With Your Family in Mind

Childhood should be a time of growing, learning, fun and friends.  At least that’s what we experienced growing up.  However, in this day and age, expectations for children and adolescents are to excel and prepare for the future.  As the grade level expectancies increase, students of all ages are faced with stress in school that many of their parents never experienced. 

A significant new study released by American Psychological Association, focused on adoption and self-esteem, has found that there are no differences in self-esteem between adopted and non-adopted children and no differences in self-esteem between transracial and same-race adopted children.

Whether it’s for your business or personal life, or a combination of both, the answer to simplifying the management of your insurance policies and saving money is far from complicated.  All you need to do is find one agent who is trustworthy and knowledgeable, and provides great service.  If he represents one leading insurance company and can provide all or most of the coverage you need through that entity, all the better.  Here’s why.

The divorce is final.  The judgment decree has resolved all the issues between you.  The care and custody of the children is carefully laid out in the parenting plan.  You are free, at last!  But, how come you work so hard to teach your children responsible behavior and their dad lets them stay up late, leave homework undone and gets them to school just as the bell rings?  Or their mom keeps information about their school and health from you?  Why does every question lead to a war?

It’s that time again!  That time to make those New Year’s Resolutions and “start over”, drop those bad habits and begin anew.  Do you have a list?  Do you know what you want?  Did you have the same things on your list for last year?  What is it about the New Year that makes everyone want to change? 

It was a Saturday night like any other. Susan and Joe were going to dinner and a movie.  They gave their babysitter their cell phone numbers, kissed their kids, Brooke (age 7) and Sammy (age 5), goodbye and told them to them to be good.  It was supposed to be a fun and well-deserved night out, but then tragedy struck.  On the way back home, a drunk driver crossed the median and slammed head on into Susan and Joe’s SUV, tragically killing both of them.  But unfortunately, the story gets worse.

Clients who are paying spousal support often become frustrated if it appears that their ex-spouse has taken no efforts to become self-supporting since the divorce, and that their spousal support is enabling their ex to simply live an idle lifestyle.  In some cases, the court will not tolerate a supported spouse who fails to make a diligent effort to become self-supporting and as a result the court may reduce, or in some cases go as far as terminating spousal support.

As long-term care costs continue to rise, long-term care insurance is becoming increasingly important as a source to pay for care.  Long-term care insurance can help, but the contracts are notoriously confusing.  The following are some tips to help you sort through the different options and find what is right for you.
Find a strong insurance company: The first step is to choose a solid insurance company.  Because it is likely you won’t be using the policy for many years, you want to make sure the company will still be around when you need it. Make certain that the insurer is rated highly by a service that rates insurance companies, such as Moodys, Standard & Poor’s.

In order to understand our rights and obligations under a mortgage loan, we must first understand the legal documents involved in the financing of home loans.  Few people read these documents before signing them.  Even if they read them, few understand the legal consequences of each and every term.  There are two documents that bind the borrower and lender when financing a home loan:

It’s the holiday season and the big question is where do the kids go now that we are separated?  The first holidays after separation can be unusually stressful.  So many memories rise to the surface during holidays and tend to exaggerate feelings of loss.  Caught between trying to hold onto traditions of the past and forging ahead into new and unknown territory, estranged parents are faced with negotiating competing family desires. 

When Joseph Ochoa was working on his 10th-grade English assignment to get information from a college of his choice, Boise State, little did he know what was in store.  Boise State University Representative Everado Torrez was so impressed with Ochoa’s letter that he decided to deliver the requested materials in person.

The holidays are upon us and it is time to give to our loved ones.  This year, give yourself and your family the gift of an estate plan.  Give your family the legal documents they will need to help you if you can’t help yourself and the documents they will need once you’ve passed on.

Mollie Jelks loves having a house filled with children.  She has two biological children who live out of town (Vaughn, age 32 and Khalia, age 28) and four adopted children: Kendra, age 12; Amy, age 10; Tyler, age 9 and Sean, age 6.  Her journey as a foster, adoptive and mentor parent began in 1994 when she was hired as a temporary worker at Children’s Bureau.  Mollie asked about the foster care program and got an application.

Parents of special needs children often worry and wonder what will become of their children once they are no longer able to care for them.  Preparing a memorandum of intent for your disabled child will enhance your child’s quality of life if something happens to you. 

Can’t you feel it in the air?  There is electricity this year like none before.  The spirit of joy and generosity is radiantly pouring out from everyone.  This is the season of holidays and giving to others.

If you purchased a home within the last few years, it is essential for you to have adequate life insurance coverage.  This is especially true because home values are dropping, which means your equity is shrinking.  Therefore, you must ask yourself these difficult questions. 

Many people realize they need to do something to protect their loved ones, such as prepare a will or trust, but put it off with excuses, such as: “I’m waiting for the house to sell” or “I’m waiting to buy the new house.” “I’m going on a trip, so I’ll do it when I get back” or “I just got back from a trip and I have to get things squared away.” “I haven’t been well lately” or  “I’m in great shape. There’s no hurry.” “I’m so busy at work” or “There’s so much going on at home.”

The holiday season is here and instead of one or two hour visits, families get together a lot more during this time.  This is a perfect time to see warnings signs that mom and dad need help.   When you spend more time together, you are more likely to see the shortness of breath or memory failure.   This year, when you are visiting, preparing feasts and exchanging gifts, you might want to take a fairly objective look at your older loved ones.  The warning signs you force yourself to see might well prevent a crisis and help you to prepare before a crisis occurs.