What’s Next? Navigating Life and Legacy in Alaska

When a person is no longer able to make healthcare decisions for themselves, they appoint someone as the power of attorney to make decisions on their behalf. As the power of attorney for both her mother and her aunt, it is important for Liz to be updated on their healthcare preferences. In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with her mother and her aunt to discuss their personal healthcare wishes. 

These conversations can be messy and difficult, and it can be challenging to put aside your own beliefs and desires for your loved one’s healthcare. When Liz’s mom explained that she did not under any circumstances want any form of life support, Liz’s own beliefs toward short term interventions colored what she heard rather than allowing her to really accept what her mom had said at face value. As power of attorney, you have to put aside your own personal preferences to prioritize your loved one’s choices. 

If you are appointed as power of attorney for a loved one, it is important that you have these tough conversations and stay current on their healthcare preferences. Whether you are asking about their opinions on receiving life support, taking certain medications, entering a long term care facility, or having a surgery, it is important to talk things out and be clear on their desires. 

Quotes

• “Discuss your health care preferences with your healthcare representative periodically to ensure that he or she knows what your current preferences are.” (2:16-2:23 | Liz)

Links:

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Legacy interviews are offered to estate planning clients so that they can pass on their loved one’s stories whenever someone passes away.  In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with her own mother guided by the legacy interview questions. She shares her life experiences, how she wants her body handled when she does pass, who she’d like to take care of her cats, and more. This is a difficult conversation at times and contains explicit language and discussions of past illegal activities.

In interviewing her mother, Liz discovered new things not only about her mom’s past, but about her own. When family members are given the opportunity to share their stories and the stories of their loved one’s, everyone benefits. These stories will be cherished by those who remain after a loved one passes on as a way to celebrate and honor their life. Liz’s mother tells of her own childhood experiences with her parents and half-sister, along with memories of parenting Liz. She expresses her desires to be cremated and for her cats to be looked after. When asked about her role model or hero, she responds with one powerful word, ‘you’. 

Even though this conversation was difficult for Liz to have, she is happy to have had it. This legacy conversation will be incredibly meaningful for Liz and her family members when her mother does pass away. Use the questions from the interview as a guide and have these types of conversations with your loved ones in order to help keep your family’s history alive. 

Quotes

• “The reason I tell you I love you a lot is because I don't remember ever hearing either one of my parents tell me they love me ever.” (9:21-9:29 | Liz’s mom)

Links:

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Many people struggle with how to talk with their loved ones about planning for funerals or memorial services. It can be hard to know how to start the conversation or might just feel too morbid to talk about. However, talking about how someone wishes to be remembered is not inherently morbid. It may feel like you’re talking about death, but really you’re talking about life and how you or your loved ones want to be remembered.  In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with Dean Lambert, who has worked with funeral professionals for nearly 30 years helping them connect and serve families facing one of the most challenging moments of their lives. 

There is a lot involved with planning for a memorial service. It is much easier to approach when you’re not also trying to cope with a death and the time constraints around what to do with the body. A memorial service should honor not only the wishes of the deceased, but also be a meaningful celebration for the living. Depending on your or your loved one’s religious beliefs and preferences, there are many different options for memorial services, burial, and cremation. Talk with your family members about their lives before death is even on the table, that way you will be better prepared for knowing how they might like to be remembered and celebrated. 

It’s important to be able to talk about death with your loved ones, as it is a natural part of life. Anything that can be done in advance to prepare such as conveying your wishes or setting money aside for a funeral, will be a big help to lessen the financial strain and emotional stress for surviving family members. 

Quotes

• “Whatever your beliefs are about what you want for yourself, you should honor those to the best of your ability. However, if you love your family, and you love your friends, doing in advance allows you to gain their input. And in that way, they can celebrate you and go off into their journeys and into their lives in a way that was meaningful to them as well.” (24:18-24:44 | Dean)

Links:

The Love Always Project: https://www.lovealwaysproject.org/

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Many people feel uncomfortable talking about death, and this can lead to a lot of difficulty when a loved one passes away if they have not yet had a chance to discuss their wishes with their family members. In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with Tracy Foster, a long-time resident of Juneau and family service counselor with Legacy Funeral Homes.

As Tracy explains, when someone dies, there is a whole lot of planning to do, and it can be extremely taxing on the family of the deceased to have to simultaneously sort out all the little details and grieve. By planning ahead for what you would like done after your death, you are saving your loved ones from added stress and ensuring that they will not feel any remorse for having had to guess about your wishes. Whether you choose to be buried or cremated, or you prefer a viewing over a memorial service, and even down to where you get buried, and what you’re wearing  there's much to consider before you die. To make the process easier, Tracy suggests writing down your wishes ahead of time or having a discussion with your next of kin.

Planning ahead for your funeral can be daunting. But as daunting as it may be, having a plan made in advance can take a huge weight off of your family’s shoulders and help them to feel more at ease throughout the process. By discussing your wishes with them before your death, you can ensure that you will get exactly what you want and your family will not have to wonder if they made the right choices. 

