Wearables Have Stepped up to Monitor Your Health

A Guideway Trust client, Shirley, decided that the new year was time for making long overdue changes to her life. She made an appointment to create a Living Trust, which includes a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive, that she’d been putting off for years. She started doing yoga twice/week and got serious about using the smartwatch her kids gave her for Christmas.

Smartwatches keep getting smarter

A 62-year old bookkeeper, Shirley has high blood pressure and some other health issues. She’s delighted with her smartwatch—she sets alarms during the day that remind her to get up from her desk and stretch–this is especially important as tax season looms. She now takes a brisk walk during her lunch break, and she’s using her smartwatch to monitor her blood pressure and oxygen levels.

Today’s smartwatches and other health-related wearables do a lot more than count steps or let you see how many calories you’ve burned.

Socks monitor foot temperature, helping reduce foot ulcers for diabetes patients

San Francisco-based Siren is producing a wearable for your feet–machine-washable socks for people living with diabetes and neuropathy. The socks come with a Bluetooth hub that plugs in and lets a team of nurses monitor the temperature of the foot, which Siren says has been shown to reduce diabetic foot ulcers by up to 87.5 percent. On the market for about five years, Medicare covers the cost. You need a prescription but not a smartphone.

Other health wearables on the cusp

• Swiss startup Aktiia announced plans to bring its automated wrist-worn 24/7 blood pressure device to the United States. The company has about 15,000 customers in Europe.
• Abbott announced a new line of consumer “biowearables” to continuously track signals for glucose, ketones and lactate. It will eventually track alcohol levels.
• Worn on the back of the arm, FreeStyle Libre is about the size of two stacked quarters and is used widely by diabetics. A tiny filament the width of three human hairs is placed just below the surface of the skin, where it measures molecular biomarkers. Data is sent via Bluetooth to an app on your smartphone every minute, giving users insights into what’s going on in real time. It’s available by prescription and lasts 14 days, when the user peels it off and applies a new one.

Information accuracy is best when backed up by a doctor or FDA

While there are no guarantees with these wearable devices, you generally can put more faith in a device that your doctor prescribes or recommends, or that has the blessing of the FDA.

Swiss company Aktiia plans to make its blood pressure watch available through doctors rather than as a direct-to-consumer offering, at least initially. The company is engaged in clinical partnerships and pilots in the U.S., including a study with hypertension patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. As the technology evolves, so will the safety and data protocols.

Data must be understandable and secure

When in doubt, reach out to your doctor. The onus is on the makers of the wearable devices to clearly explain what the data mean and the consequences. You should also be informed about a device’s limitations. A good example: When you launch the ECG app on the Apple Watch, you’ll see a message that says “Apple Watch never checks for heart attacks.”

If you’re not aware of privacy issues these days, you’re not paying attention. Find out how the device makers and medical providers plan to safeguard your information and keep it confidential. The FTC affirmed in September 2021 that health apps and connected devices that collect or hold fertility, glucose level, heart health and other health data must notify consumers in the event of a breach.

With the promise comes peril

“There’s promise in all of this technology, but also peril,” says Patrice Harris, chief executive officer and cofounder of digital health care company eMed and former president of the American Medical Association. “I always say proceed with caution and have some curiosity.”

Creating a Living Trust: One of the most thoughtful things you can do for your family

A Living Trust is a legal document that contains instructions for what you want to happen to your assets when you die. For my family, it meant that when my parents died, all of their affairs were in order, they had transferred all of their assets into the Living Trust and identified their heirs. Without a Living Trust, their estate would have gone into Probate and my brother and I would have been dealing with this long, expensive process—even while mourning the death of our parents.

