Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 31, 2021

12 Mountain View News Saturday, July 31, 2021 

HOW TO REPLACE IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE LOST 
OR MISSING 

Dear Savvy Senior:
Can you tell me what I need to do to replace a variety 
of important documents? Our house burned down a 
few months ago, and we lost everything including our 
home property deed, car titles, old tax returns, Social 
Security, Medicare and Covid vaccine cards, birth certificates, 
marriage license and passports. Stressed Seniors 


Dear Stressed: 
I’m very sorry for your loss, but you’ll be relieved to know that replacing important documents 
that are destroyed, lost or stolen is pretty easy once you know where to turn. Here are the replacement 
resources for each document you mentioned. 

Birth certificates: If you were born in the United States, contact the vital records office in the state 
where you were born (see CDC.gov/nchs/w2w/index.htm for contact information). This office 
will give you specific instructions on what you need to do to order a certified copy and what it will 
cost you – usually between $10 and $30. 

Car titles: Most states offer replacements through a local department of motor vehicles office. 
You’ll need to complete a replacement title application form and pay the application fee, which 
varies by state. You’ll also need to show ID and proof that you own the car, such as your vehicle 
registration or your license-plate number and VIN (vehicle identification number). To get an application, 
go to DMV.org, pick your state, and print it or fill it out on the site. 

Property deed: To access your house deed, contact your county clerk’s office, where deeds are usually 
recorded – you may be charged a small fee to get a copy. 

Marriage certificate: Contact the vital records office of the state you were married in to order a 
copy (see CDC.gov/nchs/w2w/index.htm). You’ll need to provide full names for you and your 
spouse, the date of your wedding, and the city or town where the wedding was performed. Fees 
range from $10 to $30. 

Social Security cards: In most states (except in Alabama, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, 
Oklahoma and West Virginia), you can request a replacement Social Security card online for free 
at SSA.gov/myaccount. 

If you live in a state that the online service is not available, you’ll need to fill out form SS-5 (see 
SSA.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf to print a copy) and take it in or mail it to your nearby Social Security 
office along with a number of evidence documents that are listed on this form. For more information 
or to locate the Social Security office that serves your area, call 800-772-1213 or see SSA.gov/
locator. 

Medicare cards: If you are enrolled in original Medicare, you can replace a lost or damaged Medicare 
card by calling Medicare at 800-633-4227, or by logging into your 

MyMedicare.gov account. If, however, you get Medicare health or drug benefits from a Medicare 
Advantage Plan, such as an HMO, PPO, or PDP, you’ll need to call your plan to get your card 
replaced. 

COVID-19 vaccination card: Your first step is to go back to your vaccination site and see if they’ll 
give you a replacement. Bring an ID and try to recall the date you were vaccinated. If that’s not 
feasible, contact your state health department immunization information system (see CDC.gov/
vaccines/programs/iis/contacts-locate-records.html) where you should be able to print out a replacement 
sheet. 

Tax returns: To get copies of old tax returns start with your tax preparer, who usually keeps copies 
of your returns on file. You can also get copies of federal returns directly from the Internal Revenue 
Service. You’ll need to fill out and mail in IRS form 4506. To download this form IRS.gov/
pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf or call 800-829-3676 and ask them to mail you a copy. The cost is $43 for 
each return requested. 

Passports: You can apply for a replacement passport at a Passport Application Acceptance Facility. 
Many post offices, public libraries and local government offices serve as such facilities. You can 
search for the nearest authorized facility at iafdb.travel.state.gov. The fee is $145. 

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. 

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett 


HOW TO – AND HOW NOT TO – LEAVE A 
RETIREMENT ACCOUNT TO YOUR MINOR 
CHILD 

Though you are technically allowed to name a minor child as 
beneficiary of your 401(k), IRA, or other employment-sponsored 
retirement account, it’s never a good idea. Minor children cannot 
inherit the account until they reach the age of majority—which is 
18 in California but can be as old as 21 in some other states. 

If a minor is listed as the beneficiary, upon your death your retirement account would be 
distributed to a court-appointed custodian, who will be in charge of managing the funds 
(often for a fee) until the age of majority. There’s no guarantee the court will appoint your 
spouse, the child’s other parent, or someone else you might have chosen yourself. But even if 
the court-appointed custodian lines up with your own wishes, that person will have to post a 
yearly bond and be subject to court oversight. The process is time consuming, expensive, and 
nonprivate. 

