Lindsay Friedman and Shannon Lyons join Suzanne to talk about peace of mind and other reasons for getting their innovative health monitoring system Care Bloom to help senior loved ones age in place in their homes. Listeners, sign up for free to win one year of Care Bloom! Care Bloom is holding drawings in June and September 2024. There's no obligation or commitment to purchase. Learn more at https://carebloom.com. Lindsay explains the need for Care Bloom. "It's really important because people want to stay in their homes. People are aging much more rapidly than they have been. Caregiving is on the rise. Caregiving is a very hard challenge that we all are going to have to face as our parents are aging. And also our [number of] home health workers are decreasing. If you want it, that cost is increasing. So there's less of them, and it's only going to get more and more expensive to have somebody come and help. It's going to be unaffordable if you could even find somebody. And on top of that, our nursing homes are struggling. The care is not good, the cost is increasing. I see a lot of future closings, and where are you gonna put mom? So we need something that can really help. And Care Bloom is a great care partner to help with care for their family." Care Bloom is a $199 per month subscription, and you get the hardware for free. Shannon says, "This is something that we spent quite a bit of time on, because it is a hardware, right? We provide a smart watch. We provide hardware for the rooms, but we really wanted to make it an easy purchasing decision for a family." Multiple family members can use the app. "If brother and sister want it, and then you want a neighbor to have a little bit less [access], that's an option as well. So the app allows you to add as many people as you want, because obviously we can't all be with mom at one time. So we want to make sure that we're giving you the opportunity to provide all the care you can." Hear more podcasts about aging in place. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Through the use of a watch, room sensors, and an app, Care Bloom provides 24/7 health monitoring services for caregivers. Lindsay Friedman and Shannon Lyons join Suzanne to talk more about the Care Bloom watch and app, an innovative new tool to assist senior loved ones with aging in place. Listeners, sign up for free to win one year of Care Bloom! Care Bloom is holding drawings in June and September 2024. There's no obligation or commitment to purchase. Learn more at https://carebloom.com. Shannon describes the information a caregiver can see on the app. "We really want to pull the most important information forward for a caregiver. You're gonna be able to see information like vitals, so that would include temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. You're also going to be able to see accurate location data, where they're spending most time, if they're in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and really how how the mobility looks throughout the home. And then the last one is, you're going to be able to see important health behavioral data. "We know that there's a lot of smart watches on the market that tell you you're going to get this health and wellness data. How we're different is that we take that health data, and we put it in the context of behavioral. And those things look like sleep, mobility, or steps throughout the home, and then self-care, like toileting and bathroom, so that you can really be proactive in your care. You're not finding out that mom hasn't left her bedroom for six hours and you're getting off of work and saying, 'mom, what's going on.' You're going be able to see that there's stagnation, and maybe something's wrong, so that you can communicate earlier, find out what's going on, and be more proactive with what your next steps are. We also thought it was really important to be able to set alerts in the home. So if there's a restricted room — a room that is a fall risk, like the basement, garage, or stairwells, we want to be able to tell you, hey, mom's out in the basement right now, and you can call her and say, 'hey, I'm coming over after work to do laundry. I see that you're in the basement. Let's make sure you get up those stairs,' so that you're not finding out about it after that. Or if your loved one has issues with leaving the home at times that they're not supposed to, or maybe wandering, we want to make sure that elopement is part of the alert package, so that it really is sort of all of those behaviors. And then if your loved one needs assistance, they can actually request it through their watch. And that notification goes directly to your app. It's a push notification, and you can see mom needs help, she's currently in the bathroom, and you're able to make a plan for what's next." Lindsay gave an example of Care Bloom solving a problem. "We had one individual who was talking about how lightheaded he was, and feeling fatigued, and he was an elderly gentleman, and you start to wonder what's going on. His vital signs were looking good, but after watching him for a series of days, we were noticing that there were no toilet activities. So, went in and kind of monitored him for a little bit, and he wasn't drinking. No one was there reminding him it's time to have a glass of water, it's time to drink during the day. And dehydration really plays heavily on our seniors with confusion and all of that. It was an easy thing to remedy, that we were able to see within a matter of days. No doctor trip, nothing. And it was a quick fix that, just from looking at the data, was able to be resolved." Hear more podcasts about aging in place. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Lindsay Friedman and Shannon Lyons from Care Bloom join Suzanne to talk about an innovative new home-monitoring tool to assist senior loved ones with aging in place, living independently in their later years. Through the use of a watch and app, Care Bloom provides health monitoring services for caregivers. You'll be able to purchase Care Bloom beginning in June. Listeners, sign up for free to win one year of Care Bloom! Care Bloom is holding drawings in June and September 2024. There's no obligation or commitment to purchase. Learn more at https://carebloom.com. Lindsay explained how Care Bloom came about. "All through college, I was a state-tested nursing assistant. So, with the experience, when my grandma needed to a family caregiver, I got designated to take that role. While she was in Cleveland, where we are from, I was taking care of her in the home. But she did want to go back to Florida where, once she got to Florida there, we got her aid. So she had a rough time. And my grandma would complain to me, and say they're not doing what they're supposed to do. They're not there when I wake up at night. The caregivers were saying she's confused, it's night time, and was already in her nineties, so that was the case. Well, one night she was calling out for them in her room, and asking them to come and help her, and they couldn't hear because they were asleep in her guest bedroom. So she decided to get up on her own to go use the restroom, and she fell, and she broke her femur. And that ended her time at home. It ended up being what caused the end of her life. And, you know, my story is a common one. It is more common than not. So I decided that there has to be something that we can do, to make sure that grandma and mom can be home. I've got to do something, and Care Bloom was born." Shannon describes Care Bloom. "It is a monitoring system. Your loved one wears a watch. It actually looks very similar to a Fitbit. So this is not a medical device. It's very cool looking. And there's actually a lot of really lovely data that most people actually get in tune with, such as what their daily activities look like. That's the watch. Each room has an anchor which is connected to an outlet. So you just plug it into an outlet in each of the rooms that you want monitored. You have a gateway, and that gateway sends all of the information to your app. So as a caregiver, you'll use the Care Bloom app. And it really gives you a snapshot of what your loved one's daily activities are, and their health status. "So, really quick, you're able to see on one page page, everything's green, Mom's good to go, and you can go about your day. It's more insight than we've ever had, in some ways, on their behaviors. You could also send reminders to your loved one, that goes to their watch. So, 'mom, hey, it's time to take those meds.' And so we're really looking at care plan compliance. We're looking at supporting health behaviors, and making sure that there's some accountability. So if your loved one does have a home health worker, you can actually designate tasks for that worker and confirm that they occur. So if medication should be taken at 10 a.m., they should be checking into the kitchen and taking that med. If mom's not in the mood for a shower, they're able to say, hey, you know what, she was not in the mood to take a shower today, it did not occur, so that the next day when the health worker comes, they know what that week look like. So it's a lot of interesting data." Lindsay says, "Our largest goal, which really is probably impacting all of your listeners right now, is we're trying to improve the process of caregiving." Hear more podcasts about aging in place. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

If you or your relatives want to build a new structure, or get modifications done on your house, there are resources to make sure that the builders are doing it right. Dr. Jill Bjerke joins Suzanne to talk about aging in place constructions as part of this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place. A home assessment at silverspaces.com provides guidelines and recommendations to design an aging in place home, like lever handles on doors and faucets, a raised dishwasher so you don't have to bend down so far, a stove that has controls in the front, a low-maintenance exterior, things you ordinarily wouldn't think about with new construction. Dr. Jill says, "You can't predict your future. I had knee surgery, I had joint replacement. And boy, did that give me a firsthand view of what it's like to have to use a walker, and to have to shuffle, and... I have stairs. I shouldn't have stairs. How am I going to get up and down the stairs? So this assessment really gives you a picture of what you could be facing in the future if you're not thinking about it." Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts about Silver Spaces with Dr. Jill Bjerke. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Silver Spaces is an online home safety assessment tool with a lot of research behind it. It works by taking you through each of your rooms, have you answer questions, and get educated along the way. For this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place, Dr. Jill Bjerke joins Suzanne to talk about the benefits of Silver Spaces. Only 25% of people who suffer from a broken hip are able to return home after they recover. The biggest injury that older adults incur comes from trips and falls, and they are preventable. A $39.95 assessment at Silver Spaces (silverspaces.com) could mean the difference between a good quality of life and living in a senior living community. Dr. Jill says, "I've been in the senior services realm for 18 years. I own a downsizing company; I had so many people tell me they wish they didn't have to move that. I spent about nine years researching and creating this electronic product, which is an electronic home safety assessment. I talked to gerontologists, researchers, city planners, interior designers, just about anybody you can think of, to try and come up with a content for their safety assessment. I was trying to cover as many bases as I could. So a lot of research and a lot of work went into creating this. It's SilverSpaces.com and it explains what it is and how to use it. The whole purpose is to go from whatever room — there's 18 rooms and places you can assess in the house, you can pick which ones you want to do. You just answer the questions, and you get educated as you go along, because you don't realize that some of those could have been risk places or safety issues. For example, 'I have a smoke alarm. I can hear it.' If you have someone with hearing aids, can they hear it when they don't have their hearing aids in? "When you sign up, it will ask you questions about your community, because a lot of people don't think about how their community may have changed. It may no longer be safe, and then [it] asks general home questions. Do you have a second bedroom for a caregiver? Do you have a second bathroom? Do you have a lot of stairs? Do you have zero thresholds, meaning flat thresholds, are your doorways wide enough for a wheelchair or walker? And then it goes into every single room you can possibly think of. You can pick the room you want to do, and the questions are right there. You just answer them. Do you have sharp countertop edges in your kitchen? Why is that important if you fall? That's an immediate possibility for a traumatic brain injury. So all of these different kinds of questions that people usually do not think about. And when you're done, you submit it. And what comes back is either a PDF or a printable version, so that you can have it in your hand. You can send it to a doctor, or a modification professional, or a relative. You can take it to a modification professional and get bids on whatever you think you need to change. So it's a very very usable product." Dr. Jill adds, "We do the exterior. Not in detail, but we ask things like, do you have a tree that drops berries on your concrete? That's a slip and fall hazard. Do you have grass that grows over the edges of your sidewalk? That's a slip and fall hazard. Do you have landscaping that takes a lot of maintenance? That's an issue. Do you have an overhang where at the door that you come in and out of, because you need protection from the elements. That's slippery. Do you have a non-slip surface when you step outside? "We ask as many questions as we can. But the problem is, if we ask all the questions — I have 300 of them — it would take you a couple of hours to do. So we had to be very selective, and ask the most important questions, which is why I had so many people work on this with me." Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts about Silver Spaces with Dr. Jill Bjerke. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

During our lighting round segment on the Answers for Elders radio show, expert Dr. Jill Bjerke joins Suzanne to answer three top questions about aging in place as part of this month's Specialist Spotlight. 1. When should anyone start thinking about remaining in their home? “Probably as soon as possible. At retirement, before retirement. When you feel unsafe in your home. Really, almost any time is a good time to start thinking about it because there's so many decisions to be made." 2. Who should help someone make a decision on this? “Basically, you'd probably start with your family. But you'd surprised how much your friends, churchgoer, friends, neighbors — people who know you well — can look at your house with different eyes. You see it every day, they don't. You'd be amazed to see things that you aren't even aware of.” 3 How do people pay for modifications to the home? “It sounds like an intimidating question. It's not. If you go to the government site National Institute on aging.gov (https://www.nia.nih.gov/), they have a whole host of ideas of where you can look. Every county in the United States has an area agency on aging, AAA as they're called. They have all kinds of information on aging in place, but they also have information on funding. There are states that are offering grants for home modifications. So you might want to check and see if your state has any of those. You can also use a home equity loan, a reverse mortgage, there are ways to do it. It just depends on what your financial needs are and what is best for you.” Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.

