MAY 27 2026 • SYMPOSIUM-GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:01:08]Creation.

[00:01:10]Good evening. Good evening. Thank you so much, those of you who have gathered here in the sanctuary for our midweek service, which is get your house in order.

[00:01:20]Uh this is a symposium on end-of-life care and planning. And so, we're so grateful for those of you who have tuned in online on Facebook Live and on YouTube. Before we get started, let us pray. If you are in the sanctuary, please stand with me.

[00:01:42]Heavenly Father, we thank you for [music] this day that you have made. We thank you, Lord, for life and for health and for a reasonable portion of strength.

[00:01:53]We thank you, God, for the opportunity to be in your house today [music] on a Wednesday.

[00:02:00]We thank you, Lord, for those who have gathered to learn, to become more aware.

[00:02:05]We thank you for the community connections. We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to reach [music] and further your gospel in a different way.

[00:02:14]We pray that you would be with us tonight. We pray that you would be glorified and edified in everything that is said and done. Bless our panelists.

[00:02:22][music] Bless our community agencies and everyone who has lent their time and effort for the glory and edification of your name. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

[00:02:34]Amen. Amen. You may be seated.

[00:02:38]I am going to read in our hearing uh our statement of occasion.

[00:02:45]In every season of life, there are moments that invite us to prepare with intention, compassion, >> [music] >> and care.

[00:02:56]Conversations surrounding aging, serious illness, caregiving, >> [music] >> grief, and end-of-life can often feel overwhelming, emotionally complex, or difficult to navigate, particularly for individuals and families carrying experience of loss, trauma, uncertainty, or caregiver fatigue.

[00:03:22]Recognizing these realities, this symposium on end-of-life planning and care has been thoughtfully and prayerfully curated [music] as a trauma-informed, compassionate, and supportive space for awareness, for education, and for empowerment.

[00:03:42]As a ministry committed to the holistic well-being of both congregation and community, we believe that planning for [music] the future should not happen in fear or in isolation.

[00:03:56]We recognize that end-of-life planning is not merely about documents and decisions, but about dignity, about love, [music] about having peace of mind, and ensuring that no one has to navigate life's most tender transitions alone.

[00:04:15]Instead, individuals and families deserve access to trustworthy information, culturally sensitive support, >> [music] >> practical resources, and caring professionals who honor the dignity, the stories, the values, and the lived experiences of every person.

[00:04:38]This free event brings together trusted health care professionals, >> [music] >> caregivers, advocates, legal and financial advisors, >> [music] >> grief support specialists, and community organizations that are equipped to offer practical guidance, [music] valuable resources, and compassionate support for every stage of the journey. [music] Whether you are planning ahead, supporting a loved one, navigating caregiving responsibilities, processing grief, or simply seeking to be better informed, >> [music] >> this gathering is designed to foster informed decision-making, emotional safety, meaningful connection, and hope.

[00:05:24]Through compassionate conversation and accessible resources, we aim ultimately to reduce stigma, to ease anxiety, and remind every attendee here tonight that they do not have to walk through these sacred and challenging moments >> [music] >> alone.

[00:05:42]Please pay attention to the big screens at this time for the introduction of our esteemed panel. Clap for them.

[00:05:54]Lauren Miller, Esquire, is an associate attorney in the San Antonio office of Langley and Banack, focusing primarily on estate planning and probate law.

[00:06:05]Lauren helps individuals and families prepare wills, trusts, and power of attorney and guides her clients through the probate process after the loss of a loved one.

[00:06:15]>> [music] >> A San Antonio native, Lauren earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology [music] from the University of Texas, her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Our Lady of the Lake University, and her Juris Doctorate [music] from St. Mary's University School of Law.

[00:06:33]She enjoys helping clients navigate sensitive planning decisions with clarity and compassion.

[00:06:41]Brian Rankin was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and was raised on military [music] bases around the world before settling in San Antonio with his wife and three children. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in theology from Christendom College. In 2022, Brian joined the team at Meadowlawn Funeral Home as a Family Service Counselor, where he is dedicated to helping families >> [music] >> navigate important decisions with compassion and care.

