With Your Family in Mind

There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story. – Frank Herbert
Interestingly the impact and finality of divorce is different for not only each individual and each couple, but for everybody involved in their lives.  From the inside looking out, individuals go through the grief and loss of divorce in multiple phases. 

As an Elder Care Coordinator, I meet families every day who are trying their best to care for their loved one, but it’s taking a toll on their lives. The person they’re caring for often gets angry, hurts their feelings, and may even forget who they are. The family is left feeling sad, frustrated, powerless and alone.
Intentions are good; we want mom and dad to enjoy life in their own home, and to have the dignity and respect they deserve. 

On the day we are born, we began the aging process. And although the first 30 or so years seem to be all positive as we matured and developed into adults, few, if any of us, can say we were happy to turn 30, or 40, or 50, or even  60. It seems that we in this country view aging as primarily negative.
We notice little wrinkles, our muscles take longer to recover from those gardening chores, reading the fine print now requires glasses, staying up too late requires three days of recovery, and we all start to think of our mortality, our legacy, and unanswerable questions like “have I done all that I can do with my life?”  Yet there is a positive to the aging process, and just maybe it is time we sit back and reflected on what is “good” about getting older.

If you are divorcing now or contemplating it, your house is a major concern in the legal process. Hopefully your house has equity. If there is equity, the house will go to the party who can refinance the other party’s name off the loan and buy out the other party’s share of the equity through the refinance process, or via a trade with other assets.  Sometimes people will agree to stay on the loan for their other spouse so the other spouse can keep the house. 

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.

The annual gift tax exemption has been increased to $14,000 in 2013, up from $13,000 last year.  This is due to an adjustment for inflation.
This means you can give any person $14,000 this year without any gift tax liability at all.  Making annual gifts of the exemption amount is one of the best and easiest forms of estate planning, because it transfers assets from one generation to the next without any tax liability whatsoever.

No one wants to admit it or deal with it, but more and more couples have credit card debt issues while contemplating or going through divorce. Often little attention is paid to these debts beyond their being assigned to one spouse or the other in the divorce judgment.
Care must be taken that a spouse will not be held responsible for additional credit card debts incurred by the other, and that each spouse is protected to the maximum extent possible if the other fails to make payments.

August is back to school time. As a high risk teen counselor I know that returning back to school can be risky, especially for our tweens and teens as they move from childhood to adolescents.  And as your tweens make the transition from elementary school, I would encourage you as a parent, never to fall victim to the myth that you can now stop parenting your kids when they reach the ages of 12, 13, and 14.  Once a parent, always a parent!

As you think of your relationships with parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, friends or kin, remember a loving donation in someone’s name is a beautiful way to show the importance of the bonds you have.  Inner Circle Foster Family and Adoption Agency helps children and families flourish.  Please consider a gift in someone’s name.
Many children do not have a permanent caregiver and the safety and security of a loving home. 

Every part of a real estate transaction is a negotiation, from the listing terms, to the sales price to the request for repairs. All too often, inexperienced real estate agents are adversarial and hostile in an attempt to “fight for their clients.” As a listing agent, I recently received a request for repairs with 26 items on it, including refinishing hardwood floors and replacing light bulbs!

How to Increase Water Intake
Thirst isn’t always a reliable gauge of the body’s need for water, especially in children and older adults.  In 37 percent of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. As we age, some researchers have found that the “trigger” that tells us we are thirsty doesn’t send the signal.  Thus, our body has a need for water but we don’t feel thirsty.  Our thirst also has a lag time, so by the time we are thirsty our bodies have already reached some level of dehydration. To compensate for a lack of thirst, older adults must consciously choose to drink more water.  Here are some suggestions:

Become a dental assistant and you will be on your way to an exciting new career in just 10 weeks!  But the first question you may have is “What exactly is a dental assistant?”  The answer is that they play an important role as the first line of defense in dental care, often becoming a dentist’s second pair of hands.  The dental assistant mixes dental materials, exchanges instruments and provides oral evacuation during dental procedures.  An equally important role of the dental assistant is to make the patient comfortable and relaxed.  They are a key player and take on significant responsibility as a member of the dental healthcare team.  Assistants greatly increase the efficiency of the dentist in the delivery of quality oral healthcare to patients. 

Children’s Bureau is delighted to announce openings for individuals and couples who wish to become foster or adoptive parents.  You are warmly welcomed to participate in one of our monthly information meetings; next scheduled for Saturday, August 24 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Westfield Valencia Town Center, Community Room, 24201 W. Valencia Boulevard in Valencia.

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. 

Only if the remarriage is legally valid!  In Marriage of Left, 208 Cal.App 4th 1137, 146, Mr. Left married Andrea Left in June 2001 but the marriage and Andrea filed for divorce by 2005.  As part of their settlement agreement, Mr. Left was to pay $14,590 a month for child support and $32,547 for spousal support.  The court entered a judgment as to marital status on June 3, 2008, but reserved jurisdiction over the remaining issues.

After going to the time and expense of setting up an estate plan, people often put their important documents on a shelf and forget about them.  How often should you dust off these documents and revisit these important life decisions?
As a general rule, family changes and changes in financial situations should prompt a review of documents to make sure they are current.

There are two types of support in California.  One is child support and the other is spousal support.  There are two types of orders in California dissolution cases.  One is a temporary order during the pendency of the case, called a pendente lite order.  And the other is an order after judgment.  Child support awards are modifiable based upon changed circumstances irrespective of judgment.  The concept makes sense, because it will usually be in the best interest of the child for the parent with more custodial time to get a greater support award when the supporting party can afford to pay more.

DHS decided to focus its enforcement resources on removing violent criminals, felons, and repeat offenders. DHS will defer removal of individuals who as of June 15, 2012:
1. Were under the age of 31;
2. Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday;