With Your Family in Mind

With over 23 years of experience in law representing banks, creditors, and individuals, the Law Office of Michael J. Friedman prides itself in providing excellent and efficient legal assistance for clients.  Member of the State Bar, Michael J. Friedman is an attorney specializing in bankruptcy law, spending nine years as in-house counsel at a large banking institution, and having managed a six-person bankruptcy legal department, improving the efficiency and production by developing new procedures and strategies.  Attorney Friedman drafted part of the bankruptcy legislation that became law in October, 2005. 

Have you figured out what makes you happy?  For years scholars and researchers have noted that income, marital status, and where you live are contributing factors to whether a person is happy or not. 

You carry information in your cell phone that would allow emergency personnel to contact a family member or friend, but how are they to locate it during an emergency? Simple… ICE your cell phones!
The Origin of ICE
Every day thousands of emergency calls are placed.

When clients come in for a consultation, we discuss what generally happens in a family law case. One person, the Petitioner, serves the dissolution petition and summons. The other person, the Respondent, will have thirty days after that to file a response. So then what happens? Well, if one of the parties wants spousal support and/or child support, or has custody issues, or wants the other side to pay attorneys fees, they will apply to the court for temporary orders, which can last during the proceedings until judgment is entered.

FHA and HUD, have successfully gotten a law enacted (The Reverse Mortgage Stability Act) to give the agencies broad, sweeping authority to make adjustments to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. The changes are needed in order to assure the continued viability of the FHA insurance fund that protects both borrowers and lenders.

On January 8, 2014 proud parents Vicky Wootton and Adam Woolley welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. 

Put Away the Clutter!
Less is more when selling your home. Consider renting a small storage facility or designate a small area of your garage to place knick knacks, toys and clutter. Rooms filled with “stuff” can make the area seem smaller than it actually is…staging your home may increase the appeal and value of your property by five percent!
Consider paint and/or carpet. These are relatively inexpensive improvements and significantly improve the appearance and desirability of your home. Your property will appear clean, new and smell like a new home!

Depression is very common among people with dementia.  Identifying depression in someone with dementia can be difficult, since dementia can cause some of the same symptoms.  Some examples common to both depression and dementia include:
• Apathy
• Loss of interest in activities and hobbies
• Isolation
• Trouble Concentrating

Failure to do pre-litigation financial planning is a common mistake in Dissolution of Marriage cases. Following a few simple steps before filing for dissolution can save thousands of dollars, eliminating much stress and aggravation.
First, collect your family’s financial records for the last few years.

Legal and health issues created by illness, aging, disability, dementia, and other chronic conditions can be terrifying.  Elders have a legal right to effective and patient-centered heath care.  They should receive quality long-term care in quality facilities when needed.   Elders should not lose their home, or impoverish themselves, their spouses or their families because they are victims of terrible illnesses, from which there is no recovery. 

The day those of us going through divorce or separation dread is just around the corner. Divorce attorneys are not mental health professionals, nevertheless, many of our clients do feel out of place and out of sorts during the day devoted to romance and we are often turned to for advice and support.

Every child deserves to have a safe, loving and permanent family.  Children’s Bureau needs foster families who will care specifically for children during the reunification process with their parents.  There are also 114,000 children currently in foster care who are unable to return to their families of origin.  Children’s Bureau is seeking caring families to consider adopting these children.  Homes are also needed for teenagers, older children and large sibling sets.

For aging adults, it’s quite easy for the room that’s considered a primary gathering place—the kitchen—to instead become a nightmare. Not only are seniors over the age of 65 more likely to be injured in a kitchen fire, they are more likely to suffer a fall injury due to: items stored out of reach—both too high and too low—and the likelihood that meals are carried to eat in another room.

When representing senior citizens in any real estate transaction, it is important to be very sensitive to their specific needs. It may have been several years since their last real estate transaction, and as we all know, things have changed.
First, seniors may not be as technically savvy as most people are today. That being said, there are always exceptions…I recently met an 80-plus year old who could “out tech” me any day of the week! The majority of seniors tend to be a bit more comfortable with paper and ink.

Did you know that being a caregiver for a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease is hazardous to your health?  Multiple studies have been done, and the results are unanimous:  family members who serve as caregivers have very high levels of stress-related health problems.  An Ohio State University study reported that Alzheimer’s caregivers had remarkably higher levels of infections, depression, elevated blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses. 

With the holidays comes the opportunity for ex-spouses to fight with one another over splitting up custodial vacation time. Some, albeit the minority, of my clients have a loose custody agreement which works to the advantage of both parents because they can decide amongst themselves how to fairly divide the time. Other clients have a very detailed custody arrangement precisely because the parents cannot fairly decide how to allocate the time between them.

It’s New Year’s resolutions time, an ideal opportunity to get our legal and financial houses in order. Here are some resolutions we can all accomplish:
1. Organization:
• Label and store all closed bank and financial accounts.
• Place an up-to-date summary of your family’s assets and debts in an Assets file.

Have you ever thought of becoming a foster parent or wanted to adopt a child in need of permanency? Koinonia Family Services is now serving the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys, and is looking for families who want to provide safe, caring, and nurturing homes for children who are in need of short-term or long-term placement. Children in need of placement range from newborns to 18-year-olds.  Koinonia Family Services has expanded due to the significant need in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valley areas.