Law Office of Paul Black - August 2018

Law Office of Paul Black - August 2018

404.410.6820

www.Georgia-EstateLaw.com

AUGUST 2018

LEADING IS LISTENING How Dancing Can Save Your Life

A s someone born with two left feet, I never expected to discover a love for dance. If you went back and told my younger self that I would become deeply involved in the Atlanta swing-dance scene, he would say, “Sorry, you have got the wrong guy!” But life has a funny way of surprising you at the most unexpected times. It was the spring of 2012, and I found myself wedged between new beginnings. I had just started a practice after graduating law school while simultaneously going through a tough breakup. With the opening of a new career and the close of a relationship, much of the support structure I had enjoyed throughout my schooling was gone. To keep my world from being turned completely upside down, I knew I had to be active and make new friends. That is when I discovered the swing-dance community. Atlanta is blessed with some amazing, talented people who hit the dance floor to have a great time. But more than anything, the dancers are incredibly supportive, helping novices like me find the confidence and develop the skills to cut a rug with the best of them.

Despite my aforementioned left feet, I kept going out dancing, and I found my rhythm. It was a great source of exercise and socializing, to say nothing of the music. I have danced to swing, Cajun, blues, contra, and so much more since first starting out. And believe it or not, all this dancing has made me a better lawyer. There is a phrase professional dancers use that should be taught in every law school in America: “Leading is listening.” To be a great lead in swing dancing does not just take confidence — it requires that you listen to and leave room for your partner.

As an elder law attorney, I have also seen the good swing dance can do for the young at heart. There are swing-dance regulars who are well into their 80s — a few of them are former clients of mine! It is great to see so many elders out there. Dance is not just a great source of exercise; it also strengthens neural plasticity, helping to combat dementia and Parkinson’s disease. During my mother’s battle with early-onset Parkinson’s, one of our goals was to get her dancing again. I held out hope I would get to dance the Texas two-step with her one day. But the disease took a turn for the worse, and we never got that dance. So now I have a personal goal. Inspired by the folks I have met in this community, I am determined to keep dancing well into my 80s. Finding this passion is one of the best things I have ever done. I have had plenty of bad days in my life, but I have never had a

If you are too aggressive a lead and try to dictate every move, the person you are dancing with is never going to trust

you. The same goes for lawyers who think they

“know best” and ignore the wishes of the people they are supposed to represent.

bad night dancing. I always leave in better spirits than when I arrived.

Great leads and great lawyers listen to the person they are working with while walking them through the steps with confidence. In my experience, that is the best way to help someone feel they are in good hands.

-Paul Black

Do you have estate planning or elder law-related questions? Write to me at [email protected] with Asked and Answered in the subject line. Your identity will be kept confidential. The opinions offered in this column are not intended to replace or substitute any financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice.

Georgia-EstateLaw.com | 1

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com

HOW TO BOOST YOUR RETIREMENT FUNDS When Your Funds Are Lower Than They Should Be

Having money saved is crucial for adults aged 50 or older who plan to retire in the near future. Some people are prepared for retirement, having saved a sufficient amount throughout their lives. However, there are people who, despite having tried to save, come up short in their retirement funds. This can send them into a panic. Women account for the largest percentage of people who do not have enough money in their retirement savings by the time they reach the age of 50. A survey produced by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies shows that many women who reach retirement age will not have adequate funds to support themselves. Despite having a higher savings rate, the average amount women have saved at the age of 50 is about $35,000, compared to $120,000 for men. What is the reason behind this? According to the survey, women often have a large gap in their financial savings at some point in their lives. They are more likely to work part-time or stop going to work to take care of family members in need. By working less, women tend to earn less money, which prevents them from putting away sufficient funds for their retirement. This also affects whether or not they are covered by

their employer’s retirement benefits, since most employees are required to be full-time in order to receive any benefits.