Quotes

• “When I first started in this business, there were a lot more burials than there are today. I've noticed over the years, it's really changed and we now have mostly direct cremations.” (4:12-4:28 | Tracy)

Links:

Connect with Tracy Foster:

To set up an appointment with Tracy, please call 907.789.0611 

Legacy Funeral Homes - https://www.legacyalaska.com/

Juneau Contact - https://www.legacyalaska.com/contact/juneau-ak-alaskan

“Preplanning checklist” including notes for creating your obituary - https://www.legacyalaska.com/advanced-planning/preplanning-checklist

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Grief resulting from loss is a natural part of life that can be difficult to navigate. After the collective experience of the global pandemic, grief is a more common emotional state than ever. In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with Katie Cranor, a local psychotherapist, to talk about resources for coping with your grief and how to best support your loved ones. 

Grief is a process of saying goodbye and that process looks different for everyone. Though there are commonly known stages of grief, not everyone experiences each stage in the exact same way. Having someone to grieve with who really understands what you are going through is critical for long-term healing. Unfortunately, the majority of people who extend their support will only do so for a short time. They will not reach out at that first anniversary of the death or for their first birthday, and then you will be left to face these challenging days alone. This is why it is sometimes best to have a professional that you can speak with so that you know someone always has your back. 

It’s important to understand that you are not alone in your journey to healing. Join this week’s episode of What’s Next to learn more about coping with grief and the available mental health resources and support groups in Alaska. 

Quotes

• “I think we can count ourselves among the truly fortunate if we have a friend or family member, or a neighbor or companion of some kind, who knows how to truly ask, how are you? Because the lifespan of friendship, relationships, and knowing how to ask ‘how are you’ in the wake of losing someone that you love is actually quite narrow.” (13:42-14:32 | Katie)

Links:

Connect with Katie Cranor:

Catholic Community Service Grief and Bereavement Support: http://www.ccsak.org/grief--bereavement-support.html

Juneau Counselor and Therapist List: https://www.juneaumentalhealth.org/copy-of-private-practice-mental-hea

Somatic Regulation Exercises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RsMwG2YKyE

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Social Security can be a complicated system to navigate, especially because the rules differ so much from person to person. Depending on your own personal circumstances such as where you live, what kind of job you have, and if you have a spouse that is working, there are different requirements for claiming Social Security benefits. In today’s episode host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with Cynthia Gibson, Certified Financial Planner and Owner of Wayfinder Wealth, to discuss in detail how to navigate the Social Security retirement system. 

Typically it is best to wait until your full retirement age to begin taking Social Security benefits. Your retirement age is based on the year of your birth and is the age at which you qualify for your full benefit amount. You can technically start receiving benefits early at age 62, but then you are reducing the amount you could have received had you waited. Likewise, if you put off taking your benefit, it will grow over time. Depending on your career, you may be ineligible for benefits. Jobs such as teachers and most employees for the state of Alaska, generally do not pay into Social Security. In Alaska, there are additional provisions in place such as the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision that must be considered in certain cases, adding another layer of complication to navigating the system. The best rule of thumb is to keep asking questions because the rules change as you age and as your circumstances change. 

Tune into this week’s episode of What’s Next to learn more about how to best navigate the Social Security system. Learn about spouse survivor benefits, the pros and cons of waiting until a certain age to begin receiving benefits, and how the system differs in Alaska versus other states. 

Quotes

• “Here's the Social Security rules. The rules change from your full retirement age. Your full retirement age is the magic age where once you hit that almost anything is possible for you. So that full retirement age is based on your year of birth. So if you're born anywhere between 1954 and 1960, is going to be 66, 66 and two months, 66 and four months, they step it up. So whatever your full retirement age, you figure that out for yourself. And you know that the rules before you turn your full retirement age are going to be different than that year that you turn your full retirement age, and then they're going to change again after that birth month. So say you turn full retirement age, June of 2022. Well, now, you're free and clear, almost anything goes.” (16:16-17:09 | Cynthia) 

• “Once you hit your full retirement age, then you get the full amount that's stated on your statement. And if you want to delay, you can delay and you're going to get more out of that benefit.” (18:59-19:12 | Cynthia)

• “General rule of thumb is if you can't work for a variety of reasons, but you're not disabled, and you need the cash flow, then generally people are taking it earlier. They're not working. Even though most of the literature is going to encourage you, especially from Social Security to delay till age 70.” (21:17-21:50 | Cynthia)

• “If you wait till 70, you're giving up all those years of not taking it. Right? So that could be, say you're giving up $2,500 a month, that's 30,000 a year for three years, that's $90,000 that you're giving up. So to break even you've got to at least make it to 80 and there are many people that don't live that long.” (24:04-24:25 | Cynthia)

• “It's always important to ask. Just keep going back and asking questions. Don't just take what somebody tells you, not even Social Security.” (29:16-29:26 | Cynthia)

• “People forget that the rules change. Remember that once you turn your full retirement age, you can make as much money as you want. And in the calendar year in which you turn your full retirement age, whatever month that is, up until that month, you can make more than double what the other number is.” (36:54-37:18 | Cynthia)

Links:

https://www.ssa.gov/

To get your statement: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html

Windfall Elimination Provision: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf

Government Pension Offset: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

When thinking about how and where you are going to invest money, it may make sense for you to think about the causes that matter the most to you. There are ways to invest that will help you not only reach your personal financial goals, but will also align with your core beliefs. In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with Jonathan Thomson, Certified Financial Planner with First Pacific Financial to talk about sustainable and responsible impact investing. 

