Asset Planning, Inc Blog

All of us at Asset Planning hope everyone has had a great start to their New Year! I wanted to send out a few reminders as you may still be cleaning and organizing from all of the holiday madness.

We are still accepting pet supplies and old medications to donate for disaster relief until January 15th. If you have anything to donate please drop them off at our office by then.

Also, around this time you may be getting ready to do your taxes and are going through paperwork. This is a perfect time to remind you that we offer free document shredding for our clients all year long. If you have any sensitive paperwork that needs to be shredded you can bring that to the office any time.

If your items are bulky or heavy and you need assistance please call me in advance and I will be glad to help you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Melani

Seeing the news about all of the displaced animals due to the hurricanes and wild fires has deeply touched our hearts. We have decided to try to do our part by collecting donations for local relief efforts as well as Puerto Rico. The rescue organizations are in desperate need of medications and new or gently used pet supplies. If you would like to donate to this cause feel free to drop off any of the items listed below at our office from now until Jan 15, 2018. 

MEDICATIONS- They accept dog, cat and people medications. Expired medications are fine too.
Antibiotics (ANY) 
Especially: Clavamox, 
Baytril, Albon, Biaxin,
​Doxycycline, Ciprofloxin, 
Orbax, Augmentin,
Amoxicillin, Cephalexin,
Clindamycin, Erythromycin,
Azithromycin, Fungal Meds, 
Heartguard, Nexgard,
Ivermectin, Dewormer
Lixotinic, ​Frontline, ​Revolution
Capstar, NutriCal
Ear & Eye Infection Medications
Pain & Anti-Inflammatory Medications 

We will be shipping the medications directly to Puerto Rico.

New or gently used items such as:

Dog beds
Grooming supplies
Leashes and collars
Dog toys
Dog sweaters
Dog crates
Dog treats- hard and soft
Dry or canned dog/puppy food
Dog carriers and crates
Poop bags
Stainless steel bowls

These items will be dropped of at a local SPCALA location to be distributed by DART (Disaster Animal Response Team) where they are needed the most.

Two-Step Verification is a process that requires you to use two methods of authentication before logging into an account. You'll log into your account with the password that you set up and then they will either text, call or email you a code to verify that it is you logging in. There's also an option to remember the device, so if you're on your personal computer that you trust you won't have to get a new code each time. This may seem like a little bit of a hassle but it adds an extra layer of security to your accounts and we think is so important to set up, especially with so many data breaches happening every day. I personally have it set up on all of my accounts and I feel confident knowing that I will receive a notification letting me know that my account was logged into on a different device.

If you need any help setting this up on your accounts feel free to call me to make an appointment and I will be happy to help you.

Enjoy your weekend,

Melani

Most of us live on our smartphones. Our whole lives are connected to them, from social media to online banking and more, so keeping them secure is more important than ever. I found a great article I wanted to share with you that has some tips on keeping your smartphone safe.

https://socialnomics.net/2017/05/10/7-best-practices-for-ensuring-smartphone-security/

I hope you find these tips useful!

Don't forget that if you're ever in need of notary services, we offer them free to our clients. Give me a call at 714-827-5794 to set up an appointment.

Have a great weekend!

Melani

After witnessing the devastation from the recent hurricanes and California wildfires I thought it was a good idea to send out a reminder about having a “go bag” or emergency kit ready. In the case of the wildfires the residents had little to no notice. This gave them no time to collect any of their belongings for themselves or their pets. Having this “go bag” ready and easily accessible is extremely important. On the FEMA website I found a comprehensive list of what you should have in your emergency kit as well as some additional tips to help you prepare for an emergency.It is attached below. Take some time to look over the list and get your "go bag" ready.

Emergency_Kit_Checklist-_FEMA.pdf

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, my daughter is now a college freshman. We also recently celebrated another milestone with her, the 18^th birthday. Though, Ashley is technically an adult, I know she has some years ahead before she is truly an adult with real responsibilities and maturity. With that in mind, I knew I didn’t want to be caught in an emergency situation where I was unable to help my daughter because of her “legal” adulthood. I once experienced a medical emergency nightmare with my unmarried adult brother whom was hospitalized in an incapacitated condition. Due to HIPPA privacy laws and no established health care directives, we could not see him, get any information, nor make any decisions about his care.

To be prepared in a healthcare emergency, a HIPPA release and Healthcare Directive are two forms that can be prepared in advance by your adult children or any adult. A signed HIPAA release permits healthcare providers to disclose your health information to anyone you specify. A stand-alone HIPAA form does not have to be notarized or witnessed.

An Advanced Healthcare Directive form allows you appoint an “agent” to make medical decisions on your behalf in case you are incapacitated and cannot make such decisions for yourself. You can also specify your wishes regarding life support. Each state has different laws and forms governing these legal documents. If your child is out of state, complete the away and home state forms. Here are the links to the state of California’s standard forms. Also be sure to check with your insurance company or Medical Provider if they have their own form to sign as well. I know Kaiser does.

https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/consumers/ProbateCodeAdvancedHealthCareDirectiveForm-fillable.pdf

http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Documents/Authorization%20for%20Release%20of%20Protected%20Health%20Information%20DHCS%206247.pdf

With today being the first day of autumn I thought it would be a good time to send out a reminder about Medicare open enrollment that happens every year from October 15th- December 7th. If you would like to make any changes to your Medicare plan now is the time to do it. If you are currently working, most companies also have their open enrollment times as well and it is a great time to review your current benefits. Be sure you are taking advantage of a flexible savings account for healthcare or childcare. Also, you may want to increase your 401k contributions because of a recent raise in pay. Those are just a couple things to consider when reviewing your benefits.

Another important reminder is if you've received a medicare premium increase due to a higher annual income but you have had a major lifestyle change that has decreased that income you can appeal the higher premiums. Life changing events such as retirement, divorce, death of a spouse, or work reduction are a few examples of a basis for an appeal.

Here is a link to an article that gives you step by step instructions on how you can make an appeal.

https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/omha/the-appeals-process/part-b-premium-appeals/index.html

Our thoughts are with those in Texas who have been impacted by the devastating flooding and damage from Hurricane Harvey. For those of you who are looking for ways to help, TD Amertitrade is matching donations dollar for dollar. This is a great way to make your contribution go even further to help more people. If you would like to donate please click on the link below.

TD Ameritrade Disaster Relief Donation

Nothing is more annoying then getting numerous calls a day from unknown or out of the area numbers. They never leave a message and tend to be unwanted robotic sales calls. I was starting to see an increase in these calls and I was getting frustrated with the constant disruptions in my day. Luckily for me Sandy came accross a service called Nomorobo. Nomorobo is a service that automatically detects phone calls from illiegal robocallers and blocks them from going through to your phone. Legal robocalls, from schools and doctors' offices for example, are allowed through. The service is free for VOIP landline phones and they recently released an app for iPhones, the Android app is coming soon. Sandy and I each started the free trial for the iPhone app and are really pleased with how it has been working so far. I have not received a single unwanted call since signing up. Another great feature of the app is that if a robocall accidentally gets through you can report it directly on the app and they will add it to their blacklist right away. This is by far better than the Do Not Call Registry that doesn't seem to do much to deter scammers from calling. I have included a link to the Nomorobo website below with a screen shot of some features it offers. If you are annoyed by these calls it's definitely a service to check out!

https://www.nomorobo.com/

Have a wonderful weekend!

Melani