If you are nearing retirement age, do not fret — you still have options available to you. If you are working, look into your company’s retirement plan, especially if they offer a 401(k). According to the IRS, those who qualify (i.e., someone who joins the plan and is 50 or older) can contribute up to $24,500 a year. To learn more about what options are available, it is crucial that you speak to a planning specialist. By working with someone who understands retirement, you will create a solid plan and ensure that you successfully enter and enjoy your retirement.

Asked and Answered: A Legal Advice Column

Dear Paul, My father is now in his late 80s, has increasingly poor vision, and has had two fender bender accidents in the past six months. He frequently runs over the curb when he enters or leaves his driveway. We are very concerned about his safety and that of others on the road. Whenever my brother and I try to talk to him about his driving, he is very defensive and often angry. We run errands for him, but he knows that he would lose much of his independence if he could no longer drive. We have gotten all kinds of conflicting advice on what to do. Please help! –Nervous Near Norcross

Dear Nervous, Driver safety has an impact on all of us, and concern about the driving ability of an aging loved one is one of the most frequent challenges that families voice to me. I have several recommendations for you. • Schedule a time when you and other members of your family can talk to your father openly about your concerns. Review AARP’s great resource (Google: “AARP —We Need to Talk”) to help organize your concerns, conversation, and action plan. • Encourage your father to visit a local vision specialist to see if new eyewear improves his driving ability You may all be pleasantly surprised. • Working with a driver rehabilitation specialist is one way to get a clinical and behind-the-wheel assessment that might help him improve his driving skills. You can find one at www.aded.net

• You can complete a Request for Driver Review (DDS-270) by the Georgia Department of Driver Services. This one-page form, which you can find online, provides an easily completed checklist allowing you to report your concerns about factors that affect someone’s ability to drive safely. When DDS receives this form, it will order the driver to visit a physician for a medical evaluation within 30 days. • Offer your father alternatives to driving, including senior-friendly options such as GoGoGrandparent, which allows seniors to use Uber or Lyft without a smartphone, with 24/7 operators who offer support and text updates to families. • You can also find a huge list of helpful resources for aging drivers at the Georgia Division of Aging Services’ “Getting Where You Need to Go” page at aging.georgia.gov/getting-where-you-need-go.

2 | 404.410.6820

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com

3 BENEFITS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING Why Celebs and CEOs Swear by It

Tom Hardy, Christian Bale, Chris Hemsworth, Liv Tyler, and Beyonce — all of these celebrities have used intermittent fasting (IF) to meet their fitness goals. Fasting dates back thousands of years — in fact, one of the most popular fasts is called the “Daniel Fast” because it mirrors Daniel’s abstinence from food as portrayed in the Old Testament. This ancient trend is gaining popularity in the nutrition community. Here are three ways IF One of the most common misconceptions about fasting is that you cannot eat any food. The truth is that we all fast for a period of time each day while we are asleep; intermittent fasting simply extends that fasting period. After eating, your body transitions to a fed state where your food is used for fuel. Paleo Balsamic PORK CHOPS might benefit you. WEIGHT LOSS

However, after 8–10 hours without food, your body enters a fasted state in which your body burns stored fat for energy, which leads to weight loss and more muscle definition. With intermittent fasting, you fast for a specified period — typically 16 hours — and eat all of your meals within an 8-hour period. MENTAL ACUITY Fasting has become popular among the Silicon Valley crowd in recent years due to the endorphin rush and mental acuity associated with IF. When food is scarce and you have not eaten, your brain sends endorphins into your bloodstream to make you more alert. Your brain then digests information more efficiently. This is thought to be a holdover from our hunter-gatherer days, when we had to be alert enough to find food or we would starve to death. CEOs in the nation’s tech capital

have begun using this strategy in recent years to increase their productivity. BOOSTED IMMUNE SYSTEM According to researchers at the University of Southern California, fasting essentially flips a regenerative switch in the body. “It gives the ‘okay’ for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” says Valter Longo, Ph.D., director of the USC Longevity Institute. “Fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.”