[00:07:12]Sherry Kilcrease Smith is the AACOG Alamo Area Agency on Aging Ombudsman Outreach Specialist [music] and a Bear County Staff Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

[00:07:26]A Long-Term Care Ombudsman advocates for quality of life and care for people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

[00:07:35]They help to address concerns that residents may have to help ensure that they are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Ombudsman services are confidential and free. It is Sherry's great honor to serve residents and their families in this manner.

[00:07:52]Samuel Willis is a senior living professional with a background rooted in health, wellness, and helping older adults maintain dignity and a quality of [music] life. He began his professional journey as a corrective exercise specialist working with seniors [music] where he focused on mobility, strength, balance, and functional independence.

[00:08:13]Through that experience, he developed a deep appreciation for the unique physical, emotional, and social needs that come with aging.

[00:08:23]Over time, Sam realized that supporting seniors [music] extends far beyond fitness alone.

[00:08:29]His passion for advocacy and relationship building ultimately led him into senior living where he now helps older adults [music] and their families navigate one of life's most important transitions, finding the right community to call home.

[00:08:44]In his current role as sales and marketing director for Brookdale Senior Living, Sam works closely with families to provide guidance, education, and reassurance during the decision-making process.

[00:09:04]>> Put your hands together one more time for our panel.

[00:09:11]And for those of you who don't know me, my name is Elder Jessica Bass, and I have the privilege of serving here as director of pastoral care and counseling at New Creation. We are going to dive right in to our panel tonight.

[00:09:25]We're going to do a couple of rounds.

[00:09:28]I'm going to ask some questions of our panelists, and then there will be a time later uh, for question and answer. So, if you have a question, we ask that you would write it down or commit it to memory and at the Q&A time, you're going to be invited to stand uh, in the mic.

[00:09:46]Those of you who have tuned in online on Facebook or on YouTube, go ahead and type your question in the chat and we'll do our very best to ask your question as well.

[00:09:58]All right, we're going to start with attorney Lauren. How you doing, Lauren?

[00:10:02]>> I'm great. Thank you for having me.

[00:10:04]>> Thank you for being here.

[00:10:05]So, Lauren, can you tell us what is a durable power of attorney?

[00:10:11]>> Yes, a durable power of attorney is a document that allows you to appoint somebody to make business and financial decisions for you. These typically include real estate transactions, um, uh, working with your bank accounts, signing your tax returns. Um, if you own a business, they would be running that business for you and you can limit the powers that you grant your agent.

[00:10:38]>> Are there other kinds of, um, powers of attorney?

[00:10:41]>> Yes, so there's also a medical power of attorney and that allows an individual to make your medical decisions if you're not able to make them yourself.

[00:10:52]>> Does one need to elect one person for medical versus fiduciary or can it be the same person for each role?

[00:10:59]>> So, you can appoint different people, one for one and one for the other. Um, I usually tell my clients that if you have, say you have two children and one of them is really, manages money really well and is very financially responsible and the other one maybe not so much, but they're more calm in stressful situations, you could name the one who's financially responsible to be your agent under your durable power of attorney and the other one to be your agent under your medical power of attorney. You can also name two people to serve together as your agents. Um but I never recommend doing that because they have to agree on everything and it can just cause extra headaches um that they otherwise wouldn't have to deal with. Um another thing you can do is you can name one person and if they're not able to serve, you can name several alternates as many as you want. Um so you can go have a a long line of people to serve as your agent.

[00:11:55]>> Thank you. I just want to highlight for those of you who are in the sanctuary, you should have received a program when you walked in and in the back of your program, we do have a list of terms. And so some of the terms that you'll hear tonight, um durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney, fiduciary, all of those terms are in the back of your program so that you can take that home and and put it somewhere safe.

[00:12:19]Okay.

[00:12:20]Bryant, coming to you, sir.

[00:12:23]Can you tell us about uh some of the things that you do as a family service counselor?

[00:12:28]>> As a family service counselor, I'm primarily responsible for prearrangements.

[00:12:34]So at Meadowlawn Funeral Home, that involves uh funeral, cremation, cemetery, making sure that everything is prepared for in advance. I also assist with at-need cemetery. After death, you need to be assisted by a licensed funeral director and so one of those would take over um once death occurs.