Jonathan belongs to a specialized team that focuses on ESG portfolios which stands for environmental, social, and corporate governance. By using the ethos ESG tool, Jonathan and his teammates can discover what causes clients care about most and use that information to build their ideal investment portfolio. There is a diminished faith in institutions on a whole right now and ESG investing is attractive to consumers because they are more likely to put their faith in individual companies. By getting people invested in companies that they really believe in, people are more likely to stick out the hard times in the market and stay invested for the long term. 

Tune into this week’s episode of What’s Next to learn more about ESG portfolios and how to align your investments with your values in a way that is both sustainable and impactful. 

Quotes

• “We'll use the ethos ESG tool to give us a little bit of insight into what types of causes clients really care about and might like to include more in their investment portfolios. At this time, we're not customizing every client's portfolio specifically for them, but this may be something that we're able to do in the future.” (27:46-28:09 | Jonathan)

• “Depending on the size of the portfolio, we have an additional layer which does allow for a little bit more customization that's called the resilient portfolio. And that's a collection of about 65 individual company stocks that are chosen for their resilience and for their sustainability long term.” (31:54-32:17 | Jonathan)

• “Part of the reason we believe so much in this ESG investing is because public faith in institutions is just at a low point. There's so much gridlock in the Senate, particularly right now. I would say that people are actually more loyal to individual companies.” (36:08-36:30 | Jonathan)

• “The best thing that our clients can do is just stay invested for the long term. So if we can get the best quality investments from the onset, and if we can identify those causes and those companies that they really believe in, that's going to help them stay invested during those difficult times.” (37:26-37:43 | Jonathan)

• “I would just say be bold. I think it takes a lot of courage to attempt something. I mean, obviously failure is okay, but I think it takes inner strength to even start the process of voluntarily undergoing a transition.” (1:01:45-1:02:05 | Jonathan)

Links:

Connect with Jonathan Thomson:

https://fp-financial.com/

https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

After someone dies, taxes and paperwork are probably not the first concern on their loved ones’ minds, but they are unavoidable. It’s important to learn about different types of taxes and what forms you may need to file in the event of a loved one’s death, so that you are prepared when the time comes. In today’s episode, host Liz Smith is joined in conversation with Ryan L. Beason, Certified Public Accountant and Partner at Elgee Rehfeld. 

The first important concept to understand is your basis which essentially boils down to what you initially paid for something. Any money you make off that purchase minus the amount you spent initially is your capital gains. This provides an incredible opportunity to gain when someone passes away and their personal residence enters their estate, because the basis is stepped up to the fair market value from the date of their death. In Alaska, people have the unique opportunity to opt into a community rental agreement, and it is typically highly recommended to do so as a way of reducing taxes. There are several different tax forms that need to be filed after a loved one’s death, and Ryan explains the different reasons for filing each one in addition to extra forms for things like certifying someone as the official handler of the estate. 

Tune into this week’s episode of What’s Next to learn more about different types of taxes, capital gains, community property agreements, and what forms need to be filed after someone dies. 

Overview:

Quotes

• “Anything above your basis, or what we call your purchase price, would be capital gains.” (11:30-11:34 | Ryan)

• “When one spouse passes away, say five years previously, they get what's called a one half basis step up to fair market value. So whatever the fair market value is on that date of the first spouse’s death, half of that basis gets stepped up to the fair market value.” (23:12-23:28 | Ryan)

• “Alaska is one of the unique states where you can elect into a community property agreement. Most states are either community property or not community property. So this is something that we kind of recommend that as people kind of update their wills and estate plans they do go add the community property agreement in place.” (25:07-25:27 | Ryan)

• “The tax brackets are pretty high at low income levels.” (35:23-25:27 | Ryan)

• “Be aware that if you do have a refund coming in that final 1040 and you have to paper file, it's going to be a while before you see that money.” (38:23-38:30 | Ryan)

• “It's not that you have to know all these concepts or how they work, but it's good to know that maybe I need to go talk to somebody at least to kind of point me in the right direction. Because there are potential opportunities that can be missed if you don’t.” (38:59-39:13 | Ryan) 

Links:

Elgee Rehfeld Website | https://www.elgeerehfeld.com/

Post-death tax information | http://www.courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/probate-tax-matters.htm

For all of Liz Smith’s resources give her a like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizsmithlaw 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm