Senior Care equally or equitably? By Karl Karch
My parents were not wealthy. But, what little they had, they wanted to pass on to my sister and me, even at the expense of their own quality of life. They had a will and distributed their possessions equally between us. My aunt and uncle were wealthy but eventually died intestate (without a will) leaving the Florida courts to decide. Another relative of mine has only one child who has emotional stability issues. Rather than leave everything to their child, they plan on leaving a substantial portion of their estate to their grandchildren. In discussing the “who gets what” issue, many people say, “I just want to be fair”. While this sounds simple, in reality it can be very challenging and complex for seniors and their families. What does fairness mean? Does it always mean being equal? How do you “fairly” evaluate and distribute things like time, care-giving help, possessions (e.g. jewelry, art), land, or your home? What’s fair to one family member may not be to another. There are no magic formulas. However, fairness generally means either treating everyone involved the same - equally, or treating all involved differently – equitably. When everyone is treated equally, it is more likely to avoid conflict. It minimizes feelings of “playing favorites” or “Dad always liked you best.” However, it’s difficult to equally divide all resources such as land, personal possessions, home, caregiver time, or sentimental objects. When everyone is treated equitably, then the criteria for distribution must be determined. How much value is placed on prior contributions made to the seniors such as gifts of money, possessions, support, or informal caregiving? Should distributions be made to family members based on their individual needs (financial,
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August 2013
Wellness
“Porch People” Two Advance at Community Foundation
Volunteers for the blind
By Sara Mattingly
By A.E. bayne
Around here at Front Porch, we fondly refer to a certain type of community person as a “porch person” and endearingly follow their public lives. Two who we do – Lisa Biever and Casey Hu –caught our eye once again when The Community Foundation announced their promotions to Director of Donor Services, and Donor Services Manager, respectively.
physical, emotional, basic living)? Should age, gender, marital status, children, or geographical location be considered? Treating everyone equitably certainly creates its own set of challenges. It definitely helps to establish a clear and objective decision process leading to the actual distributions. Who should be “in or out” of the decision process (e.g. all children, grandchildren, nobody else)? How do you determine the value of specific resources (e.g. professional appraisers, family members)? When will allocations be made (e.g. while alive and healthy, when needs of family members change, death, tax planning)? What safeguards need to be in place to protect against a family member or outsider taking over and controlling how a senior’s resources are allocated (e.g. powers of attorney for medical and financial decisions, checks and balances of power)? Older adults, and their family members if involved, will need to be asked the right questions to help guide them through the process. It is important to consult with an attorney and financial advisor with estate planning expertise to make certain you are complying with all laws and have an ability to adjust your plans over time should the need arise. Don’t abdicate the decision process to the state inheritance and intestacy laws because of difficulty with the process. You’ve done a great job of planning your life, so take care in planning your estate. Karl Karch is a local franchise owner of Home Instead Senior Care, a licensed home care organization providing personal care, companionship and home helper services. Please go to www.homeinstead.com/FredericksburgVA
Front porch fredericksburg
“Director of Donor Services [Biever] is a new position that reflects our recent growth. We’ve doubled our overall asset size in the last three years,” said Executive Director Teri McNally. “The new positions will allow us to maintain our excellent donor services and add more new charitable funds to benefit our community. I’m delighted to have greater staff capacity for our donors. They will notice the difference.” Biever will join McNally in tailoring the foundation’s philanthropic services to the needs of area donors. “Lisa B” – as editor Rob calls her (she is now “Lisa G” - as in woodmaster/master carpenter Jason Gallant’s wife and mother of their child) became a “porch person” during her days as lead singer for a bluegrass/C&W style band playing the annual Down Home Ball at Eyeclopes Downtown Greens to benefit Community Gardens; she later became DG’s executive director for awhile. “As we make it easy for people to give through The Community Foundation, we grow permanent charitable funds that make a positive impact on lives throughout the region,” McNally said. Hu came to the Foundation last July with 18 years experience in claims account management at GEICO. She will administer the foundation’s charitable gift distribution process. Casey was given “a spot on the front porch swing” from her days of tireless voluntarism at St. George’s Episcopal Church, which the Grogans attended. Her husband, Stephen, is a player in The Believers folk/bluegrass band.
Sara Mattingly, another “porch person,” is a periodic contributor to the magazine.
Nestled amidst the foliage that fronts the corner lot on Caroline and Amelia streets is a tidy white sign that reads “Volunteers for the Blind.” Inconspicuous and discreet, it belies the powerhouse within: founder/president, Holly Frisch. With office assistant, Sandy Ferris, and canine companion, Scully, (above) Holly heads this non-profit volunteer org that assists people with visual impairments in the Fredericksburg area. Holly started Volunteers for the Blind in Prince William County in 2006 after attempting to find a shopping assistant using her local library’s
community bulletin board. A librarian and neighbors stepped in to help, but the experience left her feeling apprehensive. The organization met with lackluster response, which Holly attributes to that county’s high unemployment rate among the visually impaired. She moved VFB to here in 2010 hoping the community’s higher population of professionals and students would take advantage of its programs; “I thought people who were working had more need for volunteers because they would want to keep their professional lives separate from their personal.” It was the right move. Since that time, Volunteers for the Blind has received a steady stream of requests for assistance from the community and has built a reliable corps of trusted volunteers. “We have four thriving programs that provide four distinct services. The first is our volunteer readers program. Even with today’s technological advances, it’s often difficult for people who use synthetic speech. What looks perfectly obvious on the page isn’t so clear when your computer is reading it to you; it can be difficult to understand and enter information in the right places.” Confidentiality in these cases is crucial, so Holly and Sandy match volunteers with clients based on the type of need the client may have. Our second program trains volunteers as shopping assistants. The assistants accompany us, allowing us to make our own decisions about the products. One of these days, I would like to change our name to Volunteers WITH the Blind, because I like to think of volunteers doing things with rather than for them.” Assistants never handle cash or credit cards, to protect both them and the client. They will sometimes write out checks. The third program was born of
necessity. Many clients do not have experience with managing an assistant, so Volunteers for the Blind offers an orientation for working with a volunteer. It includes lessons in time management skills, diplomatic skills, interviewing, hiring, and termination skills. Holly acknowledges, “Volunteers are a scarce and valuable commodity, and we can’t afford to have anybody squander or alienate them.” Volunteers for the Blind offers a fourth, favorite program: Internship. Holly shares, “The national unemployment rate among people who are blind is between 70 and 80%, which hasn’t changed in 30 years. I was a vocational rehabilitation counselor for 11 years, and an employment specialist, and I’m a person who is blind who has had to struggle to find employment. As my contribution to address this problem, I created an unpaid internship program where people can get work experience. We’ve had great success.” Some have gone on to learn alternative techniques of blindness at The Louisiana Center for the Blind, giving them an advantage when they pursue independent lifestyles and professional lives.” Holly concedes, “We’d like more people to be aware of our services and recruit more volunteers. We desperately need contributions and run year-round fundraisers selling jewelry and emergency preparedness kits for pets and people. Most importantly, our VFB family is important to us. We truly couldn’t do it without them.” For information, visit http://volunteersfortheblind.org/, or call (540) 899-8847.
A.E. Bayne is a Jill-of-all-trades who has lived in Fredericksburg for fifteen years
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August 2013
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