Guideway is proud of our comprehensive Living Trust package that includes a Power of Attorney and Advanced Healthcare Directive. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley,

Women, Divorce and the Economic Realities

Each year, nearly 2.8 million men and women go through Divorce. In the first year after the Divorce is final, a wife’s standard of living may drop almost 27 percent. Compare that to her husband’s standard of living—it may increase by as much as 10 percent! In the nearly 20 years that Guideway has been assisting our clients with Divorce, it’s hardly surprising that women are concerned about financial survival in the high-priced Bay Area.

Many factors contribute to lowering the standard of living         

Women generally end up with custody of the kids, and child support may not be enough to cover the actual cost of child rearing. For stay-at-home moms or those who held part-time jobs, getting back into the workforce and finding well-paying jobs is extremely difficult. It takes years to get on a career path to start making a good living. Divorce is expensive—there are court costs, therapist bills, getting established in new living situations based on a single paycheck. If you are contemplating divorce, now is the time to rethink your spending. Where can you cut back and start saving money that you’re going to need?

Do your research. Talk to single moms; consult with a financial adviser

If you’re contemplating Divorce, start doing some research. Talk to your friends who are single moms. Be fully aware of just how difficult it will be—especially if you don’t have family to help with the kids. Consult with a lawyer and a financial advisor. Make sure you’ve fully considered the impact of Divorce on your kids, your spouse and your life. Think about timing. If you’ve been married nine years, you might want to stick out the last year, so you can collect on your ex’s earnings record.

Make copies of all financial documents

Make a copy of all tax returns, loan applications, wills, trusts, financial statements, your mortgage, banking information, brokerage statements, loan documents, credit card statements, deeds to real property, car registration, insurance inventories, and insurance policies. If you have assets that you brought into the marriage, these will remain yours as long as you can document your ownership.

Be suspicious. Look for signs that your husband may be hiding income

Make sure you’re including any safe deposit boxes and reviewing pay stubs, retirement plans, and insurance policies. If your spouse’s business generates a lot of cash, find a forensic accountant to look for signs of additional income that he may be hiding. Don’t overlook hobbies or side businesses that generate income. Here’s an example: My neighbor Allen makes exquisite knives in his workshop that he sells for up to $1K/each. Working with iron and metal is his hobby, and when he sells something, there’s no record of it, and he doesn’t pay any taxes. But at $1K/each, he’s generating a nice little revenue stream. California is a community property state, and you’re entitled to half of this kind of income.

Did you help your husband get a degree or pay for grad school?

My accountant put her husband through law school, and he’s now a partner in a prestigious San Francisco law firm. When he wanted a divorce, she put her savvy CPA brain to work and received a generous compensation for those years she worked to put him through school.

Consider big-picture tax consequences

Get an accountant to help you make these decisions because they will have profound effects on your future and that of your children.

• Monthly alimony or a lump sum?
• What is his retirement plan worth?
• Should you keep the family home or sell it now?
• Who pays the mortgage until it sells?

Selling the family home is a difficult decision, but in too many cases, women hang on to the house because of the emotional bonds. They want their kids to stay in a neighborhood where they have friends and feel safe. But in too many cases, that home is too expensive to maintain. The constant upkeep, the landscaping and repairs, the mow and blow guy who comes once/week. All of this becomes a burden. Better to move to a smaller home in a neighborhood that’s more affordable.

Become your own advocate. Prepare for your future

Be informed. Taking an active role in the divorce negotiations will help you reach a better settlement. During our Guided Mediation, we often see couples improving communication through the mediation process. They will need this as they raise their kids together. Stand up for yourself and get your share so you’re able to take care of yourself and your children financially.

If you stayed home to take care of your kids, you’ll need to find a way to support yourself and your children. Get career counseling and training. You may need to go back to school, so prepare for the expense of tuition and books. You’re creating a new life for your family.

Guideway’s Divorce and Mediation Services

Guideway has been assisting Bay Area couples with Divorce for nearly 20 years. While the majority of our clients may not have worked out the details, they know they are willing to reach agreement on division of assets and a parenting plan—and those are the critical components of an Amicable Divorce. Our Guided Mediation is for couples whose Divorce has stalled for whatever reasons. We guide you through it, and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

The Crisis of Caregiving: A Legal Checklist

If you’re paying attention, you’re aware that the subject of caregiving is coming up a lot more frequently in the news and in conversations with friends and colleagues. The AARP is devoting one of its monthly newsletter to a variety of topics related to caring for America’s aging family members. Two years of Covid have made the situation worse. While we don’t hear enough about it, many Covid survivors are left with conditions as severe and varied as organ failure, brain fog, memory loss, fatigue, loss of smell and taste, etc. Many people are no longer able to return to their pre-Covid lives or employment. It’s their family members who are left coping with their care.

If you’re a caregiver, part of your job may be to keep track of your loved one’s legal matters. 

1. Creating a Living Trust

A Living Trust is the legal document that outlines the way in which your assets will pass on to your loved ones when you die. Our Living Trust package also includes a Will, a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive. These legal documents will allow an appointed person to make medical or financial decisions for those who are incapacitated or no longer able to make these decisions for themselves. A loved one needs to create these documents when he or she is still capable of making legal decisions. With the diagnosis of dementia on the rise, testamentary capacity— a person’s legal and mental ability to make or alter a valid legal document—has become a growing concern.

2. Make a family plan; share caregiving responsibilities

Not surprisingly, two out of every three caregivers in the United States are women. Somehow they’re getting it done–holding down full-time jobs, taking care of the home, raising their kids and providing regular support for family members with chronic illnesses or disabilities.

When possible, share caregiving responsibilities. One of my colleagues is part of a large family that’s sharing the care of their elderly family members. Both children and grandchildren take turns with doctor visits, pharmacy runs, shopping, etc. They created a schedule and documented it for accountability. For one grandparent whose vision is failing, her young granddaughter comes over every Saturday to make breakfast and read to her grandmother—a date they both look forward to.

3. Organize important papers

Most people don’t realize how many legal documents they already have, or how many they will need for matters that arise.

Important documents include:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce decree
• Citizenship papers
• Death certificate of a spouse or parent
• Power(s) of attorney
• Deeds to property
• Deeds to cemetery plots
• Military discharge papers
• Insurance policies
• Pension benefits
• Miscellaneous financial documents—to banking, savings accounts and brokerage accounts

4. Explore potential financial help

Investigate public benefits: 

• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Veterans benefits
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps)
• Medicare and Medicaid
• Online tools like AARP Foundation’s Local Assistance Directory and the National Council on Aging’s Benefits

Long-term care insurance

Examine your loved one’s insurance and retirement plans, including (where applicable) life insurance, disability coverage, pension benefits, long-term care insurance and workplace health insurance. See whether any of them covers home-health visits, skilled nursing, mental health services, or physical therapy and other short-term assistance.

To think about: Consider buying long-term care insurance before you need it. It’s inexpensive while you’re still young and healthy.

Family and Medical Leave Act

If you need to take a leave of absence from your job to care for a loved one, you may be entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Some employers offer paid family leave, and California has implemented laws mandating paid leave for caregiving.

5. Look for tax breaks and life insurance deals

Your family member may be able to claim federal tax deductions for health-care costs, including a hospital bed or wheelchair and out-of-pocket expenses not covered by health insurance. Benefits also may include remodeling the home to make it accessible and hiring a part-time home-health aide. Your loved one also may have a life insurance policy that makes accelerated death payments to help pay for long-term care.

6. Think beyond your loved one: The surviving spouse

You may also need to manage benefits of the surviving spouse. That person may be the beneficiary of an IRA, bank account, life insurance policy and/or pension benefits. There may also be a plan and money set aside to care for a pet.

A Living Trust provides peace of mind

A Living Trust is a legal document that contains instructions for what you want to happen to your assets when you die. For my family, it meant that when my parents died, all of their affairs were in order, they had transferred all of their assets into the Living Trust and identified their heirs. Without a Living Trust, their estate would have gone into Probate and my brother and I would have been dealing with this long, expensive process—even while mourning the death of our parents.