[00:12:56]And then since Meadowlawn also is here for the entire family, I assist with arrangements for pet cremations as well.

[00:13:07]>> Did y'all hear that? Pet cremations as well. We have a lot of pet lovers here at New Creation.

[00:13:13]Thank you, Bryant. Coming to you, Miss Sherry. How you doing?

[00:13:18]Awesome. Awesome. Sherry, can you share with us what kind of services ACOG provides their clients?

[00:13:25]>> So ACOG is the Alamo Area Council of Governments and we have a myriad of beneficial resources for people.

[00:13:36]You know, one thing to remember you guys, knowledge is power. So, seek out that information. ACOG can provide assistance. We've got income support for instance that can help somebody if they're having trouble making their utility bill this month or their water.

[00:13:54]We have got services such as benefits counseling. If you're on Medicare and you want to know what services and things can be provided for you, we have got an entire department that works to make sure that you're maximizing what you can obtain.

[00:14:13]Our veterans and military group is amazing and they have got knowledge to try to make sure that families and the veterans themselves are getting every benefit that they should be getting.

[00:14:30]We have got grandparents raising grandchildren.

[00:14:35]They are and right now they're running things to help with grandparents facing like back to school raising kids in the fall.

[00:14:45]They've got services that can help that.

[00:14:47]We have got care coordination. We have got caregiver services. It's limited caregiver services are limited to a short-term period, but what happens you know if if you get sick and you go home and you and you need some of that help.

[00:15:03]So, I'm going to give you a phone number. It is the general line and it's 210-477-3275.

[00:15:14]That's in Bear County.

[00:15:16]And if you'll call that number, it is the Alamo Services Connection.

[00:15:21]You can be directed into the department that you're that you have questions about. And um and all of our services, you guys, are free of charge.

[00:15:31]>> Can you give that phone number one more time?

[00:15:33]>> Absolutely. It's 210- 477-3275.

[00:15:40]And there is a group of amazing women outside and they're staffing our table.

[00:15:46]You guys, stop by, get any information that you may be interested in and hold on to this number because it's valuable.

[00:15:56]>> Thank you, Sherry. Coming to you, Mr. Sam. How you doing tonight?

[00:16:00]>> I'm good. How are you?

[00:16:01]>> Good. Thank you for being with us.

[00:16:04]Sam, can you tell us what the difference is? You work for Brookdale Marks Burger Senior Living.

[00:16:13]And so, can you tell us the difference between a nursing home and a senior living community?

[00:16:20]>> Absolutely. So, a nursing home is primarily a a medical environment designed for individuals who require ongoing skilled nursing care or rehab or just significant assistance with medical needs.

[00:16:38]Residents with complex health issues or health conditions that require licensed nurses and and 24/7 oversight. Um senior living is kind of an umbrella term. Within senior living, you have an independent living community, an assisted living community, and a memory care community.

[00:17:03]So, kind of kind of a simple way to explain it, a nursing home it is is health care related.

[00:17:09]Senior living is lifestyle maintaining a higher level of independence um, and and and things like that.

[00:17:19]>> Great, thank you.

[00:17:20]Want to ask you a follow-on question to that. Is there a difference between a senior living community and assisted living community and a retirement >> Yes, absolutely.

[00:17:33]>> community?

[00:17:34]>> There is a difference. So, retirement community, uh, an independent living community are are pretty much the same thing. Um, at an independent living community, there there's no nursing staff on site. It's it's essentially, uh, a 55-plus apartment that you have with activities offered, transportation, meals, housekeeping, uh, laundry service, things like that.

[00:18:01]Assisted living comes in if you need assistance with different activities of daily living such as, uh, maybe some shower assistance, dressing assistance, medication management, um, and we still offer three meals a day. We have a dining room, activities program, transportation, um, housekeeping, laundry linen service, things like that. So, it just depends on on the level of care that you require at at any any given time.

[00:18:31]>> Great, thank you. Coming back over to you, Attorney Lauren.

[00:18:36]You tell us what the difference is between a living will, a living trust, and a last will and testament.