This month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place features Dr. Jill Bjerke, the creator of Silver Spaces, an online assessment tool to help you identity safety risks and dangers in your home that you haven't noticed. If you want to remain in your home in your later years, Dr. Jill talks talks about many of the risks you can avoid. Dr. Jill says, "Every 20 minutes, according to the National Institutes of Health, an adult over 65 dies from a fall. That is so unnecessary. Things like this assessment are out there to identify where trip-and-fall hazards are. And they can be so insidious. You walk over that same darned carpet every day, and you don't realize the edge is frayed. And now, all of a sudden, a zipper catches on it, and you go down. It shouldn't be that way." Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.

Dr. Jill Bjerke, CEO of Silver Spaces, joins Suzanne for this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place. People don't ask these questions enough. We get emotionally attached to a locale, and while our health and lifestyle changes, our home stays the same. Tasks that seem so simple can become complicated when we age. Dr. Jill says, "Aging in place is different than people think. It's not, "I'm gonna live in my home forever." There are a lot of decisions that have to be made. The biggest ones are things like finance, transportation, health, socialization, all of those things you need to think about either at retirement, before retirement. What am I gonna do about my finances? I'm still gonna have maintenance on my house.  I'm still gonna have to pay someone to shovel my snow. How's my health? Is it good enough for me to stay home or will it deteriorate in the future? What if I can't drive? How am I gonna get places? How am I gonna get church, get my hair cut, whatever. What options are there? Are there senior services in your town? And then obviously socialization, that's the biggest barrier to aging in place is becoming isolated. So how can you avoid that? Is your church close enough where you can walk? Do you play bingo? Do you play cards? Can you get there? Can someone pick you up? Meeting with other people is absolutely vital to longevity.” When should you start this planning? “It really should start when you're thinking ahead about retirement, because that's the time to think about. When you get to your seventies or eighties, all of a sudden it becomes, 'Can I stay here?'” Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about giving yourself some grace and working on self-care to lessen burnout during the overwhelming experience of family caregiving. Dr. Weiss talks about recognizing the symptoms of burnout, working on self-care, and giving yourself some grace. Burnout will lead you to have a short fuse, the last thing you need while caregiving. Take time and step back, find ways to de-stress, and have someone you can vent to. Knowledge is power. The more you are prepared, the better as your loved one's dementia worsens. When it comes down to it, you have to make sure you're taking care of yourself and finding people that can help. If you have to take a break, make sure you come back refreshed, don't feel guilty about it. Have trusted people around you. You don't want to wait till it's too late to find the right people, because then you'll be forced to make quick adjustments and not find the right people. Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more: * Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ * Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about: * Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/ * Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about the listening and non-verbal side of communicating better. We're rushed, living hectic lives. When we walk into the room with our loved ones, are we empathetic, or just pretending to listen? With empathy, you'll have more success with them doing what you need, like eating breakfast or going to the doctor. Not interrupting, not finishing their sentences for them, goes a long way. You're going to learn more about mom, a long of things you can still learn from them if you just listen. Their long-term memory is still intact. Her advice: actually listen, don't pretend to listen. Get over repetition. Don't interrupt. Ask the right questions. Take inventory of your own weaknesses. Practice listening. Resist the impulse to correct errors. And don't let yourself get offended. Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more: * Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ * Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about: * Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/ * Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about ways of adjusting the home environment to improve the quality of life for those who face cognitive challenges. Environment plays a major role in daily success, especially as symptoms progress. Adding lavender and vanilla through diffusers can provide a calming effect, reducing stress. It helps to set lights lower after dinnertime. Colors have a huge affect as well.  Communicate with more of a soothing tone of view, and use calmer body language. Avoid jargon, and speak one step at a time. If you want to maximize what they can do, rather than toss out lots of instructions, because the brain is processing more slowly, give them one instruction at a time, and give them time to process it. Simple tweaks can help. For instance, avoid asking they want to take a shower, because they can say no. Instead, say "It's time to take a shower, let's go take a shower." Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more: * Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ * Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about: * Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/ * Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour. This segment provides an overview of mental impairments, including dementia. 12-18% of those over 60 years old have at least some mild cognitive disorder, and that is expected to grow by 20% by the year 2040. 80% of seniors in senior living communities have some kind of impairment. Most people want to age in place, particularly after Covid, and people are feeling ill-equipped when it comes to caregiving. People are looking for ways to help mom or dad, to improve their quality of life. There are more than 100 types of dementia. People have language deficits or an expressive aphasia, taking unnecessary risks, memory losses, confusion, decreased concentration, and some personality changes are some of the symptoms. Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more: * Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ * Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about: * Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/ * Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean advises to always pay for moving by weight, not cubic feet, and to inspect the empty truck at the end of the move before the crew leaves. 9. Always pay by weight, not cubic feet. Move by weight, not volume. Cubic feet is not a precise measure. The same boxes can be arranged to take up different amounts of space. Scammers can leave big open gaps within stacks of boxes on a truck, so that the boxes appear to take up more space than they really do. If you don't have a precise measure, you don't have control over the price. The military, governments, and corporations all ship by weight for a reason. The scale is your best friend, weight is an absolute measure. 10. Inspect the empty truck after delivery, before the crew leaves. It's on Jordan River Moving & Storage paperwork, to initial that you've inspected the truck. Nobody wants to have items accidentally left behind on the truck. You'll feel more comfortable knowing that if you can't find something, it's somewhere in your house, and not on the truck. It gives you closure. Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. This segment, Sean advises that you pre-plan your space in your new house before you move there, and observe the truck as it's being weighed before and after loading. 7. Space plan at your destination before your move. Make sure you know where you want your furniture to go in your new home. You need to be able to show the movers where to unload items. If you haven't done that ahead of time, local movers are being paid by the hour while you decide. Sometimes you don't end up liking where you wanted that couch to go, and they'll move it to an alternate spot. On a long distance move, they've only been paid to put your couch in one spot, and will have to charge extra for moving it to various spots in your living room. It starts with marking your boxes clearly, and not in cursive. Most movers are foreign, and cursive can be hard to read. If you're moving from a larger house to a smaller one, space planning is essential. Joseph says, "People are not prepared for moving bigger to smaller. So many times movers have to stack boxes all the way to the ceiling, and then the people couldn't get to them to open them. What could we do?" Arrange for offsite storage or have some of the boxes placed in the garage. 8. Observe the truck being weighed before and after packing.  Personally observe the truck on the scale before and after packing so you know how much your stuff weighs, because that is the basis for the price you're being charged. You also have the right to have the truck weighed at the destination.  Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean advises packing boxes fully to avoid damage, organize your house for the move, don't sign blank forms, and stay with the crew but out of the way. 3. When you pack, fill up boxes all the way to avoid damages. If you're doing your own packing, the moving company is not liable for damages to boxes. To avoid damage, prevent items from shifting inside the boxes. To do that, fill each box completely. If they're sealed and flat, they can be stacked faster in the truck. Line the bottom, pack in layers, and if you have empty space, stuff it will filler so items won't move around. Always mark the room it's going to, and the contents if you'd like. A good company will provide color-coded smart tape, so movers can quickly tell by color where each box belongs. Local movers are working by the hour, so save money and seal your boxes. If they're unsealed, movers will have to spend extra time to seal them.  4. Organize your house for the move. Movers want to arrive and just see furniture and boxes. Then they don't waste any time, and can get started right away. If packing isn't completed, or boxes aren't taped, it takes them more time.  5. Do not sign blank paperwork under any circumstances. Scammers work by saying they have to change their estimate, then get you to sign a blank paper. Make sure you get a copy of their estimate. Jordan River Moving & Storage uses tablets; when something changes on the estimate, they will send a new completed electronic estimate. 6. Stay with the crew, but stay out of the way. Let the crew work, they know what they're doing. Observe all the time. If you have questions or problems, don't hesitate to call the office. Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean urges people to get an in-home estimate and pack yourself to save money. 1. Get an up-front, in-home estimate. Joseph says, "A move is a big deal. You're giving them everything you own. Don't you want to see who you're dealing with, to build trust?" Choose a local company from the neighborhood. An in-home estimate is your insurance. You want them to come out to you, to meet them. While there, they can survey your items, and they won't be able to charge more than 10% above  the amount quoted in their free binding estimate. You can ask the proper questions, and they'll estimate the number of boxes you'll need, and the types of boxes you'll need. Most people underestimate how many boxes they'll need. If you don't have time, you can meet virtually, but definitely do hire a local company, where you can visit their offices.  2. Pack yourself to save money; supply deliveries should be free; don't order boxes online.  Online boxes are cheap, not strong enough or durable enough for a move. The company that did the quote already knows from their estimate what boxes you'll need. A firm like Jordan River Moving & Storage will deliver the right boxes for free, and only charge for the ones you use. They'll also bring additional boxes if you need more, with no delivery fee. Jordan River has the option of providing good used boxes for a discount. They also will pick up your used boxes once you've unpacked after your move, so you don't have to recycle them. Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Suzanne is joined by Joan Rettmann, Regional Director of Sales in the Seattle area for Skyline, a unique life care senior living community. She clears up misperceptions about life care communities and explains how they work. Joan says, "Skyline has an extra special place in my heart, because this is actually where I got my start in the industry... Many residents that moved in 15 years ago are still here. Many of them have utilized what we call the Terraces at Skyline, and have used the various components to our continuum of care. And it's been really lovely to see all of that support in place just as it was intended." "A lot of people don't necessarily know what life care specifically is. So a quick mini lesson on that: there are three core types of CCRCs, continuing care retirement communities. The term "life care" is actually different than life plan. Life plan is the umbrella term in which types A B and C fall under. So type A and "life care" are one and the same. How it's different than A, B, or C, is that under the life care plan, you have priority access to higher levels of care at a fraction of what the market rate cost would normally be for any care level as long as you need it. So it really serves kind of like if you think of the best possible long term care insurance policy you could buy, that would be similar to having that here at Skyline.  "Type B can offer some discounts, but it's limited in some way, or limited to the care levels. And type C is paying market rate. So type A offers the greatest peace of mind for financial protection in the future. And our residents really love that. There are certain things that you need to explore when you come into the community, and you talk to a sales and marketing team member to make sure that you qualify for it, because there are certain pre-existing conditions that would prohibit that, age requirements and such. That can all be part of the planning process when considering moving, so it's always good to get a head start and looking at your plans to see if that's a fit for you." Learn more: * Skyline * Hear more podcasts about senior living Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Suzanne highly recommends Jordan River after her experiences with the company helping move her mom twice. Suzanne says, "You guys did two moves for my mom. And I remember each time it was just a breeze, it was easy. Your staff was wonderful. They were kind, they were gentle, they listened to what she had to say. There was a lot that we had to do, especially in the first move, where we had a lot of stuff to get rid of, but you guys just handled it perfectly. So I always say thank you. That is really important to me, that you're not like anybody else. And I mean that." Sean says, "I would like to provide a good service to people. I remember my business partner, Kobe, we started in Boston working for my brother in Philadelphia, and we learned how to provide quality service. And we went back to — we originally were born and raised in Israel — we went back to Israel. One day Kobe come into my house and said after seven years, we already had a baby each, he said, 'Let's go back to the United States, let's do moving the way we believe moving should be, high-quality service. He didn't say let's go to the United States to make money. Let's do moving services with high quality. We picked Seattle because we wanted a place that was safe, education was good, public schools and everything was high grade, a low crime ratio. And really from the get go, we emphasized customer service." Sean adds, "We are born and raised in Israel, which is a very family-oriented country. Take care of your parents and respect grandparents." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Sean describes everything to do to make sure you have stress-free move. Sean says, "People need to understand the process of the move, what they need to expect, and how to create and complete a simple move in a good way, that shouldn't be stressful. The moving company could take so much stress away. Make the right first move. Call for an estimate, gain trust with the person from the company. Second, discuss either on the phone or in person what services would you like. We can do a full packing for you, so you don't need to worry about anything. Leave your house as is, we'll come and pack it for you: bring our boxes, our smart tape, sharpie to write the contents of the boxes and the location, and everything like that. Or you want to do your own packing? We can supply the boxes. I think it's very important, we deliver boxes to you for free. Do not order boxes online, the boxes online are not good. They're not thick enough. They will cause damage to your items, I guarantee that. They're not the right sizes, the proper sizes for a movie. We have all type of boxes: specialty boxes, picture boxes, and all the rest. We will charge you [for what you use] the day of the move, so you don't need to stress about ordering too many boxes. "We would like you to prepare your house for us for the day of the move. Which means we would like to come and find boxes and furniture. The boxes packed all the way to the top, sealed, and marked with the location. First, we're going to load all the boxes in the truck. Then we're going to disassemble the furniture, wrap the furniture at the house. That's one of the differences between us and other moving companies. There's two way of handling the furniture. One is when you take the furniture as is to the truck and drop a blanket on it, or shrink wrap, which I think is a joke; shrink wrap does not protect anything. So we disassemble the furniture, wrapping the furniture, protecting mattresses with a heavy-duty mattress cover, and load them on the truck. “Fully inspect the house. Walk around, open every cupboard, every cabinet, every closet, everything, make sure nothing is left behind. I instruct our crew to open everything with the customer. Don't rush out of the house to save 20, 30 bucks and leave stuff behind. Take five minutes, do the walk through. "At the destination, we're going to unload all your furniture first. Make sure you know where you want the furniture, because moving it around will take time for no reason. And we're gonna place the furniture, reassemble the furniture, set up the house. Once you say [everything is OK], we're going to bring the boxes in, place them exactly where they need to go in each room based on the customer direction. And then after we're done, we ask the customer to inspect the truck, even if it's a rainy day in Seattle, make sure you inspect the truck. I we got a few comments recently from customer that said, 'wow, it's the first time your crew insisted we check the truck, and we appreciate it.' They want to make sure nothing left behind. This is the proper way to do it. It's on our paperwork, too, that you need to initial 'I did a walkthrough and I inspected the truck.' We don't want to take any of your items back to our warehouse by mistake. "If you use our boxes, we'll gladly come and pick up the boxes. Call us [after you unpack], we don't want you to get stuck with all these big boxes and figure out where to recycle them." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. They continue their conversation about moving company scams to watch for. Sean says, "I'm a board member of the Washington Movers Conference. And every time, we're talking about education, education, education. People need to be aware of scams. The scan is very simple. The company tries to get you in at a certain amount of money, and then double it.  "First, stay away from brokers. Brokers won't admit they are brokers. Brokers always charge a 35% deposit... If the company asks you and try to move you based on a cubic feet, run and hang up the phone. You don't want to move by cubic feet, because this is not a precise measure... [A scammer] will create a hole in the middle of the truck to inflate the amount of space they're using... Pay attention to blank paperwork. They must send a bill of lading three days before the move... Don't sign a blank paper. "Recently [scammers] have been using the same tactic of a binding estimate fee... Legitimate companies will not charge for an estimate. Any time you hear that, it's a scam." Regarding red flags to look for on a company's website, Sean says, "It's tricky. Look up their department of transportation number. You might not want to use a brand new company, which is if their number starts with a 3. Look up their DOT number to see if they're a broker or a carrier. It's simple math, the broker is charging more.  "Do not pay for a binding estimate, do not move by cubic feet, make sure it's not a broker, try to avoid brand-new moving companies, and ask for an in-home estimate, so you can look them in the eye, so they can get a visual estimate, and get something in writing. Always use a local moving company. Look at their contact information. If it doesn't have a full address, run." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ • Washington Movers Conference: https://wmcmovers.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Moving has changed with the internet, making the whole United States one big neighborhood, and leading to scams. Seek local companies, and get an in-person estimate. Sean says, "People sometimes fall for fake reviews and flashy websites. When you put your precious items in the hands of movers, don't you want to get something in writing, and be able to look them in the eyes? Ask for references from a friend. Ask local companies if they can come up to your house and give you an estimate. If they won't come to your house, that's a red flag. It should be a free estimate. There's no reason to pay for an estimate. "If they can't come to your home, that means they're from out of town, and they're probably going to hire another moving organization to come get your stuff. All they are is a middleman, they're going to mark the price higher, right? Because they have to make a profit, this transportation broker. If you ever pay more than a ten percent deposit, which should be refundable 72 hours before the move... don't ever pay 35%, because the broker takes that money. "The broker doesn't give you a magic price somewhere. They use the magic phrase, 'based on your information.' When I come to your home, and give you an estimate, for free of course, I am obligated by law to set a cap on the estimate. There's no way I can charge whatever I want. Those who don't come to your home, and go by your information supposedly, they can say you were wrong, and can charge you double, triple. "90% of the brokers are selling out of Serbia, Tijuana, Tel Aviv, Bogota. Ask for local companies in your area. You can visit their headquarters or local branch. Younger people are getting scammed just like seniors. Be careful of the internet. Watch for phishing, cybersecurity, retargeted ads. They're very sophisticated." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to provide some tips for unpaid family caregivers caring for a loved one about the legal documents they need to have in place, and also some practical tips to keep in mind. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. Andrea says, "I'm going to share my own experiences, my own tips that I have, working as an elder law attorney for 15 years and then my own experiences as a caregiver to my mom, who has dementia, and is still at home with my dad. "The basic legal tools that they need are so important to have in place. They're the financial power of attorney because that's the document that says, hey, if my parent is incapacitated, my parent is not able to make competent decisions on their own, can I make sure I have access to managing their finances? Can I make sure their bills are being paid? If my dad starts accidentally giving money away because he got an email from the Prince of Uganda trying to get money, do I have a way to help him out and support him, advocate for him financially, and legally? ... Second is that healthcare power of attorney... Oftentimes it falls to one child to be the primary caregiver. And if you are a parent, and you have a child who is helping you, then you should take a moment to thank them, because they are kind of the unsung heroes of care. But sometimes families fail to recognize the challenges that those caregivers might face, and the children who are not caregivers are sometimes so critical of the care that their brother or sister is giving their mom and dad, they might be harassing them about decisions that they're making, trying to tell them what to do. So that healthcare power of attorney, where you name that primary caregiver as the person that you trust to make these important medical decisions for you, are essential." Andrea adds, "Maybe they have three daughters, and they love all three of their daughters, and all three of their daughters are responsible adults, and they trust all of them. And they're asking me, well, how do we pick which daughter? And I actually say, 'all things being equal, pick the best communicator. Pick the one who plans the birthday parties, pick the one who's reaching out to his or her siblings, and who's a good communicator.' Learn more: * Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/ * Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more: * Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/ * Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to talk about essential legal documents to have in place no matter your age, keeping them up to date, and describing oft overlooked documents such as the HIPAA release and POLST form, Physicians Order of Life Sustaining Treatment form. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington.  Andrea says, "Earlier, I said estate planning is a little bit like a pyramid. In the very bottom of that pyramid are documents every single person should have. And two of those documents are the financial and health care power of attorney. But in addition to that, there are a few other documents that every adult should have. When my daughter became an adult, I drafted them for her because they're the documents that allow your loved ones to take care of you when you're alive, but unable to care for yourself. And we hate to think about that time, if that ever happens. "Do not do it online. If you are over the age of 65, then I would encourage you to work with an elder law attorney. Estate planning attorneys... can do that when you're young. It's totally different goals, because if you're younger, it's about finding heirs and making sure that you're building your empire... The planning looks different, the objectives look different, and sometimes the documents look different... Now, it's extremely important... that those documents be properly done and be kept up to date... We ask our clients to come back every five years. We oftentimes don't have to make a change in five years, sometimes we do. But that's the opportunity for me to sit down with my clients and ask what's changed in your life. It's also an opportunity for us to review any law changes that might have happened." "Frequently overlooked is a HIPAA release. Due to the privacy laws at hospitals, they're not necessarily supposed to share confidential medical information with individuals who are not the person seeking or receiving treatment, right? A HIPAA release is extremely important. That's because an individual might, say, name their spouse as their healthcare power of attorney, and that individual is charged with making all the medical decisions for them, but they might also want to make sure that their children — who may or may not be the children of that spouse — be able to visit them at the hospital anytime, learn information about their care, find out the status of mom or dad. And without that HIPAA release, the hospital is only required to provide medical information to the one agent named in that healthcare power of attorney. And there have been instances where individuals have been isolated from their loved ones, because their one healthcare power of attorney has told hospitals or medical institutions or adult family homes not to share information with these individuals. 'I'm the healthcare agent, I'm the one who gets to make decisions on behalf of the incapacity person, and legally I don't want information shared with their children or their siblings.' And maybe if that person who was incapacitated was competent, there's no way they would want their children kept away from them. So people sometimes don't realize how important that HIPAA release is in making sure your family members can get medical information and care information should you be incapacitated. "I am going to talk about a POLST form. But there's also a form that I provide to my clients, that estate planning and elder law attorneys do provide, called a living will. And people sometimes confuse the two documents, a living will versus a POLST form. A POLST form is the physician's orders for life sustaining treatment. It is an order signed by your doctor. So an attorney cannot give you a POLST form. Your medical doctor can. They're usually lime green....  "I had a neighbor, Ruth who was a fabulous neighbor, and she was diagnosed with terminal cancer... She actually came to me and said, my doctor wants me to sign this thing called a POLST form, what do you think? I said, 'If you had a heart attack, would you want them to bring you back, so that you could die slowly of cancer?' And she was like, 'no, if I had a heart attack right now, I don't want any treatment, because I know that I'm dying of cancer.'... However, for many individuals, even if they're 75 or 80, maybe they don't need a POLST form. But what they do need is a living will, and hopefully you have a living will. "I have a living will that says, hey, if I'm in a car accident, if I have a stroke, if I have a heart attack, please do everything possible to treat me... But once the medical team has done everything possible, if two physicians determine that there is no hope I'm going to improve... and I can't express my wishes... do I want to be let go? Do I want to be kept comfortable but have them remove life-sustaining means like hydration, nutrition, ventilation? And that's a very different scenario. So, living wills are documents that every single person should have." Learn more: * Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/ * Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more: * Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/ * Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to talk about the healthcare power of attorney document. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. This document is often overlooked by families. Who can make medical decisions for you when you're not able to make your own choices? Andrea says, "There is so much that goes into making someone's medical decisions. When I've had family members in the hospital, I've been awoken at 1 a.m. to authorize a blood transfusion. Or I've been hit with a question of, hey, there are different treatment options, you need to decide which one is going to be best. And those are very difficult decisions for family members to make. But what that health care power of attorney does is, number one, it gives them the legal ability to actually make those decisions. For many people that is especially essential, because you might have more than one child, you might have a new spouse and children from a previous marriage. And then the question comes down to, if an individual is hospitalized or incapacitated, who do they want to be making those decisions on their behalf? If someone doesn't sign that health care power attorney, you're really just opening the door for conflict in your family, because you're not designating which of your five wonderful children you want to make those decisions, and that's just going to create chaos amongst those children. "One of the most important decisions people will make is: who are the people they're going to name as their agents, who is the person who will manage your finances, who is the person who will make those medical decisions. Well-drafted health care powers of attorneys don't give that much direction. They give a lot of powers. And that's because as an attorney who's been practicing in this area of the law for as long as I have, you learn that there are just too many possible scenarios that cannot be addressed within a power of attorney document. You can't anticipate what someone's illness might look like, or what the end of their life might look like. So it's important that the document give the agent all the powers to make those decisions. "It is a sign to them that you have faith in them, you have trust in their decision-making abilities, and that they are the individual you want charged with that hard situation. It is so important in families that have multiple potential decision-makers to choose the person. I tell my clients frequently, you know what? You can have two children who love you, who have your best interests at heart, who want to do everything to help you and support you. But they can still disagree. And it's possible that neither one of them are wrong. They could both be right, but it's just a matter of opinion. So it's so important to choose that one person that you think best supports your personal view." Learn more: * Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/ * Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more: * Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/ * Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to share advice and tips for legal planning to help you age gracefully in a situation that you like. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. The power of attorney document is a critical tool to let your family help take care of you when you're in a crisis situation. Andrea says, "There are a lot of misconceptions regarding power of attorney documents, having the ability to manage an individual's state or affairs, and what each person should have in place. Now, typically when I talk about estate planning, I equate it to a pyramid, where there are certain tools every single adult should have in place. Every single person over the age of 18 should have very basic estate planning documents. But as people age, it becomes more important to have those basic documents in place. I would say weekly, I get a phone call or a message that says I need to get power of attorney over my mom.  And the reality is, you don't get power of attorney over someone, an individual has to give that power... We each have the ability as adults to make decisions on our own. But it's, it's really difficult to think that a time [may] come... to empower our children or our cousins or whomever loves you and wants to take care of you, to help you navigate aging or potential incapacity. Of all the estate planning documents I prepare for my clients, financial power of attorney is one of the most important documents. "Can I take a moment and tell you about my own powers of attorney? I've been an estate planning and elder law attorney for about 18 years now. And I actually take care of my own mother, who has pretty advanced dementia, along with my dad and my siblings. But we had our own challenge with powers of attorneys a few years ago. My brother Christian was sick... In a very short period of time, he went to the hospital and he went into a coma... it was a horrible time for my family. He was 44 years old at the time, he had been in perfect health... And our family was beside itself because we're a very close family and we love each other and support each other. And when my brother Christian was first hospitalized, the hospital would not even share medical information with us.  "Even though I'm an estate planning attorney and I had offered to draft documents to him over and over again, he was a 44 year old healthy man, and he's like, 'I don't need that. Why do I need that?' But when he became ill, they would not tell us medically what was going on because we did not have the health care power attorney. We did not have a HIPAA release... We wanted to do the most basic things to help him, to cancel his credit card bills, talk to his insurance company, pay his rent, but our hands were tied. So my family felt just completely lost because we wanted to help him and he would have wanted us to help him, but we didn't have those tools right now. "That was one of the most painful and difficult times for my family, and as an estate planning attorney, that is where I don't want my clients to be. And that's why having properly drafted estate power of attorney documents are essential... That's the tool that lets your loved ones take care of you when you're not able to manage your own thing." Learn more: * Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/ * Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more: * Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/ * Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

