Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 5, 2023

11

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 5, 2023 

SAFE PATH FOR SENIORS

Steve Sciurba, Senior Placement Specialist 

There are many reasons in working with Safe Path 

for Seniors, we will assess your loved ones and make

recommendations depending on care needs and 
budget. 

With our many years of experience, we will make an

informed recommendation. 

We work with large communities to the small 6-bed, 

board & care residential homes.

You will tour with an experienced consultant who will 

work with you through the entire process. from selecting 
the right living environment to all of the necessary 
paperwork involved.

The good news is that there is no cost for this service.

If you have any questions about placing a loved one, 
visit our web site:

www.safepathforseniors.com 

or call Steve at 626-999-6913

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …AUGUST Birthdays*

Nancy Beckham, Karlene Englert, Juanita Fernandez, Jeanette Francis, 
Joseph Kiss, Jacquie Pergola, Pat Miranda, Jerry Burnett, Margaret Aroyan, 
Phyllis Burg, Beverly Clifton, Rosemary Morabito, Susan Poulsen, Joy Barry, 
Marcia Bent, Joan Spears, Ruth Torres, Jane Zamanzadeh. Helen Stapenhorst, 
Chandy Shair, Heidi Hartman, Erma Gutierrez, Margaret Switzer

 * To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR 
of birth not required 


SENIOR CLUB Every Saturday at Noon Hart Park House

Open to all seniors 50+ Fun - Games - And More! Call Mark at 626-355-3951 

TEA AND TALK BOOK CLUB

Wednesday, 7/12 and 7/26 9:00 am Hart Park House

Tea and Talk, meets twice a month to discuss the fun, suspense, intrigue, love and so 
much more that each selection will have in store! Call Lawren 626-355-5278 for 

current selection and feel free to join at any time.

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE

 BEGINNERS - Every Thursday 10-11:00 am

 INTERMEDIATE Every Friday 10-11:00 am

Bring a lei, your flower skirt or just your desire to dance! Hula in the Park is back and 
waiting for you to join in on all the fun! Memorial Park Covered Pavilion.

CHAIR YOGA

Every Monday and Wednesday 10-10:45 am

Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxation 
with Paul. Classes are ongoing and held in the Memorial Park Covered Pavilion or the 
Hart Park House. 

BEST MEDICAL ALERT SYSTEMS YOU DON'T HAVE TO WEAR

Dear Savvy Senior:

Are there any monitored medical alert devices that 
you know of that don’t require pushing a wearable 
help button? My 82-year-old father, who lives alone, 
has fallen twice during the past year but doesn’t 
like wearing an SOS pendant button. Searching 
Daughter

 

Dear Searching:

Yes, there are actually several monitored medical 
alert systems and other tech-nologies on the market 
today that have voice-activated capabilities that let 
sen-iors call for help using voice commands, without 
pushing a wearable help but-ton.

 These new technologies are very helpful for elderly 
seniors that live alone who forget, or prefer not to 
wear a help button, as well as for those who have 
physi-cal challenges that makes using a help button 
difficult.

 By simply speaking the “wake words” these devices 
will connect your dad to a trained dispatcher at a 
24/7 monitoring center who will find out what the 
prob-lem is, and get him the help he needs, whether 
it’s calling emergency services, or contacting a family 
member, friend or neighbor to come and help 
him.

 All of these technologies also offer family/caregiver 
smartphone apps that will help you keep tabs on 
your dad from afar and notify you know if a problem 
oc-curs.

 

Hands-Free Medical Alerts

Some of the best voice-focused medical alert systems 
available today are GetSafe, Aloe Care Health 
and HandsFree Health.

 Rated by U.S. News & World Report as their No. 
1 medical alert system for 2023, GetSafe (GetSafe.
com) comes with a cellular base console, voice-activated 
and push wall buttons, an optional personal 
help button and fall detection sensors. To call for 
help your dad would simply say “Call 911” twice and 
he would be connected to GetSafe’s 24/7 monitoring 
service. Prices for GetSafe start at $79 plus a $30 
monthly monitoring fee.

 Another highly rated system is Aloe Care Health 
(AloeCare.com), which comes with a voice-activated 
Smart Hub and optional wearable help button 
with fall de-tection capabilities. This system would 
connect your dad to the Aloe Care 24/7 monitoring 
center by simply saying “Emergency” repeatedly 
until connected. It can also make voice command 
nonemergency calls to preassigned contacts. Prices 
start at $150 plus a monthly fee of $30.

 The WellBe by HandsFree Health (HandsFreeHealth.
com) is a nice third option to consider. 
This comes with the WellBe Medical Alert Speaker 
that would let your dad call for help by saying “OK 
WellBe Call Emergency.”

 WellBe also offers hands-free calling and messaging 
to contacts, will answer health questions, and 
provide reminders for medications and doctor appoint-
ments. It also offers a medical alert watch and 
pendant (sold separately) with fall detection capabilities. 
WellBe starts at $100 plus $20/month.

