can be a healthy, stimulating physical activity that
can be enjoyed by seniors.
Seniors can get particular benefit because gardening: