Steps, Takeaways to Help Plan for the Unknown

by Brian Vaughn

McCalla RaymerLeibert Pierce, LLC*

USFN Member (AL, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, KY, MS, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OR, TX, WA)

One thing the pandemic brought to light for me, and my husband, was the unknown of the future. I don’t mean reading the tea leaves or anything like that. As the only two in both of our families who could work remotely, we became the primary caregivers for our mothers, literally overnight. Both our mothers have underlying health issues, requiring us to be very cautious. This led to a bigger question, what do we do to prepare for our own future? With no kids of our own, who will be there to take care of us in our Golden Years?

This sparked a series of conversations with friends in similar circumstances, specifically those in the LGBTQ+ community, and the topic took on a life of its own. We have friends that are single with no family left, friends that have young children with special needs, and some friends who haven’t even stopped to evaluate their current situation. Either way, these discussions led to some detailed research, and hopefully, our findings can help others facing comparable challenges.

So, you have no kids to put you in the nursing home? This covers a lot of my friends, not just those in the LGBTQ+ arena, but many that simply chose not to have children. My gay friends came up with the idea of investing in a LGBTQ+ nursing home, think “Golden Girls” merged with a cruise ship feel. Sounds fun, but probably not practical. For us personally, we made the decision not to have kids because of the cost of surrogacy, and we felt our work travel schedules at the time were not conducive to raising a kid. The truth is that many barriers stood in our way. The legal and political landscape of the time didn’t support same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, or foster care. Cost for surrogacy, adoption, and IVF treatments are outrageous for anyone, not just those in the LGBTQ+ community. Like many, both gay or straight, we made the decision at the time that was right for us.

So, here are some thoughts. First, save, save, save. If you don’t have a 401K, get one. If you can qualify for an IRA or Roth IRA, do it. If you are about to turn 50, like me, make sure you take advantage of the catch-up option in your 401K. If your company offers a Health Saving Account, use it. If you are one of the millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, or are in a heap of credit card debt, work with a financial advisor or community organization to create a budget. The rule is always to pay yourself first.  Working in the financial services market, it is important to focus on the financial stability of our futures. There are many resources provided by banks, financial institutions, and community organizations, and many are even free. Software for personal finance and budgeting, such as NerdWallet, Quicken, Mint, GnuCash, AceMoney Lite, Personal Capital, and Buddi, are just a few options to consider as well.

Second, investigate long-term care insurance. This option can be costly, depending on when you start the process, and costs can vary depending on possible health screening. Ask your HR group if your company benefits include access to any insurance brokers. Many providers offer some form of cash benefit to be paid out to a beneficiary upon death, or even a cash out option, but the cash out options can have a hefty penalty. These policies help cover costs for assisted living and health benefits that are usually very high as you age. Currently, assisted living or memory care in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, for example, can run between $4,000 – $6,000/month. Some retirement communities offer a buy-in based on your financial situation, like buying a home to get into the community; but many are arranged to accommodate you as your health care needs change, starting with independent living, then assisted, nursing, and hospice care.

If you are one of the 20.9 million families with members who have disabilities or special needs, you are aware of the challenges ahead - like costs to prepare for the future if something were to happen to you. It is always key to talk to family about the unknown. Work with an attorney to prepare a will or trust and make each member of the family aware of your wishes. For those in a relationship but not married, you should ensure you have forms for domestic partnership, HIPPAA, hospital visitations, and beneficiary choices. Again, focus on financial security. Talk to other family members about their roles in care giving for your loved ones. Be prepared by looking for appropriate facilities near the family, even if it is only to gather information about costs and services offered.

Most importantly, and this goes for any situation, have a path forward. There is less burden on your family when they know your wishes, where to find your documentation, and have a map to follow. If you don’t have a will on the back of a bar napkin or tattooed on your arm, please prepare one. Many of the firms in our space have access to someone who can help if you prefer to have a live attorney guide you. It can cost anywhere from $100-$1,000 for the basics. This could also become a new benefit that your company offers its employees. If cost is a concern, using free sites, which is always an option and will guide you through the process.

I must leave you with a funny story. We were on a cruise, and the captain told us about a woman who lived on the ships, having traveled with the cruise line for years. The woman would sail from one port to another, and then switch ships for the next cruise. When questioned, she told the captain, “Why would I not? I have the best views each day, the best selection and variety of foods, a 24-hour doctor and health care, and I get to meet new people every day. It is also cheaper than my past house payments.”  Needless to say, this woman is my hero!!

So, what is your takeaway from this rant? Be prepared. Save, save, save. Talk to your person or persons.  None of us know what the future holds or how much time we have. Do not wait, start today.

Copyright @2023

USFN e-Update - February 2023

By Kim Jenkins, Esq.