John Wenderlein joins Suzanne to talk about how he got started as a hospice chaplain and wrote his two books ''Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain'' and ''Delayed Honor.'' "John says, "What I found as I was visiting these patients, I would leave having to write their stories down. So on my computer, I have 1,000, 1,500 stories... One of my pastor buddies about a year or two ago said, John, you should write a book. I was telling him a quick story. He wasn't a chaplain, he was a retired pastor, and he said, John, that story is so overwhelming... I wrote my first book, and I struggled with it. With the help of close friends and my wife, I got through it. "My second book, what we found is and many people forget is we have pretty much buried a generation of World War II and Korean veterans – the last patient I had was 105, he was in the Army Air Corps, which ended in 1947. What I was finding was, when I would meet a Vietnam veteran at the end of his life, I talked about this reflection. They were devastated, they were heartbroken. When they came back to this country, they were just spat upon, horrible things done. So I took those stories and I put them in my second book. And that book has just come out a couple of weeks ago, and that's called Delayed Honor." Learn more about John Wenderlein: * Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-through-Hospice-Chaplain/dp/B0CGL5V4KZ * Delayed Honor https://www.amazon.com/Delayed-Honor-John-Kirn-Wenderlein/dp/B0CTXB6M22 * John's website: https://www.remembermejw.com/ Hear more: * End of life podcasts at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/end-of-life/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Hospice chaplain John Wenderlein joins Suzanne to talk about how he helps families facilitate having those difficult conversations during end of life care and hospice. John says, "I think you have to bring them to a peace of mind. You know, we come into a family, and what we like to call in our Christian life, a lot. Their last season, you have to convince them that you're there because you love them. You just want to be there and that opens up, that takes down that wall many times. I will have a conversation with family members as if I was [part of] the family. They get to love me in that way because it's just about the end of life for that family member and it's how they go out. That's so important to me." "W live with people who rerun their lives. I was with someone two days ago. I walked into her room and she was staring into the ceiling. She said, I'm looking at my life at a million miles an hour. What happens when we come to this end? They resolve, they come to peace with what's coming." How do we as adult children help to resolve issues? John says, "Well, we start by listening. I know that's hard sometimes as we get older. But you know what happens is, as we get older, the role responsibilities tend to change. We tend to be in the parent role... You almost have to be silent. They are going to desire to download, tell everybody the truth, tell everybody they love that they care. Or maybe there was some friction. I've seen families get together at the end of life when they couldn't get along during life, because it's time. It's kind of like you're packing your bags [for a trip] and you make sure you put your toothbrush in there at the end, make sure everything's in there, all inclusive. And that's what many people do when they come to the end." Learn more about John Wenderlein: * Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-through-Hospice-Chaplain/dp/B0CGL5V4KZ * Delayed Honor https://www.amazon.com/Delayed-Honor-John-Kirn-Wenderlein/dp/B0CTXB6M22 * John's website: https://www.remembermejw.com/ Hear more: * End of life podcasts at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/end-of-life/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Hospice chaplain John Wenderlein joins Suzanne to talk about learning how to have the conversations to say goodbye to our loved ones at the end of their lives. There's often a denial process with family members. John says, "Even though a doctor has told you six months, mother and dad are getting ready to pass. So there's a big fight. I don't mean a physical fight or a verbal fight, I mean an emotional struggle, and it doesn't happen so much with the patient because many times they've been sick for a while, it happens with the family. One of our struggles in the hospice business is to get all that paperwork correct, and [families] just don't want to hear it. "My role is a role people are a little confused about. You have the doctor, you have a nurse, you have a worker... But when the chaplain walks through the door, it becomes real. It becomes real for the family, it becomes real for the patient. So, as a chaplain, I have to be careful how I initially meet them. My job is to keep the spiritual strength up and keep the conversation as light as possible. "Many of the medical questions are answered by the nurses, are answered by our literature. We hand out literature that says these are the signs. Don't be confused if your mother or father seems to be getting better before they get worse. Don't be surprised if there's changes in the skin — touch, texture or skin color. And of course, with memory and things like that, don't be surprised that he or she's going to have those moments and talk about that vacation 20 years ago." Learn more about John Wenderlein: * Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-through-Hospice-Chaplain/dp/B0CGL5V4KZ * Delayed Honor https://www.amazon.com/Delayed-Honor-John-Kirn-Wenderlein/dp/B0CTXB6M22 * John's website: https://www.remembermejw.com/ Hear more: * End of life podcasts at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/end-of-life/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Skyline Retirement resident Judy Mayotte joins Suzanne to give a tour of her apartment. Judy says, "I just love my apartment. I've lived in refugee camps and in grass huts. So I'm living in the lap of luxury here. But I also have lived for a number of years in condominiums. I lost a leg in Sudan, in the war zone there, and couldn't manipulate a lawn mower or things like that, so I'm used to living in condos and apartments. So it was not difficult for me to move here. I have one of the smallest apartments here at Skyline. t's a one bedroom, most people and particularly couples will get larger ones. But I have never been happier than I am right here in this little apartment. It's just wonderful." Learn more: * Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/ * More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/

Judy Mayotte has been living independently at Skyline Retirement in downtown Seattle for six years. Judy joins Suzanne to talk about how she decided to move into a Life Care Community. What led her to move here? Judy explains, "I had come back from living a number of years in South Africa, and I bought a condo. Because I lost my leg in the war zone in Southern Sudan a number of years ago, I knew that probably at some point I would need some kind of care. So I bought one that had three bedrooms so that I could have a caregiver. And then I realized it's really going to be lonely if I'm the only one here, because when you live in a condo, everybody's going out. And I thought I'd be home alone, and that made me think, why don't I look at some of these life care places? And I moved back to Seattle. I had taught at Seattle University for a period of time. and fell in love with the city and the state. And so I wanted to live here. "My husband died almost 50 years ago, I've been alone for a long time and worked overseas. And I decided that I wanted to come to a place like Skyline, because mainly I wanted community. For many people moving into a place where a lot of people live together, that can be really difficult if they've lived in their home for 45 or 50 years. They've accumulated everything, they have memories there ,they raised their children there, they have their garden, they have so much, but also they need more care. And I think the transition for someone that has lived long in a place is more difficult than it is for a nomad like me." "There are so many fitness opportunities for us, as far as classes are concerned. There's the school, gym, exercise classes, stimulating talks, musical programs. I want to emphasize that a place like Skyline, we have built such a fine community here, it is an inclusive community rather than exclusive community of people. You have all these people with incredible life experiences that you're eating dinner with, you're sharing a movie with, or having in for a cocktail before dinner. And you can be with people as much as you want to be, or you can be alone as much as you want to be. Keep active and keep your mind active, and we have plenty of opportunities to do that here.  "We have the Skyline Residents Association, and then under that umbrella are a number of committees. There's the dining committee, caring committee, fitness committee, the spiritual committee, whatever. And people really have an opportunity to engage in those committees and really get to know other members." Learn more: * Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/ * More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/

Suzanne is joined by Judy Mayotte, an 87-year-old resident of Skyline Retirement in downtown Seattle who lives independently. This is a Life Care Community, in which they take care of seniors from independent through memory care, should they need 24-hour care later in life. You pay an upfront fee, but the quality of care can be much higher. Judy says, "It's very, very easy to live here... We've got two towers of independent living, and we have our own apartments that have a kitchen, bedroom, living room and everything. And then there's another tower called the terraces that is attached to it. In the terraces, there is assisted living, and full care, or skilled nursing. And one of the beautiful things about that is that sometimes one partner, one spouse, will have memory care needs, and can move over to memory care, but the other person can remain in independent living, and never have to go outside to go visit and be with the person that is in memory care. They can spend the whole day over there together. They can do all sorts of things, but the other person, they'll keep the independent living and still remain on the same property. Many of us have lost our spouses, or never married. And so you have a lot of single people, you have a lot of couples, and you have several people where one lives in independent living and one lives in memory care. There are many different kinds of arrangements." Judy adds, "My deciding factor in moving to Skyline was simply that I liked the atmosphere, the feeling of community here, the layout of the apartments, and the floor to ceiling windows that give you light." Learn more: * Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/ * More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about what happens on moving day. Sean explains the rules for various local and longer distance moves. "Every state has different rules and tariffs for professionally licensed and insured moving companies. We will use Washington as an example, because it's pretty similar to most other regulated states. So when you just move within a 56-mile radius, it's a local move. Therefore, we'll calculate the hourly rate. We'll charge the customer by the hourly rate for the packing and for the actual move. We always recommend if any family member can do the packing, do the packing because you save money.  "The other move option is called intrastate, which is long distance within the state. This will go by the mileage and the pounds on the truck. So we weigh the truck before and after. The hourly rate is not a factor, just the weight of the shipment. Similarly to this is the interstate move, which is across state lines. Every move across state line will be based on weight and mileage. If someone tells you that you want to charge you by volume, hang up the phone. There's no way in the world anybody can tell you the volume of your shipment. It's just the weight." "You can save money by doing your own packing. We deliver the boxes to your door, the wrapping paper, everything that you need. If we didn't supply you enough, no problem. Another phone call, we will deliver it to you. We're not gonna charge you for this. We charge you per use. Order more boxes than what you think you need. We're trying to make it easier for the people. "When people do their own packing, I would like to come to the house the day of the move and find boxes and furniture. And I would like to see the boxes all taped and ready to roll, because from the moment the truck stops, unfortunately, the clock starts. So we're not gonna charge you if you are organized and ready. I promise you, our crew will not waste your time. When we're moving a senior, we ask the guys to slow down a little bit, because they walk too fast for certain people, but they will be respectful of the time. We are not there to milk your clock. "One time, I'm getting videos from the crew. It's a total chaos. And I first thing I said, the crew, we need to wait. I tell the person we'll come back tomorrow, please organize the place. If you can, if you don't have to leave today, because if we spend time to organize your place, your move would be much higher." Sean adds, "Our customers ask me, 'Can you 100% show that you're going move my items from point A to point B without any damage?' I always say if I can promise you that, I'll probably be God, but I'm not God. Things can happen because we are human. I promise you the people I put into your house, I trust my family with them. They know my daughters, my daughters know them. You can feel safe and secure around my movers." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Particularly for people who have mobility challenges or health issues and require special preparations, moving requires planning. Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk how to plan for a move, especially if you're downsizing or moving into a senior living community. Sean says, "We will do the estimate, then help figure out the packing option, and then comes the move date. That's 1-2-3, it's planning, planning, planning. For the move that is the traditional move, let's say the family member is in good health, we can move from point A to point B, loading the boxes first, wrapping or disassembling the furniture, and doing the reverse: unloading all the furniture, setting it up the way the customer wants and then unloading the boxes in the right location. "For downsizing, let's say from a house or an apartment to one room in a senior living, for example, at the time of the estimate, we will take the address of the destination. We will visit the destination, we will talk to the front desk to figure out what they need from certificate of insurance, to floor covering, to elevator reserve. We'll try to see the room so we can create a floor plan. It's very important when moving from a bigger place to a smaller place, we want to make sure [we know] what would be the best location for the furniture to give enough movement within the room. "The other type of move, which is the most complicated, is usually when the senior has a medical issue like dementia, [or mobility or health challenges], we need sometimes to really copycat the one location, and that involves meticulous planning and moving. We had one customer that we had to make everything exactly the same. We needed to take pictures of all the cabinets before we packed them, and when we got to the destination, we put all the items back in exact the same order. Think about it – exactly the same order, because of the memory issues he had. And place medication exactly where it was before." Sean adds, "It's important to pay attention to detail and listen, listen. Some moves like this will take a little bit more time. And I always tell the crew, please take your time. Slow down. Do not run, listen to the people. Sometimes they need more time. Slow down, constantly ask, what can I do for you?" Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about the variety of options people have when packing for a move, as well as how to pack if you choose to do it yourself. Sean says, "We have a variety of options. A of course is full packing: we come — with the truck, with the boxes, all the packing materials — to the house. You leave the house as is, you wake up in the morning, wash your face, have a coffee, sit on the couch, and everything around you will translate into boxes. "Option B: You can tell us what to pack. You can say, 'I will pack all my clothes, all the items that are not fragile that I can handle. You guys do the kitchen for me.' "Option C: We can just supply you the boxes, we can show you how to pack items that you have concerns about, that you're not sure how to pack, but we supply all the types of boxes that you need in order to complete your packing. Also, if you have extra fragile items and you're really, really worried about it, we can crate it to make sure nothing will happen. "Now, we need to discuss the process of some the packing. It's crucial to understand the idea of a packing is very simple: Avoid movement inside the box. If you avoid movement, you avoid damages. That's as simple as it is. That's how we even stack the truck when we're building the wall in the truck – avoid movement. You have a hole or something on a box, fill it up with a blanket or something, avoid movement. "When we do the packing, we have smart tape. We color code every room. For an example, we'll mark the boxes with the kitchen in yellow tape. Every bedroom will have its own color code. All that is much easier for us and for the customer to know where the box is going because we can put it in the right location. We also will mark on the boxes where they came from, and the contents. We write what inside the box and leave those boxes that they don't really need [for downsizing] either in storage or in a garage. So then we can stack them nicely and just deliver to the room the boxes that they really need." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Moving can be a daunting chore at the best of times, but downsizing a senior whose been living in their house for 50 years can be overwhelming. Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Suzanne says, "When I look back in my years of taking care of my mom, probably the most difficult and overwhelming situation was when it came time to moving her. As she declined, we had to move her three times. And the hard part for families is, there's all kinds of questions. Everything is overwhelming. This is someone that took care of me and my mom: Mr, Sean Joseph, the CEO of Jordan River Moving and Storage, specializes in working with seniors. You've been my dear friend for a very long time and I'm so grateful to have you part of the Answers for Elders team, because moving is daunting." How do you start? Sean says, "Like I always say, knowledge and preparation is priceless. It starts always with the in-home estimate. We would like visually to see what we're dealing with. We don't like the information over the phone. Please welcome us to the house so we can take a look... We ask, where are you moving to? If we find out you're moving to a much smaller place, we know it's not all going to fit, or we're gonna build wall of boxes all around your walls around the house, you won't be able to move, and you might fail and you get injured. So we talk about the steps of downsizing, and we are always willing to help them sort. But the planning is the most important, and we establish trust. "A lot of seniors are moving to a very small place, and a lot of times you try to copy their home for them. If they have dementia, you try to make it as comfortable as possible, so they can move around. It's hard for people, but I totally understand that people sometimes can't let things go." Learn more: * Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/ * Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about: * Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/ * Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about the gut-brain connection and how to balance your functional wellness to achieve optimal health. "Think of it as like a two-way highway. What one does affects the other. The easiest way to illustrate that is, for instance, when you get nervous. You feel those butterflies in your stomach, right? There's a direct connection in the neurotransmitters, the chemicals that the brain sends for situations like that, fight or flight responses." "Inflammation is one of the number one things that we deal with. and when I'm coaching clients, we are talking about inflammation. There's 22 different types. You have acute inflammation. Acute is, hey, I just fell, hurt my knee, it got swollen or I have the flu, and the body's response is to send those infiltrates into your system which causes inflammation. But I'm talking about chronic inflammation, inflammation from the processed foods that we eat, that will cause inflammation and leaky gut, and that causes a whole host of systems. That's why we can't eat what we used to eat. Our food greatly affects the inflammatory responses in our body." Learn more: Shawn Weiss' website: https://shawn-michele.com/ Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ Six Pillars of Health: https://www.stress.org/live-better-by-building-on-the-six-pillars-of-health Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/tag/shawn-weiss/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about changes in our bodies that happen once we reach 50 years of age, and what strategies to use to maintain optimal health. "One of the first things when you get over 50 that you're losing is muscle mass. And that is so important. Increase your protein, make sure your strength training. A lot of people feel conflicted about it. Should they be lifting weights? Absolutely. You should be doing resistance training. We're also losing bone density, and as we age, that could increase your risk for fractures. But you also see other things. Our bladder changes, it gets less elastic. The muscles in your pelvic floor start to weaken. There's two different types of incontinence, but you might see either urge incontinence or stress incontinence. The list goes on... our large intestines, hormonal changes, hydration can cause things like constipation so things are not metabolized. "Stress reduction plays such a vital role. And if you look at even when I was in my 20s and 30s and society in general, our world is different. It is just a nonstop world. There's just a lot of chaos. People don't know how to navigate it. They're having incredibly high stress levels, which will start throwing out cortisol. It's gonna affect your sleep. It's going to affect your overall health. It creates anxiety. It's a vicious cycle, and that's why it's such an important pillar of health that we address.  "Any time you exercise,  you're going to have an increase in blood flow everywhere. Many studies out there show if you're starting to have cognitive decline, daily exercise of any kind — just increasing activity levels — not only improves digestion, it improves sleep, it reduces behavioral problems, it reduces falls and balance issues. It's just so so beneficial." Learn more: Shawn Weiss' website: https://shawn-michele.com/ Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ Six Pillars of Health: https://www.stress.org/live-better-by-building-on-the-six-pillars-of-health Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/tag/shawn-weiss/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about taking charge of the six pillars of health — nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, substance use, and personal connections — so that we can achieve optimal health in our later years. Shawn says, "Health is not a one-size-fits-all for everybody, especially in the age where we're in now, with social media, where we're getting bombarded on a daily basis with contradictory advice. I deal with the six main pillars of health. And that for me is so easy to organize, because each one affects the other. I have everything in balance, which is the key. You have to be able to hit all of those pillars of health. One little off-balance system will exponentially affect the rest. "I start off with exercise — of course, near and dear to my heart as a physical therapist, but confusion over 50 is OK. What type of exercise? How much do I do? How long do I exercise? Am I allowed to get my heart rate up high enough? So that's one of the main ones, and then we look at nutrition how to fuel your body properly. Gut health is the third one. Gut health and inflammation, inflammatory conditions, inflammatory foods go hand in hand. Then we look at stress, and stress is huge. You cannot remove all the stresses, and all the daily stressors that we have, but how do we learn to manage our daily stress? Sleep, that's the fifth one. And the last one is emotional health. And that's been huge, especially since COVID. So we include all of those when I talk with clients and coach them." Shawn’s proactive approach to physical therapy focuses on wellness and prevention strategies for all of her clients, with an emphasis on fall management programs for the elderly in the assisted living setting. She currently serves on the Ohio Fall Coalition and Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership. She is also is an Instructor for Summit Professional Education where teaches nationwide for Continuing Education courses on Home Health Policy and Rehabilitation and has been a contributing member of Answers for Elders for more than a decade. Learn more: Shawn Weiss' website: https://shawn-michele.com/ Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/ Six Pillars of Health: https://www.stress.org/live-better-by-building-on-the-six-pillars-of-health Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/tag/shawn-weiss/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Most people want their family to remember them, they want to pass on something. What does it mean to leave a lasting legacy? What's a mistake, and what are some pointers? Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about matters of Inheritance and philanthropy with your estate. What's Steve's definition of legacy? "It's probably different for everyone. I will say I came to this by having so many people that died without a plan, or it totally blew up, and their legacy was terrible. That's not what people want. People want to be able to pass on their assets and their values to their kids, their grandkids, sometimes it's the charities. And so I'd say a good lasting legacy is making sure the estate plan works, providing some protections for the next generation. So it doesn't implode if one of the kids goes through a divorce. And then passing on your values. So we have a legacy worksheet in each of our estate plans, where you could talk about the most important lessons you'll learn in life. And you can pass on that along with the money. That's accomplishing a lot if you can pass on not only money but values." Learn more:  Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/ Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/ Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/ Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about whether you might choose to have a will or a trust for your estate, and why. Steve says, "Everyone needs a plan, right? So it's not a will or trust, it's a plan. A will doesn't work till you die, so you need powers of attorney, healthcare, et cetera. And then others would like to do a trust, and there's really common reasons to do a trust. You've got real property in more than one state. Our state's doubled the tax exempt amount. But I was meeting with a couple once – I might as well tell a story embarrassing about me. This was a retired pastor and I was ready to sign the fee agreement to do their will plan. And the wife says, 'how come Suzie Ormond says some people want to live in trust?' And I said, well, some people are worried about privacy, and they want to avoid probate. They said, 'we want to avoid probate. We want things private.' I said, some people want stronger incapacity planning. 'Well, we want that.' And after four or five things in a row. I said, let me draft you guys a living trust. And the financial advisor was like, 'you sold them a trust.' And I said, they wanted a trust. There's lots of advantages of a trust. Our job as a state planners is to ask a bunch of questions and design a plan that fits.  "If someone's single, they have adult children, and they're not at all worried about giving outright to the kids, a will plan is just fine. In Washington sate, you can even do a transfer on death deed. So it's almost like a brokerage account where it goes directly to a beneficiary without court. There are times when a will is the only way to plan. In Washington, if you're married and you want to protect assets from the state of Washington for like a Medicaid lien and Medicaid planning. "But for a lot of people, here's my little [diagram], it's maybe hard to see, but this is Homer and Marge Simpson. While you're alive, you could put assets in the trust and it breaks into the above-ground and below-ground, what that does is it doubles your tax free amount. It gives you creditor protection, it gives you remarriage protection. I don't care if my wife remarries if I die first, but I don't want it to go to a new spouse, right? I want to be for her and ultimately our children. So a trust is just bigger, better or stronger. It's not for everyone. "We don't determine what plan people have. We ask questions and reveal and then they kind of self select." Learn more:  Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/ Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/ Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/ Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about the particulars of choosing beneficiaries when planning for your estate. Why should people create an estate plan? Steve explains, "I was in the hospital with someone with a bad cancer diagnosis yesterday. But all of us will eventually die. And if we own a home, or if we have children, the need to plan is high because without it  it may go to the wrong people, or you may not protect your children. Or if you're married, your spouse could remarry. I mean, [your estate] can implode, sometimes it'll go to the right people, but not the right way..." When it comes to choosing beneficiaries, he says, "Often we will list our spouse, like on an IRA or a 401(k). But then we don't think about the kids. And it used to be, you could stretch IRAs over the life of a grandchild, and that stopped with the Secure Act. So there's lots of changes, and people often don't think of the backup beneficiaries, or they've really helped one kid through college and loans, and the other kid they haven't. So do they want to kind of equalize things? That won't happen if you don't have your own planning in place... The first part is taking care of you, all your life. Even spouses can't legally sign for one another, and they can't make medical choices if someone's in the hospital. So, maintaining control, protecting you while you're alive, that's a big deal. And of course, then the right people, or organizations, or grandchildren, or whatever, when you're gone, that's another big part of it." If someone's never had an estate plan before, what do you think about? "Often, people ask, do I need a will or a trust? I'm like, 'I don't know yet.' I need to know what people own. I need to know if they're single or married, I need to know if they have minor children, if they have adult children, if they have any special needs children. And no two plans are exactly the same. So it's a process. There's a chance you could throw a dart and hit the right thing. What an attorney does is, they want to know the context, and once they know that, then we can say, ahh, this is a simple beneficiary designation, but this one better go to a will, or a trust, because you want to protect the beneficiary." How often should you review your estate plan? Steve says, "We have a rule of thumb: every five years. Our clients get to come in and kick the tires, and just see now if your agent has gone bad, the kids are going through a divorce... there may be reasons that you need to tell us before that. But I think five years is a good rule of thumb. Two years ago, they changed all the rules on health care powers of attorney [in the state of Washington]. I had someone in this week, they did wills 25 years ago. [Back then] they were naming guardians for their children. They have grandchildren now. So the laws [change], the estates are different. Sometimes an estate was a million and now it's $3 million. Then you have to have estate tax protection, at least in our state of Washington. For federal laws, for wealthy clients, it's the federal estate tax exemption, it's going to cut in half in two years. The Hippa rule was nationwide and that blew up thousands, if not millions, of estate plans because you can't give authorized consent when you're in a coma, you have to give authorized consent when you have capacity." Learn more:  Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/ Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/ Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/ Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Finance expert David Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about how to anticipate the future by putting a finance plan in place to take advantage of factors that we can control, and account for risks such as longevity, running out of money, potential inflation, taxes, and the needs of long-term care. David says, "Preparing for the unknown is probably the most delicate thing that we can do. There are some factors that we can actually control, we can actually prepare for it. For example, we know that the longer we live there's gonna be a market correction. The longer we live, things are going to change, and it's called the longevity risk. So the market will change somewhere along the line. So we have to prepare for that. So how do we do that? We pull some of our money off of the risks table and we put it into guaranteed sources of income or guaranteed investments. Another longevity risk is we live too long, we run out of money. So we want to set up plans where we can have guaranteed income. "Our Social Security is getting taxed. I think everybody knows that they're surprised when it's taxed, because we pay taxes all along the way to get the Social Security, but it gets taxed as well. And then the more money we make, we have to pay Medicare, and the Medicare cost increases the more we make. And health care costs are going through the roof, and healthcare supplemental policies, and all kinds of things like that. "We have no idea what long-term care is going to do to us. Is it going to be a little thing? Is it going to be a big thing? Is it going to be dementia? Is it going to be Alzheimer's? The longer we live, the risk increases that this is going to happen to us. Probably the number one thing that we get when people call us is,' oh my God, my spouse has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. How am I going to pay for my husband's care, and I'm gonna lose my house, I'm gonna lose everything." And there are ways in which you can plan now. You can't do the planning while you're in a nursing home, so we have to do the prior planning now. Prior planning prevents poor performance. And so let's plan now." To get his books, call David's office at 888-892-1102, or visit his Estate Planning Specialists website at https://epmez.com/. Subscribe to the monthly Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter at https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/. Answers for Elders listeners get a discount. Learn more: * Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter: https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/ * David T. Phillips: https://epmez.com/our-team * Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Finance expert David Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about how a family owning a million-dollar home can downsize most effectively, maximizing their money for the future. He recommends investing some of the proceeds from the sale into an annuity with guaranteed income rider. “Any time we sell something that we have gains, we're going to have to pay taxes, and right now, the capital gains tax rate is the lowest it's been in about 50 years. Depending on what state we live in. The most common idea right now is to take the money after the tax and secure guaranteed income for you for the rest of your life. Let's say we downsize and we end up with $100,000. A 65 year old could put in $100,000 and jointly create $6,000 a month in income for the rest of both lives. If we're just by ourselves, a male $7,300 a female $7,000 a month. It's called a fixed indexed annuity with guaranteed income. Call Todd here at my office and say, hey, I want to look at guaranteed income for the rest of my life, and then he'll show you the different options that are available. Some Baby Boomers are downsizing to a continuing care retirement community, or CCRC. Suzanne asked, "Let's say you get a million dollars for your house and you end up having an entrance fee to a CCRC of 500,000. How does that work?" David explains, "You're just basically converting your cash into a place where you don't have to have income to satisfy expenses, because you're done. You still have your $400,000 that you can live off of plus your social security, which can actually pay your community fee, which is not much when you live in a CCRC." "One of the things you can do to prepare is get a long term care policy right now, while you can. You have to look at all the options and that's one of the options. Take some of the money and turn it into – we call it leverage care solutions, or asset-based care plans. I wrote a book about that called "Leveraged Care Solutions," and they can get that through our website." David mentions the newly-updated fourth edition of his book, "The Ten Most Common Estate Planning Mistakes And How to Avoid Them."  