 

Smart Home Solution

Instead of a traditional medical alert system, another 
terrific hands-free way to call for help is to get your 
dad an Amazon Echo device (prices range from $50 
to $250) and sign him up for Alexa Together (Amazon.
com/AlexaTogether). This is remote caregiving 
service that will turn his Echo into a medical alert 
system. To get help your dad would say “Alexa, call 
for help” to be connected to their 24/7 Urgent Response 
center.

 

Alexa Together, which costs $20/month, also works 
with compatible third-party fall detection devices 
like Vayyar and AltumView. If a fall is detected, Alexa 
can ask your dad if he needs help, then connect 
him to the Urgent Response line and alert his emergency 
contacts.

 

Amazon Echo devices also provide a bevy of other 
features your dad may find useful. For example, 
Echo’s will let your dad make hands-free calls, receive 
re-minders, set timers and alarms, control 
smart home devices, check the weather, play his favorite 
music and much more.

 

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 
5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. 
Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show 
and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

KNOWING EVERYTHING IS A BLESSING AND 

A CURSE

If you ever spent more 
than five minutes with me, 
you would conclude that I do not know 
every-thing. I would agree 100%. It is not 
bad that I don't know everything. I know 
today more than I knew ten years ago, if 
that is any consolation.

The thing that is surprising to me is that I 
do not know what I need to know when I 
need to know it.

Although I struggle with not knowing everything, 
I don't make it a priority in my 
life. I accept that I do not know everything, 
and if I can learn something new, 
I'm all for it.

This is not true for everyone in our house. 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, 
according to my experience, knows just 
about everything. Even though I have 
known her for over 50 years, I still can't 
understand how she's reached that point.

It's been a blessing because when I can't 
do something, I ask her; she knows it, and 
more than that, she can explain it to me.

A few years ago, her vehicle broke down. 
I don't remember what was wrong with it, 
but we had it towed to the garage to fix. I 
took my wife to the garage with her vehicle.

When we got there, she walked in to talk 
to the mechanic. This was our first time at 
this repair shop, so we didn't know them, 
and they didn't know us. But The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage told him what 
was wrong with her vehicle and what he 
needed to do to fix it.

He looked at me, then back at her, and said, 
"Yes, ma'am. I'll take care of your vehicle."

When we went to pick up her vehicle, the 
mechanic said, "Ma'am, how did you know 
what was wrong with your vehicle and furthermore 
how did you know how to fix it?"

She went into a long explanation, and I just 
smiled.

When she finished explaining, he looked 
at her and asked, "Would you like a job 
here?"

It's good to have someone in the house 
who knows everything. Someone who 
knows what’s wrong but, more importantly, 
someone who knows how to fix it.

That night around the dinner table, we 
chuckled at the day's events.

Knowing everything can be a great blessing, 
but it can also be a curse.

When it comes to thrift store shops within 
a 100-mile radius of our home, The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage knows 
them all and everything about them. She is 
a regular visitor to every one of them. Not 
only does she know them, but everybody 
knows her.

I know where all the McDonald's restaurants 
are, but that's my limit. After all, they 
do have Apple Fritters.

Monday this past week, The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage went grocery 
shopping in the next town. When she got 
home, I could see she was very frustrated. 
I couldn't understand her frustra-tion, and 
sometimes I'm cautious about asking.

So all I said was, "How was your shopping 
trip?"

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

I was concerned because I knew at this 
point she was frustrated about something.

"Do you know," she said as frustrated as 
I've ever seen her, "that there’s a new thrift 
store just 5 miles from our house? That 
thrift store has been there for over a year, 
and I didn't know about it."

I was almost as shocked as she was because 
that did not seem real. How dare a 
thrift store shop open up without telling 
her? Nobody in the other thrift stores even 
mentioned it to her, which was strange.

How this information slipped by my wife 
is a mystery above my pay grade. It shows 
that even when you know everything, 
there is something you don't know.

I knew that the next several days were going 
to be difficult until she was able to go 
and visit that new thrift store shop. I was 
tempted to go along with her, but under 
the stress of the situation, I thought it was 
not a good idea. 

I have a good idea very few times, and this 
was one of those times.

When she returned from visiting the new 
thrift store shop, her face was all aglow. 
There was a wonderful smile on her face 
while she carried a basket full of items 
from the store.

Looking at me, she said, "I had the most 
wonderful time at that new thrift store 
shop. It's a wonder-ful place and I got to 
know everybody there."

It certainly wasn't surprising to me. Now 
she knows all the thrift store shops in the 
area, for which she was very grateful.

If anybody wants to know what thrift store 
they should visit, my wife asks, "What are 
you looking for?" When they tell her, she 
then tells them which one to go to and how 
much they can expect to pay for that item.