Guideway is proud of our comprehensive Living Trust package that includes a Power of Attorney and Advanced Healthcare Directive. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

How Will We Be Eating in 2022? Think Healthy

You may or may not make formal New Year’s resolutions, but many of us make little promises to ourselves–to spend more time with our families, to exercise more and eat a healthier diet. To tackle that old to-do list. Creating a Living Trust tops many to-do lists. After nearly two years of Covid and no end in sight, creating a Trust has never been more important. Our Trust package includes a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive. Make this part of your healthier New Year.

Eating a healthier diet is the overarching food trend of the year

Whole Foods’ Trends Council identified seven food trends for 2022. Who are these guys? The Trends Council is made up of local foragers, regional and global buyers and culinary experts. Their predictions are based on their experience in product sourcing and studying consumer preferences and emerging brands. Important consideration is given to how the pandemic has impacted our buying habits.

These seven trends made it to the Trends Council’s hot list

1. Ultra-urban farming: Faster time to market means more nutritious

Urban farming has gotten a big boost from technology, and hyper-local produce can be grown more sustainably. The big benefit: more nutritious produce. Brooklyn’s Gotham Greens started out with a 20,000-square-foot greenhouse, and they’re now working on their ninth hydroponic greenhouse.

2. “Reducetarianism” foods: We’re cutting way back on animal products

Americans are reducing consumption of meat and animal products. I’m now eating a mostly plant-based diet and I’ve found that many of my friends and colleagues are cutting down on meat as well—even if it’s only one or two days/week. When they do eat animal products, reducetarians make sure they’re eating high quality, like Epic Provisions bison bacon cranberry bar, made with grass-fed bison and Applegate Well Carved burgers, made with a mix of grass-fed beef and vegetables.

3. Hibiscus

Hibiscus has long been recognized for its culinary and medicinal applications. You can eat the flower straight from the plant, but it’s more generally used in tea, relishes, jam and salads. High in vitamin C, it’s packed with antioxidants. It helps boost immunity, lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

4. Buzz-less spirits

The market for nonalcoholic spirits is on fire; it’s expected to grow a whopping 35 percent by 2023. There’s a widening array of nonalcoholic drinks, and low-alcohol seltzers have seized the market. Winemakers are looking for new ways to reach the consumer who doesn’t want a buzz. Ask any of the 500+ winery owners in the Napa Valley and they’ll tell you that wine sales are down and baby boomers are no longer buying those high-priced cabernets. Consumers’ growing interest in wellness has contributed to the no- and low-alcohol products.

6. Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seed-based products are now a trend—they’re showing up in crackers, spreads, ice cream and cheese. Ben & Jerry’s new flavors are made with sunflower butter–Creme Brulée Cookie and Mint Chocolate Cookie. Those who are allergic to nuts find that they can eat delicious sunflower seed products. Think peanut butter that’s made with sunflower seeds, delivering a rich, nutty taste that doesn’t kill them--Mother Butter, Fix & Fogg Oaty Nut Butter.

7. Prebiotics

Prebiotics are special plant fibers that help healthy bacteria grow in your gut, making your digestive system work better. Prebiotics are found in garlic, onions, asparagus, bananas and barley. Drinks like Poppi have become popular for their natural prebiotics from unfiltered apple cider vinegar, keeping gut and immune system healthy.

A Living Trust provides peace of mind

A Living Trust is a legal document that contains instructions for what you want to happen to your assets when you die. For my family, it meant that when my parents died, all of their affairs were in order, they had transferred all of their assets into the Living Trust and identified their heirs. Without a Living Trust, an estate goes into Probate.

We’re proud of our comprehensive Living Trust package that includes a Power of Attorney and Advanced Healthcare Directive. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield