Grandparents Active with Their Grandkids May Live Longer According to This New Study!

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   February 11th, 2017

Can Grandparents Live Longer Simply By Caring For Their Grandchildren? Study Says…

Grandparents who help out with childcare or provide support to others in their community tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study from Berlin, Germany. While having full-time custody of grandchildren can have a negative effect on health, occasional helping can be beneficial for seniors.

An international research team has found that grandparents who care for their grandchildren on average live longer than grandparents who do not. The researchers conducted survival analyses of over 500 people aged between 70 and 103 years, drawing on data from the Berlin Aging Study collected between 1990 and 2009.

In contrast to most previous studies on the topic, these researchers deliberately did not include grandparents who were primary or custodial caregivers. Instead, they compared grandparents who provided occasional childcare with grandparents who did not, as well as with older adults who did not have children or grandchildren but who provided care for others in their social network.… View Full Article → “Grandparents Active with Their Grandkids May Live Longer According to This New Study!”

Estate Planning in Ohio ALERT: Is My Trust Still Appropriate?

By Joseph E. Balmer   |   January 28th, 2017

Estate Planning And The Revocable Living Trust

A perfect example of the benefits of reviewing your estate planning documents on, at least, an occasional level, can be seen with the marital revocable living trust, also sometimes known as an “A-B” trust.  Should you have such a document, and if it was prepared long ago and never updated, it is probably set up to accomplish exactly the OPPOSITE of what you want it to do.

There are many types of trusts.  There are many reasons to set up a trust.  With a married couple, the most common type of trust is a marital revocable living trust.  Historically, the main purpose of this type of trust was to avoid the probate process at death and to maximize estate tax savings.  Prior to the year 2000, all assets passing to a surviving spouse were exempt from estate taxes.  However, for assets not passing to a surviving spouse, the maximum estate tax exemption for Ohio estate taxes was $25,000 and the maximum estate tax exemption for federal taxes was $600,000.  … View Full Article → “Estate Planning in Ohio ALERT: Is My Trust Still Appropriate?”

LGT Parent: What Impact Does It Have On a Child?

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   January 21st, 2017

“‘Not a big deal’? exploring the accounts of adult children of lesbian, gay and trans parents (LGT)”

A recent article in Psychology & Sexuality, studied the effects that having an LGT (lesbian, gay, transexual) parent has on adult children.  Because most research to date has centered on younger children and their well-being at the time, the authors of the article wanted to look at how these children feel now that they are adults and have families of their own. Entitled, “‘Not a big deal’? exploring the accounts of adult children of lesbian, gay and trans parents,” authors Victoria Clarke and Eleni Demetriou surveyed 14 adults.  Thirteen of the subjects were born to a heterosexual couple where one partner was later outed as gay, lesbian or trans.

In their research, the authors hoped to learn what impacts, if any, these children who were now adults, experienced during their formative years.  The participants included 13 women and 1 man who ranged in age from 21 to 60 and completed on-line questionnaires in lieu of in-person interviews.… View Full Article → “LGT Parent: What Impact Does It Have On a Child?”

Child Custody Evaluations: Helpful or Harmful?

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   January 7th, 2017

Child Custody Evaluations Tool Under Fire

Divorces can be messy – potentially even more so when children are involved.  Emotions run high and often cause rational thinking and behavior to be thrown out the window.  Because of this, the court system has different “tools” to help it determine what is in the best interest of the children when custody is at stake.

One such tool is a child custody evaluation.  These evaluations are typically conducted by a mental health provider who give the court a recommendation regarding where the children should live, parenting time, and basically an overall picture of the family dynamic as it relates to the custody case.

In theory, these evaluations should help both the parties involved and the court.  However, a recent study seems to show otherwise.

In an article published in Court Review, Dr. Ira Daniel Turkat, a licensed psychologist and family law litigation specialist, conducted what he claims to be the first known quantitative study on the detrimental effects of child custody evaluations.… View Full Article → “Child Custody Evaluations: Helpful or Harmful?”

Special Needs Trusts in Ohio in a Nutshell

By Joseph E. Balmer   |   December 31st, 2016

Should an individual with special needs receive a large sum of money, it is often wise to have the individual or his/her fiduciary establish a special needs trust in order to not jeopardize assistance already being received such as Medicaid or SSI.  Should a parent or grandparent wish to provide funds to a special needs individual and not jeopardize assistance being received, a special needs trust may also be a good idea.  However, before embarking on such an endeavor, it is critical to understand the different types of special needs trusts and their requirements or else risk losing the benefits already being received.

Set Up Special Needs Trusts To Protect Existing SSI Or Medicaid Benefits

The most common special needs trust created by and with assets of a third party is known as a discretionary “supplemental needs” trust.  With such a trust, there is no requirement that funds be turned over to the state upon the death of the beneficiary.  … View Full Article → “Special Needs Trusts in Ohio in a Nutshell”

Do you Believe in Magic?

By Guest Contributor Donna F. Ferber, LPC, LADC   |   December 24th, 2016

Some weeks ago, I tuned into an NPR radio interview with Penn and Teller, those amazing magicians/entertainers who have for decades defied logic and fooled us with their brilliant illusions.

What caught my interest was the oddity of the interview. The dynamic duo of Penn and Teller were being interviewed separately. This intrigued me as I wondered how NPR would handle empty radio air space if the usually silent Raymond Teller continued to be mute.

Luckily, he did not. And among the thought provoking things he had to say was this, “Nothing fools you better than the lie you tell yourself.” Of course, he was talking about magic. But I was thinking about denial. It never occurred to me before that moment that magic has so much in common with denial. The point of intersection is simple-We WANT to believe.

We know when something is “off”; maybe we can’t see it, but we feel it.… View Full Article → “Do you Believe in Magic?”

Take the ‘Gimme’ out of Christmas!

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   December 17th, 2016

PUBLISHERS NOTE: ‘Tis the season for me to at least think about writing a new blog article for the holidays. I have been publishing the Ohio Family Law Blog for 9 years now, so I decided to go back into the archives and read some of my past posts about the holidays. This one from December 11, 2010, caught my attention. The traditions mentioned in it have continued in our family.  The post stands the test of time (at least in my mind). So, here it is once more!

I haven’t written an article about the holiday season for the Ohio Family Law Blog for a couple of years. At that time, I mentioned that this is certainly an appropriate time to reflect upon core values as well as memories of past Christmas celebrations and traditions.

In our family, we were very involved with a Christmas project providing gifts for needy children for many years while our sons were growing up.… View Full Article → “Take the ‘Gimme’ out of Christmas!”

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