I’ve learned that wisdom is a vital aspect 
of life. A Bible verse that says this is James 
1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask 
of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and 
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

When I recognize how short I am on 
knowledge, I then can come to God who 
is liberal in His giv-ing of knowledge. My 
choice is, rely on my wisdom or the wisdom 
of God. That’s the only wisdom I can 
trust.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with 
the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. 
Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@
gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.
com.


FAMILY MATTERS

 By Marc Garlett

HOW ESTATE PLANNING CAN REDUCE THE HIGH 
COST OF DYING

As anyone who has personally 
dealt with loss 
knows, when a loved 
one dies, those left behind face major challenges, 
not only emotionally, but financially and legally as 
well. Successfully navigating all those challenges becomes 
a necessary part of honoring the life of a loved 
one who’s passed. Unfortunately, so many of us just 
aren’t prepared for that eventuality when it happens.

Determining Dying’s True Cost

To further shed light on just how vastly unprepared 
most of us are when dealing with death, in March 
2022 Goldman Sachs released its first-ever “Cost 
of Dying Report”. The report surveyed more than 
2,000 Americans—each of whom had lost a loved 
one in the last five years—to get a clearer picture of 
dying’s true cost to families. 

The report looked not only at the financial burden 
dying brings, but it also examined the cost “in 
time, in stress, in lost productivity, and in strained 
interpersonal bonds.” Paired with the results of the 
research, the Cost of Dying includes a collection of 
insights from the study’s advisors, partners, and experts 
in the bereavement field. 

These contributors seek to clarify what we can learn 
from the study’s numbers and explain how we can 
use the figures to rethink how to best serve the bereaved, 
“as individuals, as organizations, and as a 
society.” The following are some of the study’s most 
notable findings, along with corresponding insights 
from some of the report’s contributors. 

THE FINANCIAL COST

Nationally, following a loved one’s death, the total 
bill—including the funeral and hiring all the other 
professional support—cost families an average of 
$12,702. The average cost of a funeral was $7,267, 
and according to the National Funeral Directors Association, 
that cost has risen 7.6% in the last 5 years. 

On top of the funeral, families paid an average of 
$5,846 to hire additional professionals, such as lawyers, 
financial advisors, and realtors. The average 
bill charged for these services include the following 
breakdown:

Professional Services 

 $4,461 real estate professionals

 $3,910 lawyer fees

 $2,456 accountants

 $1,637 therapists or social workers

Notably, the $3,910 in lawyer’s fees was nearly doubled 
when estates required the court process of probate, 
which was the case for one-third of the families 
surveyed. When you include lawyers, court costs, 
and all the other related fees, the total cost to complete 
probate for families averaged $16,800.

Fortunately, by placing assets in a properly created 
and maintained revocable living trust, assets held 
by the trust will pass to your loved ones without the 
need for probate or any court intervention following 
your death or incapacity. And that’s especially important 
in California, where the costs of probate are 
even higher than the national averages.

Paying The Final Bill

So how did families pay for all these expenses? Only 
1 in 7 families had any of the costs associated with 
their loved ones’ death paid in advance or were able 
to use payable-on-death funds. Additionally, more 
than 50% of families had to deal with estates that 
included debt. To foot the bill for these expenses, 
36.1% of respondents used their own savings or investments, 
while 42.4% used their checking accounts 
or credit cards.

For most families, the financial costs associated with 
loss were exacerbated by a lack of information about 
exactly how much money they should expect to 
spend, notes internal medicine physician Shoshana 
Ungerleider, MD, in the report’s section on death’s 
financial cost. Compounding that stress, Ungerleider 
says, was the families’ fear of making a mistake that 
would make their financial burden even worse.

“A majority of families find themselves unprepared 
for and under-informed about the real financial costs 
of death, with few available resources for finding 
out,” writes Ungerleider. “They can spend months 
or years terrified that a wrong move would wipe out 
their inheritance or even their own savings.”

As an example of what such a mistake might look like, 
Ungerleider notes that a lack of proper estate planning 
can lead to the deceased’s home being seized 
after death “to pay off expenses incurred through 
Medicare, even if the family member who was their 
primary caregiver is still living in the home.”

This is another area where thoughtful estate planning 
can be invaluable. It is important to ensure you 
and/or your senior parents can qualify for Medicare 
and other benefits, without putting the family home 
or other assets at risk. 

In fact, your estate plan can – and probably should 
- include various asset protection tools designed to 
keep your financial wealth out of the hands of third 
parties, and responsibly in the hands of your loved 
ones, no matter what happens in the future.

Best,


Marc Garlett, Esq.

Cali Law Family Legacy Matters

www.caliLaw.com

626.355.4000

This material was created for educational and informational purposes 
only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are 
seeking legal or other advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be 
obtained on your own, separate from this educational material.

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com