To get his books, call David's office at 888-892-1102, or visit his Estate Planning Specialists website at https://epmez.com/. Subscribe to the monthly Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter at https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/. Answers for Elders listeners get a discount. Subscribe to the monthly Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter at https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/. Answers for Elders listeners get a discount. Call David's office at 888-892-1102, or visit his Estate Planning Specialists website at https://epmez.com/. Learn more: * Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter: https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/ * David T. Phillips: https://epmez.com/our-team * Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Finance expert David Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about finances in the face of a new downsizing trend among Baby Boomers. It's estimated that 54% of Baby Boomers in the U.S. will downsize and simplify their finances between 2024 and 2026. By 2030, Boomers will make up 35-40% of the country's population. David talks about how his firm helps people make choices during this process. David says, "The biggest problem is what's called the longevity issues. How long are we gonna live? We don't know that, we don't have a crystal ball. So we have to kind of play both sides of the coin. We don't want to leave our family destitute. We don't want to live out our days in a long-term care facility, we'd rather stay at home if we could. And we also want to make sure that if we pass early that our spouse is taken care of, and our family. A lot of folks really want to not only leave a legacy, a personal legacy and memories and whatnot, but we also want to leave a financial legacy. I do, and I have 12 grandkids, and I wanna make sure that they're adequately taken care of." He adds, "We ought to make sure that if we do leave stuff behind, that we don't leave confusion behind. And at a time when we want to create love and harmony with our family, if we don't plan, we leave confusion, and create the worst emotions in the human family." To get his books, call David's office at 888-892-1102, or visit his Estate Planning Specialists website at https://epmez.com/. Subscribe to the monthly Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter at https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/. Answers for Elders listeners get a discount. Call David's office at 888-892-1102, or visit his Estate Planning Specialists website at https://epmez.com/. Learn more: * Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter: https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/ * David T. Phillips: https://epmez.com/our-team * Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Christian Care Ministry President and CEO Brandon Harvath joins Suzanne to describe the four foundational principles of the Medicare resource Medi-Share 65+. Brandon says, "Our vision is all about transforming society through the Biblical model of sharing. There are probably four main things I'd highlight. The first is just giving market solutions for people to align their values with their spending. And it's true. We're in a culture war today. Christian consumers, we've got a responsibility to consider how those dollars we spend are used to further Kingdom causes. "The second one I'd give you is really just around church and culture. And it's about today's church, really being intentional about having a practical and a significant impact on the culture war rather than just being angry boycotters. That's not what we're called to do. We really should be thinking deeply about how we influence and impact culture. Like our vision statement says, transforming society isn't an easy thing to do. But we believe that Biblical model of love, that Biblical model of sharing that we're taught about in the gospel is the way to go. "The third one I'd share with you is the intersection of faith and sharing. And this one goes really deep... Medical bills are just an example, a pressure, a weight, something that crushes us. And today it's a need, right? It it is a moment of suffering that we are here to help with. But beyond that, there are so many other areas of life where faith and sharing can and should intersect... I don't know what it is that stops us from doing this, but how unwilling we are at times just to raise our hand and say we have a need, and by the way, on the other side, I can help. "The fourth point, you know, I would just make for you today. This is about the early church's model of sharing that we see highlighted in the scripture. Knowing that our God owns a cattle on 1,000 hills, there isn't a resource issue in the church as I've shared... "That model is what we follow.... We're here to connect those needs with resources, and we believe that those resources exist, and when people come together in communities like this, in a very powerful way, I think those needs get met, unlike you may have ever seen in or before." Learn more: * Brandon Harvath: https://www.medishare.com/blog/author/brandon-harvath * Medi-Share 65+: https://www.medishare.com/programs/65 * Medi-Share 65+ Guidelines: https://www.medishare.com/sixty-five-guidelines * Christian Care Ministry: https://mychristiancare.org/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Medi-Share President and CEO Brandon Harvath joins Suzanne to share success stories. Brandon says, "I can't go beyond my family without finding stories. My wife spent a week in the hospital just over a year ago, an unexpected medical situation. It was one of the most petrifying moments of my life. We have seven children, 18 down to 3 years old, five boys and two girls. And the last thing you want to hear as a family at any point in time is that mom is in the hospital, right? Thankfully, doctors took good care of her. She came out, and was fine. Now everything is good, but we got hit with a $650,000 medical bill. Can anybody pay that? ... But here's the deal. The Medi-Share community came around my family and they negotiated that bill. They handled that situation, got it down to just over $200,000, by the way, which blows my mind to begin with, and took care of that. Just a few weeks later, prayers from members of the community started coming in for my wife, expressing how they were praying for her, for her healing, for her health. So it's not just the uniqueness of, hey, how are we gonna pay for that bill? It's the spiritual health, it's the physical health, it's the mental health. It's the entire gamut that this community really is about one another." Learn more: * Brandon Harvath: https://www.medishare.com/blog/author/brandon-harvath * Medi-Share 65+: https://www.medishare.com/programs/65 * Medi-Share 65+ Guidelines: https://www.medishare.com/sixty-five-guidelines * Christian Care Ministry: https://mychristiancare.org/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Answers for Elders starts 2024 to show how different opinions and concepts can come together to create something better. This hour, Suzanne is joined by Medi-Share President and CEO Brandon Harvath. Medi-Share 65+ is an option for Seniors 65 and older with Medicare Parts A & B. Medi-Share 65+ will share in any medical expenses that are covered by Medicare. Brandon says, "There are other organizations that have connected into models like this in the recent decade, Go Fund Me or organizations like that. Way before that ever happened, we had a group of people here who saw a need of families who were being crushed under the weight of medical bills, going bankrupt over medical bills. And we saw that need 30 years ago. And we designed a program that said if we all contribute a share amount every single month and bring those bills in to the storehouse, if you will, we can meet those needs. "You're not just signing up for membership in that program, we're actually connecting you to a bank account. That's yours. As that money comes in, we connect all of those bank accounts together and connect those needs as they come in with the resources. It's an amazing method, a lot of technology, a lot of patents over the years to build for our members... "We try to make it as simple as possible. You can expect very similar tools and ways that you found insurance over the years to be easy. The ID card, and statements every month in the mail that [say] what your share amounts are, all of those basic things are there. It's easy to use. You can go to any doctor you want on 65+. If things are eligible in, Medicare A and B, it's eligible in our 65+ program. So it's pretty simple to understand, and all you're gonna do is take that EOB that you get after a bill goes to Medicare, and what's left over there, you send it in, and we're gonna cover the rest right now. We don't cover anything, the community literally funds those bills." Learn more: * Brandon Harvath: https://www.medishare.com/blog/author/brandon-harvath * Medi-Share 65+: https://www.medishare.com/programs/65 * Medi-Share 65+ Guidelines: https://www.medishare.com/sixty-five-guidelines * Christian Care Ministry: https://mychristiancare.org/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

The first Answers for Elders episodes of 2024 focus on Medi-Share 65+. This hour, Suzanne is joined by Christian Care Ministry President and CEO Brandon Harvath. Christian Care Ministry is the non-profit association of churches that manages Medi-Share. Navigating healthcare is a challenge for seniors, who are sometimes faced with overwhelming situating and confusing options. Christian Care Ministry is celebrating its 30th anniversary striving to connect people with resources. Medi-Share 65+ is an option for Seniors 65 and older with Medicare Parts A & B. Medi-Share 65+ will share in any medical expenses that are covered by Medicare. With one low monthly cost, enjoy peace of mind from a supplemental alternative that supports your medical care and budget. Learn more: * Brandon Harvath: https://www.medishare.com/blog/author/brandon-harvath * Medi-Share 65+: https://www.medishare.com/programs/65 * Medi-Share 65+ Guidelines: https://www.medishare.com/sixty-five-guidelines * Christian Care Ministry: https://mychristiancare.org/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Brooke Kasten and Suzanne continue their conversation about the Skyline Seattle senior living community in the heart of downtown Seattle, Washington. Brooke Kasten is the community's Associate Executive Director. Skyline offers comprehensive care options including orthopedic and stroke rehabilitation, assisted living and memory support. From resort-quality amenities to jaw-dropping rooftop deck views to well-appointed apartment homes and gourmet dining venues, every element of the Seattle senior living community comes together to create an unforgettable retirement lifestyle. Skyline is located at 725 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104. Arrange a complimentary tour at (206) 207-0036. Learn more: * Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/ * More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/

Brooke Kasten and Suzanne talk about the Skyline Seattle senior living community in the heart of downtown Seattle, Washington. Brooke Kasten is the community's Associate Executive Director. Skyline offers comprehensive care options including orthopedic and stroke rehabilitation, assisted living and memory support. From resort-quality amenities to jaw-dropping rooftop deck views to well-appointed apartment homes and gourmet dining venues, every element of the Seattle senior living community comes together to create an unforgettable retirement lifestyle. Skyline is located at 725 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104. Arrange a complimentary tour at (206) 207-0036. Learn more: * Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/ * More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/