Tour Forward
Virginia
Virginia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tour Forward Virginia |
| Next Section |
Our Home Page
|
Lorton VA Usa |
Arts & Entertainment Events County Animal Space Science State & National Personal Videos Advertising About Press Releases Byways Magazine Top of Page
About: Lorton Valley Star Newspaper
Our contact list is not available. Top of Page Top of Page Accotink, Alexandria, Belvoir, Belmont, Byways, Woodbridge, Dumfries, Engleside, Franconia, Gunston, Inside, Lorton, Mason Neck, Meadowood, Mount Vernon, Nova, Northern Virginia, Newington, News Occoquan, Old Bridge, Pohick, Potomac, south county, Shirley, Springfield, Valley Star, Workhouse, |
Community EVENTS calendar: Always check here for EVENTS or postponed events.
The current video is through April 12. Please notice the changes to the print EVENTS calendar. Post-lite deadline is Tuesday COB so we can gather the events, write the script and record usually Thursday. Then two days to edit and post Sunday Evening. There is no April or May print issue. Sorry, Find your Lorton News here. Fairfax Connector Bus route schedule changes posted on County page. New Feature: Why Estate Planning is Even More Important During a Pandemic By Evan H. Farr, Certified Elder Law Attorney As Millie sits in her kitchen homeschooling her children, she realizes that she really doesn’t remember much of the math she learned in 5th grade. During a break, she turns on the television and a news brief flashes on the screen with Governor Northam informing Virginia residents that schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year. Millie’s husband, James, takes his lunch break to check out the supermarket to see if toilet paper, water, and eggs are back in stock. Later that evening, he retreats to the backyard to catch up with one of the neighbors who is sitting in a lawn chair on the other side of the fence, due to social distancing. This is what’s happening today, and no one knows when things will go back to normal. The rapid global impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) has been unsettling, to say the least. Social norms that we have taken for granted have been pulled from us, and have left most of us nervous for the future. The sad fact is that most of us are not prepared for the implications of a global pandemic, including when it comes to the potential fallout from not having incapacity planning and estate planning documents in place. While we remain optimistic that our widespread social distancing efforts will stem the spread of the coronavirus, we know that the situation can change rapidly, and now is the time for Americans to take action on this front. Many people have a bit of extra time on their hands right now, so this is a good opportunity for Americans to review or create their estate plans. In fact, according to Barrons, financial advisors and estate attorneys say they are “seeing a flurry of inquiries from people seeking to update or draft wills and take other estate-planning measures amid the coronavirus crisis.” As you take stock of your own plan, here are a few important things to keep in mind: 1. Get Your Estate Planning Documents in Place According to a new Caring.com survey, only 42% of U.S. adults currently have estate planning documents such as a will or living trust. For those with children under the age of 18, the figure is even lower, with just 36% having an end-of-life plan in place. The reality of COVID-19 has forced many individuals to address the “what if” scenarios that were previously unthinkable, or at least the situations that no one ever wants to talk about. Keeping this in mind, if you do not have estate planning documents in place, now is as good of a time as any to consider the opportunity before you. If nothing else can convince you, let this current global crisis do so. Having a will, a revocable living trust, a financial power of attorney, and an advance medical directive can certainly contribute to a healthy state of mind. These documents allow for the distribution of assets according to one’s wishes, the ability to make financial decisions on one’s behalf, and guidance for medical professionals on treatment and care. 2. Plan for Incapacity Our proprietary 4 Needs Advance Medical Directive® This document lets you express your wishes and authorize your agents to make medical and long-term care decisions for you in the event you are unable to do so. A general power of attorney allows someone to handle your legal and financial affairs if you’re not able to. If you don’t have these documents in place, now might be the best time to get these documents in place for peace of mind. If you do have them in place, now might be the best time to review these documents to ensure that they reflect your current wishes and name the persons who you trust will be able to tend to those matters on your behalf. In addition, make sure to discuss your health care wishes with your agents so that, if necessary, they are prepared to make decisions that reflect your wishes. If you require any medical attention in the near future, confirm that your medical provider can access a copy of your advance medical directive and is informed as to who you wish to have access to your confidential health information. At the Farr Law Firm, we use Docubank, a service that ensures your documents are available to medical professionals if and when they are needed. 3. Review Your Existing Documents Make sure that you have copies (either paper or electronic) of your existing estate planning documents, and review them to confirm that they still reflect your wishes. Review beneficiary designations on assets such as bank accounts, individual retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities. Where family situations have changed, whether it’s because of divorce or the birth of children or grandchildren, death, marriage etc., these designations often aren’t up to date. Make note of any major changes that may have occurred in your family since you last updated your estate plan and be sure to update them accordingly. Consider making updates at least every 3-5 years. Also consider whether the individuals that you previously appointed to serve as your agents are still appropriate. 4. Estate and Gift Tax Exemption Some of us are worried that the crisis may impact the election and laws surrounding estate planning. High-net-worth individuals concerned about this are engaged in planning to make substantial gifts, as they fear that the estate and gift tax exemption will be lowered depending on who takes office. (For 2020, the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption is $11.58 million per individual, and $23.16 million per couple.) Get Your Planning in Place During this Time of Uncertainty Americans feel uncertain about most things right now. Most of us aren’t fearful we’re going to die, but we want everything in place should the worst happen. When it comes to uncertainties, don’t let your estate plan be one of them. Contact us today to ensure you have an appropriate plan in place. Completing an estate plan will provide some much-needed peace of mind. Here at the Farr Law Firm, we have strategies to help everyone plan for themselves and their loved ones during this uncertain time. With advance planning, each person can retain the income and assets it has taken a lifetime to accumulate, and provide themselves the peace of mind that they are prepared should something happen to them or their loved one. If you or your loved ones have not done Incapacity Planning or Estate Planning, or if a loved one needs nursing home care or even if your loved one is already in a nursing home, please contact us as soon as possible to make an appointment for a no-cost initial consultation. For those who feel safer in their homes, we offer phone appointments or video conference appointments in lieu of in-person meetings (but we are still open for in-person meetings): Estate Planning Fairfax: 703-691-1888 Estate Planning Fredericksburg: 540-479-1435 Estate Planning Rockville: 301-519-8041 Estate Planning DC: 202-587-2797 About the Author: Evan Farr is a Certified Elder Law Attorney with offices in Fairfaxand Fredericksburg, and he and his wife, Jeannie, live on Mason Neck. Evan can be reached by phone at 703-691-1888 in Fairfax or 540-479-1435 in Fredericksburg. He also has satellite offices to meet with clients in Rockville and DC. If you have elder law questions that you would like to have answered in future columns, please send them to Mr. Farr at evanfarr@farrlawfirm.com.
Let’s be positive this term. Be a point of light with me. We need a thousand points of light; actually ten thousand. Let’s be part of a kinder, gentler nation. Let’s contribute and not just sit on the sidelines. We do not need millions of non-thinking people who are dumbed down by some ideology which suppressed their free thinking and free speech. We need citizens to understand what their government is doing instead of being numbed by Hollywood. Rebuke Political Correctness. Rebuke mean abusive speech. Rebuke brain washing. Be a peace maker. Demand full disclosure of politicians. Be the genius in your family and think twice. Question authority, analyze everything. Ask, could that be true? Is it true just because someone said it? Probably not, especially if that person has an agenda. Is it being forced on you? Is it true just because we accepted it for so long? Is it the best way or could it be better? How can I improve? Can I make it better? These are questions that keep you from being a brain-washed slave. Make your own thoughts known in a civil manner. Don’t be vulgar; that does not support your case. Realize that any group that bitterly criticizes you, especially with rude emotionally-charged language for not agreeing with them, are defending an unholy ideology because they are trying to suppress your free opinion and expression. Do not accept that. They are a thousand points of darkness. Liberal is a good word by itself, it means things we would all like. But, that’s just the word. Somewhere along the political events, it took on other meanings. So, it doesn’t work very well as a label. The liberal left now includes Socialism and an attitude of forcing policy. It’s in our schools. So, there are few conservatives being brought up. Protect your children. Do you want socialism? At one time, it was considered an evil, akin to Communism. Maybe we agree that we want a certain amount of relief for the disadvantaged who deserve help. The problem is that it is never enough in practice. Countries with high support also have crippling taxes and the problem isn’t satisfied; they also have a shrinking workforce and high welfare expenses. They seem to be on the way to an economic crash. Do we have low unemployment and staggering national debt? There are your symptoms that we are on the same track to failure. Think about it. Something has to stop. I think that the major problem with welfare, as we usually do it, is that it encourages more failure. We don’t make a priority to prevent failure. If we would give opportunity for success and challenge to make it known that people are responsible for their own success, that would pay back. But, waiting for someone to become poor enough and then provide subsistence for them to stay in that condition, does not pay back. They are then qualified to be exactly the same failure forever. Fortunately, we have an election result that breaks the back of the leftist socialist liberal conspiracy. We can now come up for air, take a breath, realize where we are headed, put the brakes on the slide, shrug off some of the unnecessary expenses, stop some of the insane bleeding, renegotiate international deals which are made from weakness and which disadvantage the U.S. Even the minorities, which you might have expected to continue to vote for the party of entitlements, have turned. They realize that they have not been helped out of their status by any welfare programs. The world is watching us hopefully. The stakes are high. But, it will be a hard road back. Jobs are already gone and the same jobs can’t be brought back. Massive retraining will be required for the new jobs. We can’t just throw up hight tariffs as that would cause more problems. However, we must start. Right now we depend heavily on China which it seems is about to have it’s own recession. If they were to collapse into depression, we’d be in short supply. Come to think if it, I need to buy a new computer in the next week. Just remember that liberal programs and unions did not keep the manufacturing