Current Events

Jan 27, 2020

Cremation Now More Popular than Traditional Burials in America

Cremation became the top choice in 2015 and has risen in popularity ever since. According to statistics from the National Funeral Directors Association, more than half of all Americans who die this year will be cremated. The association predicts that 80% of the US will choose cremation by the year 2040.

One of the driving factors is cost. Funeral costs continue to climb, as well as prices for burial plots and other incidentals. In 2016, the average cost of a funeral was $8,000, and a casket alone was between $2,000 and $10,000. That same year a direct cremation cost a mere $2,400.

Changes in religious attitudes are also partially responsible for the trend. Fewer people consider themselves religious today than in the past, lessening the need for a traditional funeral in a church.

Family members are often scattered across the US, making it more difficult to arrange a timely funeral. It is much easier to opt for cremation and arrange a memorial service at a later time.

Today many funeral homes serve as “event planners” for memorial services, offering a variety of options and doing most of the organizing. Clearly, cremation is here to stay.

Reference: Cremation has Replaced Traditional Burials in Popularity in America and People are Getting Creative with Those Ashes, CNN, January 23, 2020.

Apr 10, 2018

Another Lawsuit Complicates the Aaron Hernandez Matter

According to the Boston Globe, a new lawsuit filed in the Aaron Hernandez matter has created complications.

Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, the mother of Aaron Hernandez’s daughter, has filed suit against the estates of three men the former New England Patriots star was accused of killing. She is seeking to guarantee that her child will receive proceeds from the sale of Hernandez’s former home.

Hernandez, who was a former NFL player, committed suicide in 2015. He was convicted of killing one person and acquitted of killing two others.

His only daughter was his heir, but his estate had very little liquidity. His home, valued at $1.3 million dollars, was the only significant asset. The families of the three people Hernandez was accused of killing filed suit against his estate for the value of the home.

Hernandez had filed for a homestead exemption in Massachusetts in 2013, allowing him to protect up to $500,000 of the value of his home from judgments and creditors. However, the personal representative of the estate waived this exemption.

Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez has recently filed a lawsuit seeking a judgment that the homestead exemption filed by Hernandez still applies to his daughter and that the estate cannot waive it for her. By doing so, she hopes to secure her daughter’s inheritance.

The court has issued a temporary order that $500,000 from the sale of the home be held in escrow pending resolution of this issue.

Reference: Boston Globe (Feb. 24, 2018) “Another lawsuit emerges in the Aaron Hernandez legal saga.”

Aug 02, 2016

The Legal Tab For Settling The Prince Estate Is Already At $2 Million

The legal bills for sorting out Prince’s estate are already running into the millions.

The special administrator overseeing Prince’s estate is seeking permission to pay several law firms for work on the estate. The tab for legal work done through June 30, 2016 is almost $2 million dollars.

Obviously, Prince could have reduced these expenses tremendously with estate planning.

Reference: Legal tab for Prince estate is already at $2M and counting, Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 1, 2016.

Jul 17

Face it, Embrace it, Defy it, and Conquer it!

This morning, Pastor Joel Osteen told the most amazing story. It was the story of Victoria Arlen.

Victoria was active and healthy until she was eleven years old, when she developed a pain in her side. Her doctors removed her appendix, but that didn’t help.

Victoria’s health continued to deteriorate. She lost 30 pounds in just three weeks. Her arms and legs stopped working. She lost the ability to speak, eat, and walk. Eventually she became unable to move at all, and slipped into a vegetative state.

Victoria was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder that was causing pressure on her brain and spinal cord. Victoria’s doctors told her parents that she was unlikely to survive. If she did survive, they believed that she would live her life in a vegetative state.

Two years later, Victoria “woke up” and became aware of what was going on around her, although she remained unable to speak or move. Eventually she was able to open her eyes, and began to recover.

In 2010, four years after her diagnosis, Victoria returned to school. She was paralyzed from the waist down, but grateful for her recovery. She was told that she would never walk again.

In March 2016, Victoria defied the odds again, and took her first steps. She can now walk normally, and no longer needs a wheelchair or even crutches.

Today, at age 21, Victoria Arlen is one of ESPN’s youngest on-air personalities! She is also an actress, a model, and a motivational speaker!

You can learn more about Victoria Arlen on her website at VictoriaArlen.com

Keep Victoria’s story in mind as you prepare your Advance Medical Directives.

Jul 16

9 Reminders That Humans Are Inherently Good

It is easy to feel discouraged by the current events unfolding around the world right now. However, research shows it helps to focus on the positive perspective in order to maintain feelings of well-being.

Below are nine science-backed reminders that humans are inherently good!

1. Human beings are hardwired for friendship.
We crave connection as a species. Research shows that human beings are biologically programmed to seek friendship or companionship. Spending time with our loved ones helps us beat stress and improves our mood.

2. Human beings are naturally empathetic.
A 2013 study from the University of Virginia found that human beings are hardwired for empathy. When we relate to another human being and their experience, we feel real pain over what they’re going through. That could inspire us to take action to help out in any way that we can.

3. Kindness makes us feel happy.
Research shows that kindness makes people happier and in turn that happiness makes us kind. It is a positive cycle.

4. Our first instinct is to act selflessly.
Comprehensive research on human behavior suggests that we’re instinctively cooperative and willing to act out the good of our social groups, Scientific American reported. In other words, we initially feel compelled in a situation to put others before ourselves.

5. A human’s ability to fall in love is biological.
Research shows there are reactions in the brain when we fall in love ― either romantically or as a caregiver ― making it likely that we’re naturally wired to do so. Not only that, body releases feel-good chemicals that trigger physical reactions when we’re with someone we adore, a response that’s entirely automatic and out of our control.

6. Holding hands with someone alleviates fear.
Human connection is a powerful thing. Studies suggest that holding hands with another person can immediately reduce stress and fear.

7. Our bodies physically change when we hug someone.
A warm embrace is one of our greatest stress relievers, which is a pretty great characteristic of being human. Research shows hugging can release feel-good hormones like oxytocin in the body and lower blood pressure. Perhaps that’s why it’s so natural to reach out to those closest to us for a comforting hug during periods of grief and tragedy.

8. Human beings are programmed to recover from bad events.
We are an incredibly resilient species. According to research, we are naturally wired to move on from most challenges and pain either on our own or with help.

9. Dogs are hardwired to love us.
Studies show that not only do dogs care about their human owners, they see us as part of their family. We must be doing something right as a species to receive that kind of unconditional love.

Reference: 9 Much-Needed Reminders That Humans Are Inherently Good, Lindsay Holmes, Huffington Post, July 15, 2016.

Jul 03

Farewell To Holocaust Survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel

I read Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, Night, when it was selected by Oprah’s Book Club in 2006. The book is a detailed memoir of his experiences as a teenager in Auschwitz. It is one of the most widely read and discussed books of our time.

Elie Wiesel spent decades advocating for human rights, and authored 57 books about the subject. When he wrote about his guilt for having survived the Holocaust, it raised awareness about the horror of the Nazi movement at a time when people did not want to talk about it.

Elie Wiesel was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his work in speaking out against violence. He has also been awarded over 100 honorary doctorate degrees.

President Obama led the tributes by saying, “Elie Wiesel was one of the great moral voices of our time, and in many ways, the conscience of the world. He raised his voice, not just against antisemitism but against hatred, bigotry and intolerance in all its forms.”

You can learn more about Elie Wiesel in this 1993 interview with Oprah. He was an amazing human being.