Baer & Timberlake,P.C.*

USFN Member (Ok)

We all know the stereotypes of older people and technology. Honestly, many of them apply to me. For instance, seniors are supposed to hate change and dread updates to software they already don’t know how to use properly. In an overused comedy trope, seniors struggle to use a remote control or call their grandchildren to set the clock on the microwave. While society laughs or rolls its metaphorical eyes, keeping older people engaged in the workforce presents real struggles.

The U.S. Government Accounting Office predicts that by 2025, 30% of the United States population will be over the age of 55, and older workers can be an invaluable asset to an organization. They typically stay in a job longer and take fewer days off than workers with young children. Including seniors in the workspace provides a diversity of viewpoints and perspectives. They have many years of experience and skills, and they have established connections in the business community – it’s both what they know AND who they know. However, there are also challenges to be faced, technology being the most obvious. The National Bureau of Economic Research conducted a study of 50,000 businesses and 11.6 million workers and found that the faster a business incorporates new technology, the faster it loses its older workers. Identifying and solving the problems faced by seniors will help create a diverse and productive office environment.

COVID necessitated the use of technology to enable remote work, which can be beneficial to those older workers facing the greatest risk of exposure in a public workplace. Even the courts transitioned to online platforms for hearings during the crisis. However, many seniors experience aggravation and anxiety when faced with learning new technology and the prospect of using unfamiliar features or programs. Some may also have physical limitations, which could make using technology difficult. In a 2014 study, The Pew Research Center found that 23% of older adults have a condition which makes reading difficult. Unflattering stereotypes can also lead management to view an older employee as uncooperative or unwilling to learn new skills.

Failing to address these issues can result in lower productivity and frustration throughout the office, but many businesses fall into a Catch-22 type dilemma: It takes more time and money to train older workers, but the older employees will likely leave the workforce sooner than their younger counterparts. This article offers ideas for making that training more effective.

When training, keep it simple and speak in a language that seniors understand. Remember, for most older workers, digital technology is not intuitive. Never assume that there is a base of knowledge. For instance, in preparing for this article I visited with an older friend in a related field who confirmed that he did not know how to cut and paste, search within a document using “control f,” enlarge the print on his screen, save and retrieve documents, or use Boolean operators. Most IT personnel would assume that this was common knowledge in preparing a training module. Try to discover the base level of understanding before moving on to more complex ideas and avoid using technical terms when a simple word might be more effective.

Face-to-face training works best when an older employee is learning a new program. Online training often makes a bad situation worse, as the employee is struggling with navigating the training instead of concentrating on the content. This approach is more time consuming and expensive than simply providing an online tutorial, but if the end result is a fully trained, functioning user of the technology, it is time and money well spent.

Consider a mentorship learning program. Businesses can pair an experienced user with a novice to teach a new skill. This approach can be gentler and less intimidating than formal training. An added fringe benefit might be that crossing the age barrier can create stronger relationships among the workforce.

Older workers have a more difficult time dealing with distractions, particularly digital distractions. E-invites, calls, e-mails, Zoom messages, and pop-up ads sidetrack most seniors more than their younger colleagues. Training should include advice on how to handle these distractions. Perhaps they can block a specific time for production during which these notifications can be turned off. Using email folders and rules can also help those who struggle with deciding which tasks need immediate attention and which can wait.

Motivation is the key to learning any new skill. Seniors should understand that not only may a new program help the business, but the investment in learning a new skill will also make the employee’s life easier and more productive. It will accelerate finding answers to their questions and provide quicker access to documents or information. The attitude of the trainee should be positive and excited, never fearful. Humor can be a valuable tool. Try naming your device. It is harder to get upset with “Sparky” or “Mac” than “this horrible machine.”

If you are creating a website, training module, or program for older users, it is important to keep it simple. You may use fewer buttons, contrasting colors, simple terms, and larger fonts. You should avoid using acronyms and technical jargon. Testing your program with older users can provide valuable insight for making its use more effective.

Older users are far more likely to want to learn a new skill if they think they are capable of learning and that they will receive a benefit. The technology must be useful to them. Seniors now use smart phones, texting, email, social media, and take photos with their phone because they find these tasks worthwhile. By showing them how new technology in the workplace will be similarly worthwhile, and by training them in ways that make sense to them, modern businesses can have the best of both worlds: technology that makes the office more productive, and an engaged and excited mature workforce.

Copyright @2022

USFN Summer Report

By Victor Kang, Esq.

Rubin Lublin, LLC *

USFN Member (AL, GA, MS, TN)

Often, one of the roadblocks that faces any new change is the retort of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

As part of creating a more inclusive and accepting culture in our industry, one of the pain points of a seemingly harmless and simple adjustment is using more inclusive pronouns. While some might roll their eyes at the prospect of having to use “new” pronouns like they/them, the unexpected benefit of this transition is that documents and templates can actually be easier to produce. As our industry moves toward a sense of normalcy, one of the most common issues we have seen involves the need to process increased volume timely and uniformly. Most firms, servicers, and vendors all now rely on fully integrating communication, document requests, and processing of files.

The days of paralegals and attorneys having a mishmash of legal templates are quickly joining the ranks of Dictaphones and typewriters as being obsolete in this new reality of instant uploads and drafting of documents. Below are some practical suggestions on how to modernize legal documents that serve to create efficiencies, reduce errors, and establish more inclusive language.

As legal definitions of marriage change and evolve, along with gender identity, we have seen the loan application process evolve in tandem. Forms are now becoming gender neutral. We recommend that lenders who use their own proprietary application forms adopt the Uniform Residential Loan Application that is used by GSEs. These forms avoid fields focused on gender or marital status, such as a prefix (Mr., Ms., Misses, etc.) or terminology like husband and wife. Alternatively, if forms require some type of honorific, you can use a more inclusive term, like “Mx.”

Newer systems often have updated fields that account for gender-neutral terms. We recommend reviewing older systems to avoid creating inefficiencies or additional guesswork by requiring fields like “husband” or “wife” to be completed. If state laws require marital status, these fields can be updated to say “spouse/partner.”

The biggest potential area for improvement and time savings can be realized by removing the need to use gender-specific terms in your templates. For example, the state of Alabama requires the marital status to be listed on mortgages and deeds of transfer. In the past, this may have been viewed as a very simple process – you’re either married or single, and the legally accepted categories were just husband and wife. Mortgages will often be written out to say “John Doe, a married man, and Jane Doe, a married woman” or some iteration of “John Doe and Jane Doe, husband and wife.” However, our firm has had to file title claims on mortgages where the language was incorrect because names might have been gender neutral (i.e. Billy Smith and Taylor Smith), and the husband and wife titles were swapped. Or, in cases where names are based on other languages/cultures, it may not be abundantly clear which name is meant to be for which party. Further, many spouses may choose not to take their partner’s name or come up with a new last name altogether. In another instance, we had a foreclosure file rejected in the REO stage because the mortgage had listed “X and X, husband and husband.” The closing attorney said there was a typo on our foreclosure deed; needless to say, we had to inform them that there was no error.

To avoid these issues, we suggest modifying pre-filled templates for pleadings, deeds, letters, etc.… with “Mr./Mrs.” or him/her, replacing that language with pronouns such as they/them and dropping salutations altogether. Start letters off with the name of the borrower, and you can avoid having to guess at what greeting to use. On deeds where you must convey to the Secretary of HUD or VA, update templates to state that “they” are the Secretary, and that title is being conveyed to “them.” Not only does it avoid having to switch your template from stating “him” to “her,” depending on who the active Secretary is, using them/they can avoid any need to update. This change in standard can also help post-foreclosure cleaning houses from having to nitpick as to what a recorded deed’s language states.

Even in documents that must be filed where you may have to name unknown parties, you can avoid using Jane or John Doe by simply using “Person Doe” as a substitute. Changing the terminology to be gender neutral can also avoid uncomfortable missteps when you address the parties in court. For the litigators, it might require a change in terminology to say “folks” or “jurors,” instead of saying “ladies and gentlemen of the jury.” As juries are to be made up of members of the community, appropriate terminology for their identity is not only the right thing to do, but it could also help sway their opinions if you address them with respect and acceptance. And, while it may seem uncouth in certain parts of the country to not end sentences with “sir” or “ma’am” when attempting to show respect, this may be a situation where the “Golden Rule” might not apply. While you personally may want to feel respected by being addressed as “sir” or “ma’am,” this opinion may not be the same for others in the courtroom or in the deposition room. If you genuinely want to respect those with different backgrounds, be cautious about forcing your viewpoint of what being respectful means onto others.

               As with any change, it will take time and repetition to overcome years of custom. But, even if there may be disagreement over the reason why these changes are necessary, there can be little argument that we can avert inefficiencies and unintended grievances by avoiding the use of antiquated terminology. In this post-COVID world where remote work, virtual closings, diverse global clientele, and automated referrals are the new norm, having to guess at the appropriate terminology based on voices, appearances, or names is neither effective nor respectful.

From a business perspective, countless hours of document revisions, apologies for unintended misnomers, and potentially lost customers can result from trying to box people into gender-specific terms. If we move toward using gender-neutral terminology, we all can benefit from the continued evolution of the English language.

@Copyright 2022

USFN Report - Spring 2022