Add to that, your minor child will inherit the entire account, with no more oversight, no 
strings attached, and no protections as soon as he or she reaches the age of majority. Consider 
the scenario: a child loses one or both parents, and upon their eighteenth birthday inherits a 
large sum of money with no boundaries, direction, or control on what they do with it. 

If you want your child to inherit your retirement account, you should consider setting up 
a trust to receive those assets instead of simply naming your child as a beneficiary of the 
account. You can then name a trustee to manage the account until your child is ready – and 
responsible enough – to manage those assets on his or her own. By doing so, you get to choose 
not only who would manage your child’s money for them, but within the trust’s terms, you can 
stipulate how and when the account’s funds should be distributed and used, which can help 
them from being lost or squandered. 

Through a trust, you can also put additional protections in place which would preclude 
any assets within the trust from being part of a divorce decree, lawsuit judgement, creditor 
collection, or bankruptcy seizure. 

Talk to an experienced estate planning lawyer about creating a trust to hold your 401(k) to 
ensure that if you don’t get the maximum benefit from your retirement savings, they will. 


A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission to help parentsprotect what they love most. Schedule an appointment to sit down andtalk about ensuring a legacy of love and financial security for your familyby calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.CaliLaw.com for more information. 


SENIOR ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA MADRE 

CHAIR YOGA 

Every Monday and Wednesday, 10-10:45 amChair yoga with Paul is coming back! Class be held in the Covered Pavilion in Memorial 
Park in front of the Senior Center. Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall 
relaxation. Classes will maintain a distance of 6 ft between participants. ALL participants must be wearing 
masks for the duration of the class. All equipment used will be sanitized after each use before it is stored. Each 
participant is responsible for providing their own water, masks and needed equipment or supplies for each class. 
Class size is limited so please call 264-8923 to reserve your spot. 

TAX ASSISTANCE 

If you are in need of assistance with your 2020 taxes please know that help is a phone call away. Don Brunner, Tax 
Saver, is not accepting in person consultations at the moment but available for a phone or email consult. Please 
call him at 626-447-8829 or email TAXSAVERD@gmail.com 

CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP 

Have you ever thought about trying your hand at writing? Do you have an idea for a book and no idea how to 
begin? This program may be for you! Katy Nishimoto, Senior Editor with Random House, has graciously volunteered 
her time to lead this incredible writers workshop for seniors. Program participants will be given a prompt, 
a 10 minute writing task and a group reading. Discussions, readings and feedback to help guide your creative 
thinking into creative writing. If you have interest in writing nonfiction, a memoir, fiction or poetry then please 
call or email today to reserve your spot. Class will be limited to 10 participants. No writing skills or experience is 
required. Call Lawren Heinz at 626-355-7394 to reserve your spot and receive class information. 

MUG CRAFT 

Tuesday, May 18 at 11:00 am Join Lawren in making a delightful, colorful and artistic nail polish marbled mug! 
All supplies will be provided for you and we will meet in the Hart Park House patio. Please wear clothes you don’t 
mind getting nail polish on. To reserve your spot or ask questions please call Lawren Heinz at (626) 355-7394 or 
send an email to lheinz@cityofsierramadre.com 

IDEAS

 Do you have any ideas for programming? Is there a class or club you would like to see in our Senior Commu


nity? Please call or email Lawren Heinz with ideas or questions. 626-355-5278 x 704 lheinz@cityofsierramadre. 

com

 City staff are monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engage


ment and interfacing less with the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media re


sponses are being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner. If at any time additional information 

is needed, please contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a 

– 5:30p, as they are taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate per-son. For messages that may trickle in 
otherwise, please note our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the Community Services Department, 
(626) 355-5278 x702. 
SIERRA MADRE SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN 

The City of Sierra Madre is following these procedures to provide current communication in light of COVID-19 

and keep the Senior Community and families informed of essential information and resources. City staff are 

monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement and practic


ing social distancing in the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 

being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner.

If at any moment additional information is needed, please contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 

355-7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate 

person.

For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the 

Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

Community Services Department will continue email communication with Senior residents and aging com


munity members.