jobs from being lost. But, also notice that with the jobs loss, we also exported the oil glut and the air pollution. So, a balanced approach might be good. There’s another liberal, also. This is the liberal mentality. It seeks to lead, to be in control and to have authority. That’s not bad in itself; leaders are needed. The Conservative mentality is to not be bothered, to live and let live, leaving others alone at least as long as they are left alone. It is basically a non-aggressive approach. This is also fine until the leaders become wicked in their power. Politicians tend to be liberal minded and few of conservative mind aspire to be leaders. Therefore, the liberals are better represented. And it turns out that the God fearing, are not as well represented. This is where we find ourselves, needing balance. Until, one day, one anomaly, a successful, outspoken mix, who knows how to play Television, comes along and shocks the media, stealing attention in spite of the stock owned, agenda crippled, liberal journalist idiots. He trumps them. Ha. I know that’s a pun but how could I avoid it? So, here’s the challenge to gentle minds: Given this opportunity to change the direction of the nation, you cannot continue to be the quiet, unassuming, dumbed down, isolated, self-serving, live and let live wimp that we’ve been. The Democrat party is reeling now, acting ugly and licking their wounds but they’ll regather to bring back their agenda disguised but essentially the same in four years. And they’ll try to find all kinds of fault with Republican policies because that’s what they do. We were headed for economic collapse so correcting course will bring a mix of pain but that’s an investment in the future. We have to take the helm at this opportunity and make a good show. Don’t bother to argue politics with a person. I see two reasons for this: One is that personal beliefs define a person and we are threatened to have self defining beliefs challenged and nothing counters logic more acutely. The other is that politics is like a religion, very locked in but often not on the basis of extensive conscious thought. People who grew up with a belief set may never have had occasion to fully examine the congruency of the whole. They don’t know why they believe what they believe, but they’ll vehemently reject challenge. And if you could tell someone what to believe, that would just be wrong. The problem for our country is that we don’t know what our representatives believe either. There’s a third reason not to bother to argue: The leftist ideology is like a cult in that they have their own language, redefining terms so that you can’t even communicate with them. Being bitter and foul and critical and complaining, isn’t going to get it. That’s weakness. If that’s all you’re gonna do, then just go to a movie; you’re useless. We need points of light, yes, kind and gentle but, light none the less. Everyone is uniquely gifted to be able to contribute something. Give a gift that keeps on giving. Write letters to officials telling then what you want, cause friends to write letters. Talk to representatives to sponsor change. Catch officials in their own contradictions. Effect term limits by your vote. Publish results and reactions. Be a positive contribution to the community, not just a beneficiary. Be a point of light. Yes, this is a very quick and over simplified analysis. I hate to quote history. But, again, I can’t tell you what to think, I can only, hopefully, cause you to think.
Aspiring Video Star Try-outs Lorton Valley Star is looking for a local community video star or stars to perform as spokes model, actor, news anchor for our internet news, local color programs and short information videos. Lorton Valley Star will tryout aspiring, actors, journalists, or activist hams. Add to your video resumè. This will require settings from difficult locations to studio “news desk”. Applicants must have pleasant appearance, clear speaking, own transportation and be at least 18. We do family programing you can be proud to be associated with. Our iconic image is the ©2013 Lorton post lamp and the news program is Lorton Post-lite. E-mail: Byways@LortonValleyStar.com
Color Magazine Supplement: Lorton Community Information: News and Feature Videos: Participate on Google+ Lorton Area Charities: Franconia Wanted Posters:
If guns are outlawed, only terrorists will have guns. The biggest army in the world is America's hunters. Only our banks and government can destroy us.
Byways: Lorton Valley Star Newspaper now includes a center color magazine section called Lorton Byways. Byways are the roads less traveled so this is more adventure than news. It gives us the capability of offering color advertising to Lorton Merchants. See Lorton Byways site. Contact Byways at <Byways@LortonValleyStar.com>,
Disclaimer and Invitation to Comment Lorton Valley Star provides information which we feel is useful and enlightening to greater Occoquan, Woodbridge and Lorton residents. We try to filter available information for current accuracy, however, we cannot guarantee the information for all sources. The reader accepts that Lorton Valley Star is not liable for loss or inconvenience caused by faulty information, misprints or misunderstanding of our information. In particular, we are not qualified or licensed to provide medical or legal advice and the reader should not construe anything printed in Lorton Valley Star as such advice preferring to seek qualified counsel. We pass along such information from qualified sources, unedited. Check with individual venues for accuracy of events. Lorton Valley Star may from time to time espouse an editorial position in our columns on subjects which should be of concern to greater Lorton residents. If you disagree with anything we have published, we welcome your comment, in e-mail to: eicbox@LortonValleyStar.com. We’d love to hear from you. Please refer to the issue, page and headline you are responding to. Be civil. Anything you write may be printed as part of a public response. |
Click On Web Links
|
|
Top of Page
Next Section Lorton VA Usa Home Videos Lorton Weather |
--> http://alexgatewest.com |
Contacts: |
Copyright © 2005 Lorton Valley Star Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Contact: <eicbox @ LortonValleyStar • com>,
