Category: December – January 2012

  • Tax Planning & Preparation

    Our tax system for the most part remains firmly based upon the calendar year. At year-end, it’s time to take a snapshot of your income, deductions and credits. Based on that data, your tax liability for the year can be computed. If year-end strategies are implemented before your tax liability is “set in stone” it…

  • When Good Drugs Go Bad

    Help your drugs help you! Your medications only work as well as they are handled. Where do you keep your medicines? Are they in different places — some in the medicine cabinet, some in the kitchen, and some in your car, purse or elsewhere? It’s important to keep track of your drugs so you know where they…

  • Your Mind & Body Diabetes: Are You Too Sweet?

    Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high levels of blood sugar. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 8.3% of the population, have diabetes. Of this number, 7 million are undiagnosed. Among seniors, 10.9 million, or 26.9% of all persons over the…

  • Your Mind & Body: Diabetes

    Diabetes: Are You Too Sweet? by Dr. Ritabelle Fernandes, MD from the December-January 2012 issue of Generations Magazine, Hawai‘i’s Resource for Life

  • It’s a Good Move

    As Baby Boomers begin to retire, many are choosing to downsize to a simpler life. After their children leave the nest, many seek a more comfortable living environment as they enter senior-hood. Some opt to spend their retirement years living in a smaller home, retirement community, or with their adult children. This transition is often…

  • Safe Harbor Home Care, Inc.

    Are you a caregiver to your mom, dad or others in your family? Have you ever thought about seeking assistance but felt guilty about accepting outside help? You may feel like you’re giving up on your elders, but, in fact, receiving help can actually make you a better caregiver. Taking care of your elders means…

  • Respite & Reprieve

    Finding just the right place to provide care and attention for older adult family members can be challenging for caregivers who work full time during the day. It’s a serious dilemma: physically, the older adults may be fine, but may have dementia or be experiencing memory loss, and therefore cannot be safely left at home…

  • Autumn Lessons for Retirement

    In autumn, animals know winter is coming and take the steps to prepare. Bears grow thicker fur and settle in for peaceful hibernation. Squirrels collect and store acorns and other nuts. Birds, favoring warmer weather, migrate south for the winter. When it comes to preparing for retirement, we can learn from the animals—making sure the…

  • New and Powerful Estate Planning Tool: the Hawai‘i Asset Protection Trust (APT)

    Two years ago, Hawai‘i joined Delaware, Nevada and 11 other states in validating self-settled spendthrift trusts. What this means is that you can now create a trust for yourself that will protect your assets from your own creditors. This is a huge departure from prior law, which expressly prohibited such trusts. For convenience, we will…

  • Diabetes: Are You Too Sweet?

    Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high levels of blood sugar. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 8.3% of the population, have diabetes. Of this number, 7 million are undiagnosed. Among seniors, 10.9 million, or 26.9% of all persons over the…