Practicing elder law and estate planning includes having conversations about all of the “what ifs” of life and death decisions. This often includes conversations about what we each want to happen to our body after death (burial or cremation) and how to memorialize. (Church service? Wake? Something else?) There is perhaps no more interesting figure stretching and reshaping this conversation nationally than undertaker and author Caitlin Doughty. Her LA- based company, Undertaking L.A., states its mission is “to allow families to reclaim rightful control of the dying process and care of the dead body.” This is in stark contrast to what Doughty sees as the sanitized and corporatized process of the modern funeral home whose workings are often concealed to the point that many of us have lost touch with the death process. Doughty’s 2014 debut memoir, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” is an eyes-wide- open tour of what it is like to work in a mortuary. In contrast, her most recent book, “FromHere to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death,” documents her journey to learn how other cultures care for their dead. For those curious souls willing to read about death rituals in cultures including Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, and North Carolina’s Cullowhee tribe, Doughty’s travelogue reminds us that what we often see as the few options for memorializing death are but a tiny sliver on a worldwide spectrum. BOOK REVIEW ‘FROMHERE TO ETERNITY: TRAVELING THE WORLD TO FIND THE GOOD DEATH’

INGREDIENTS

• • • • • • •

4 boneless pork chops 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons raw honey 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 400 F. 2. Generously season pork chops with salt and pepper. 3. In a saucepan, combine balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme. 4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently for 5–6 minutes. 5. On high heat in an oven-safe saute pan or skillet, sear the pork chops for 1–2 minutes on each side. 6. Brush chops with half of glaze and transfer to oven. 7. Roast 6–8 minutes. 8. Remove from oven and brush with another coat of glaze. Let cool 5–10 minutes and serve.

Georgia-EstateLaw.com | 3

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com

Decatur Office Location: Main Location One West Court Square, Suite 750 | Decatur, Georgia 30030

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

Georgia-EstateLaw.com 404.410.6820

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

How Dancing Can Save Your Life

1

2

Women and Retirement Asked and Answered

3

3 Must-Read Benefits of Fasting Paleo Balsamic Pork Chops Book Review: Caitlin Doughty

4

The Amazon of the South

GEORGIA TRAVELS

THE AMAZON OF THE SOUTH

Visit the Altamaha River

Towering cypress trees dip their roots beneath the water along both banks. From within their shaded canopy, you can hear the calls of rare birds above the river’s murmur. Paddling down the heart of the Altamaha, you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a South American rainforest. But this ancient waterway is as Georgian as they come. The Altamaha River begins near Lumber City in central Georgia, where the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers meet. From the heart of the state, the Altamaha begins its slow, 137-mile journey to the sea. This waterway and its tributaries form one of the most robust estuaries on the East Coast, almost all of it virtually untouched by man. This has led

Perhaps it is this primordial landscape that gives rise to the legends of Altamaha-ha, such as the sea monster of the Georgia Coast. Described as anywhere from 30–70 feet long, this dinosaur-like creature supposedly dwells near the mouth of the river, with sightings near the town of Darien dating back to the 1800s. It has since become one of the most frequently sighted monsters in North America. Real or not, the Altamaha-ha has become a staple of coastal Georgian folklore. Whether you want to catch a sight of the Altamaha-ha or just get out on the river to relax, there are plenty of opportunities to do so.

The river offers over 138 miles of navigable water trails, making it a paradise for kayakers and anglers. If you are not comfortable venturing out on your own, plenty of local guide outlets would be happy to take you on an excursion! The Nature Conservancy designated the Altamaha as “one of the last great places in the world,” and it is right in our own backyard. If you are looking to spend some time on the water this summer, you owe yourself a trip down this incredible estuary.

many to dub the river “the Amazon of the South.” To float down the river gives you a true sense of timelessness. While a few bridges cross her, the Altamaha is undammed from start to finish. Many stretches of the surrounding wilderness look much the same as they did centuries ago, when the Timucua people first settled these banks. Today, the Altamaha has a higher concentration of rare Georgia wildlife than any other river in the state.

4 | 404.410.6820

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com