If you know of family members or neighbors who may benefit from accessing information electronically, and 

to receive the department’s Seniors Newsletter via email but may not otherwise have been included on an email 

group list, please send your request with email address to the following team members: Lawren Heinz Lheinz@ 

cityofsierramadre.com and Clarissa Lowe Clowe@cityofsierramadre.com.
City Social Media will continue via Facebook as well as Instagram, and information sharing will include updates 
as details becomes available. 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …July Birthdays*

V,Nina Bartolai, Mary Lou Caldwell, Louise Neiby, Betty Hansen, Christine 
Durfort, Shahrzad Azrani, Jeanne Borgedahl, Janet Cox, Dorothy Montgomery, Bess 
Pancoska, Janet Swanson, Linda Thunes, Barbara Watson, Pat Alcorn, Karma Bell, 
Alice Clark, Dorothy Jerneycic, and Betty Dos Remedios

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

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

DON'T JUDGE A PERSON BY THEIR COVER-UP 


Have you ever had one of those 
Déjà vu moments? The other 
week I was in the shopping mall 
to pick up some items for the 
Gracious Mistress of the Par


sonage. She shops so much that I have to help her 
on occasion. 

On this occasion, I was walking down the mall and 
stopped dead in my tracks. Coming at me was someone 
that looked like my old aunt Elsie. She had the 
same hairdo, wearing the same clothes, and I was 
shocked because aunt Elsie died over 20 years ago. 

I did have a moment of temptation that I wanted to 
go up and ask her if she was aunt Elsie. I feared that 
she would answer me, "Yes, and what's that to you?" 

That would have convinced me that it was indeed 
aunt Elsie. I just let her walk by and tried not even 
to glance in her direction. 

Aunt Elsie was one of the relatives in my family that 
goes way back. Once you met her, you would never 
forget her for shore. She was one of those kinds of 
people. What you thought of her the first time you 
met her was not who she really was. 

At first, you thought she was a sweet, darling older 
lady. She did have an infectious smile when you first 
met her. But believe me, first impressions sometimes 
are the opposite of reality. 

I suppose everybody has an aunt like aunt Elsie. She 
has taught me one thing: don't judge people by their 
cover up. They may not be who you think they are. 
And such was aunt Elsie. She was always trying to 
bring everything to focus on her. 

If you went to a family picnic, the whole conversation 
had to be focused on her. No matter what anybody 
was saying, she would interrupt them and say 
something about herself that she wanted people to 
know. It didn't matter if what she was saying was 
true or not, just that she was getting the attention 
she wanted. She always wanted people to think that 
she was a lot sicker than she actually was. 

As soon as she would walk into a crowd, she would 
begin coughing and then blow her nose. That little 
act would draw attention to her, attention she wanted. 
It didn't matter to her if the attention was good, 
bad, or indifferent. What mattered to her was the 
attention. 

She wanted people to think she had some physical 
problems, and often she would walk very slowly 
with her distinctive limp. Sometimes she would use 
a cane and go struggling along, which usually got 
the attention she wanted. 

When she was struggling along like that, people 
would open doors, smile at her, and give her a good 

greeting. She would say, “Thank you so much. I really 
need all the help I can get.” 

They would think they were doing a good deed for 
the day, but the only thing they were doing was 
playing up to her narcissism. I must say she was 
an excellent actress and nobody knew it. One day 
she asked if I could take her to the mall to do some 
shopping. 

When she asked me this, I thought this was my opportunity 
to determine what was going on with her. 

“Oh,” I said enthusiastically, “I’d be glad to take you 
to the mall.” We got to the mall, I helped her out of 
the car and helped her as she limped up to the door 
for the shopping mall. 

When she got in, I said, "Aunt Elsie, can you take 
care of yourself? I need to go to the other end of the 
mall and pick up some items." 

She looked at me with one of her sad looks and said, 
"Okay, but don't be long. I don't have that much energy 
today." 

As we went our separate ways, I noticed that she 
was limping along as she usually did. So I thought I 
would follow her without notice. 

I was hiding and watching her and noticed she 
stopped, looked back to see if I was anywhere in 
sight, and then strutted off like she was a teenager. 
No limping at all. 

"Aha," I said to myself. I was right. She's been playing 
us all these years and doing an excellent job of it. 

I smiled very gingerly and went and got an item, so 
she knew I wasn't fooling with her. 

When I met her, she was limping along carrying 
a bag, and when she saw me, she said, "Could you 
please carry my bag for me? It's just too heavy for 
me to carry." 

I smiled and said, "Oh, aunt Elsie, I would be glad 
to carry that bag for you. I know it must be a great 
burden for you to carry in your condition." 

As I took the bag from her, she smiled, nodded her 
head, and we went out to the car, and I took her 
home. 

I've kept this secret all my life because I had something 
on and Elsie and she didn't know it. 

I thought of the Scripture that encourages me. "Let 
nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in 
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than 
themselves” (Philippians 2:3). 

Even though I know what I know, my job is to encourage 
someone like aunt Elsie and try to give 
them what they need at the time. 

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