[00:18:43]>> Of course. So, a living will is actually a medical document. It's also called a direction directive to physicians. It provides guidance to doctors and your agent under your medical power of attorney on your preference for life-sustaining treatment if you have a terminal or irreversible condition. Um, life-sustaining measures include, you know, being on a respirator, um, if you're not able to breathe on your own.

[00:19:10]Um, and so it allows you to direct your agent and doctors on what your preferences are and whether or not you um would want to be able to die as gently as possible or you would want them to continue to keep you alive um until you know they're not anymore.

[00:19:28]Um, a living trust is an alternative to a will or it can supplement a will.

[00:19:33]Um, they're getting really popular on Tik Tok and Instagram. A lot of people are hearing that they absolutely need a living trust and they're shocked when they come in and I tell them it's not um it doesn't give you the benefits you think it will.

[00:19:49]Um, some people think they'll have creditor protection if they form a living trust and transfer all their assets into it. In other words, if they get sued, you know, they get in a car accident or something, that person won't be able to reach those assets and that's not necessarily the case.

[00:20:03]Um, they also think they'll get some sort of tax benefit and that's also not the case um right now in Texas anyway.

[00:20:11]Um, it might change in the future.

[00:20:13]Um, but some reasons to have a living trust are for privacy reasons. Um, so not a lot of people know that the real property records are public record. You can go and search anybody's name and figure out where they live. So, if you want to avoid that, you can form a living trust and you know, put your dog's name living trust and then if someone searches your name, you're not going to come up. Um, another reason is for people who are um nearing the end of life and they're worried about losing capacity. It allows you to transfer all of your assets into one entity and have one person who's managing all of them.

[00:20:49]Um, so that person would when you're not able to step up and and make continue managing your assets without the need to go to court um or use the power of attorney that I talked about earlier.

[00:21:02]Uh one other reason is if you have real property in multiple states, that can cause a lot of um expense and headaches in the probate.

[00:21:12]So, if you own a house, a vacation home in another state, you might consider having a living trust.

[00:21:18]And [snorts] then a will just sort of guides, tells, is a testament, says, you know, how you want your property to pass upon your death and who's going to manage that property when you die and who's going to pay your final taxes and the estate expenses and then distribute the property the way that your will says. And in your will you can include funeral and burial instructions. Some people have to include guardianship for their minor children, who they would want to serve as guardian for their minor children. I have a lot of clients who include care for their pets. I actually have that in in my will.

[00:21:58]And so, they're all similar but different.

[00:22:03]>> Thank you and again, those terms should be in your program for your reference.

[00:22:09]Brian, can you tell us some of the advantages doing a pre-need arrangement with a funeral home?

[00:22:17]>> Absolutely. So, pre-arrangements can the advantages can be divided into two categories, financial and emotional.

[00:22:28]So, on the financial aspect, when you pre-arrange with a funeral home, you are freezing the cost of that funeral with that funeral home at that given time.

[00:22:39]So, if your funeral, when you pre-arrange it, is, let's say, $5,000.

[00:22:47]As anybody who has been to the grocery store anytime recently or filled up at the gas tank knows, inflation is hitting hard and it's hitting hard across all industries.

[00:23:00]When you freeze the cost, you are protecting against inflation because you are guaranteeing that that funeral that you prearranged at $5,000 will be $5,000 whether you need it in 1 month, 1 year, 10 years, 20 years down the road. It is locked in at that rate.

[00:23:21]And then that's the financial side. The emotional side is that you are providing peace of mind to your children. Um or to next of kin. If you have ever had to plan a funeral for a loved one where death has struck suddenly or they they didn't express their wishes.

[00:23:45]Um does your family know whether you preferred burial or cremation? Is there money set aside for it?

[00:23:54]Are um do they know what you want? And in with a prearrangement your family has the advantage of knowing when they arrive at the funeral home yes, this is what my mom wanted. Yes, this is what dad wanted. Dad said to do the funeral in this manner. He said he wanted it here. Um or he said he wanted it at the church.

[00:24:23]You can list out all of your wishes, how you want your funeral to be, and then your children, your spouse, whoever is in charge of planning that funeral has that comfort of knowing yes, this is what mom wanted. We are doing exactly what my mom wanted. We are doing exactly what dad wanted instead of trying to guess.

[00:24:52]>> I'm going to throw you a curveball.

[00:24:54]What if mom or dad or my spouse um never got around to saying or what happens if um tragically they pass away and no one had the conversation?

[00:25:08]What what what are my options? Where do I begin? How do I determine whether to do a funeral or cremation? Is there monetary difference in in in either?

[00:25:19]>> So in that case it comes down to what what does the family want? Um regarding the financial cost um on as a general rule cremation is going to be more affordable than uh traditional burial.

[00:25:38]Um but it depends on what you're looking for, what sort of things are being included.

[00:25:47]So um regarding getting started, it you would go to uh your local funeral home. With Meadowlawn, we have everything on site. So the family, no matter what they're looking for, they can sit down and figure everything out all at once because we have the funeral home, we have the crematory located on our premises, and we have the cemetery all at one location. So that way the family um no matter what they're trying to figure out, can sit down in one meeting and look at the different options, meet with um the director and a family service counselor in um the way we have it set up at Meadowlawn for uh funeral and cremation and then uh cemetery option.

[00:26:47]>> Thank you. Thank you, Brian. Coming over to you, Ms. Sherry. Can you tell us specifically about ACOGs Ombudsman program and what are some of the benefits to enrolling in something like this?

[00:27:00]>> So, an Ombudsman program actually doesn't require enrolling. What it is is you have an Ombudsman, a long-term care Ombudsman, which is a resident advocate available to you if you are living or your loved one is living in any licensed nursing home or licensed assisted living facility.

[00:27:21]And we personally visit every licensed facility.

[00:27:27]And so, we are there we are there to act as a resource. You can call us and ask questions as such as, you know, "Hey, this happened and I'm not comfortable with it. What do I do? Where do I go?" We're also able to attend care plan meetings with families.

[00:27:48]We can show up and help discussions with directors.

[00:27:53]We are literally on premise and off premises sources of information. If you're considering living in a nursing home, what if you you know, what if you need to consider things between why a nursing home, why an assisted living facility, what about a memory care?

[00:28:11]Um maybe it's something as much as um "Hey, my house is in this part of the city and I'm really looking for something near me so that it's convenient for me to drop by on the way home from work and on Saturday morning and see my loved one. Could you send me a list of facilities that are near me?"

[00:28:30]Absolutely.

[00:28:32]And every service that we provide is free and confidential. We can walk beside residents. Everything we do as far as addressing concerns has to go through the resident. We are resident advocates, but as I said, we're also there to advise families and just to to help and and be a source of information and a resource as you navigate long-term care.

[00:29:00]>> Great, thank you. Mr. Sam, can you tell us what are some of the signs that it might be time to consider senior living?

[00:29:10]>> Sure. So, before before uh the signs you might notice, uh some people hear about assisted living, oh, I get my meals made for me, I get someone to clean my apartment once a week and do my laundry, and sometimes they just walk in and ask for a tour. That's one way.

[00:29:34]Um but if you're living at home, you're an older adult, and maybe you start to notice you feel a little bit isolated or lonely, and you want some more socialization.

[00:29:46]Um if it's getting difficult keeping up with maintaining your house and and the chores that come with maintaining a house, if if you're falling, um missing medications or mixing up medications, if if you wake up one morning and you know, you lost a considerable amount of weight and you weren't trying to, um that that's a pretty good sign.

[00:30:10]Uh and just anxiety about living alone.

[00:30:14]Um one of the one of the leading causes of just general decline for older adults is loneliness and not getting a certain amount of socialization every day.

[00:30:27]Um and among the the tons of benefits with an assisted living, one of the main benefits is being in a community.

[00:30:35]Um we call it a community, not a facility, because you know, you move in and and a couple weeks later, you've got 10 or 20 good friends that are also your neighbors and and and it can really help the day-to-day life and your your emotions as as we get older.

[00:30:54]>> Thank you.

[00:30:55]>> Miss Attorney Lauren, um can you tell us what does estate uh settlement involve in association with end-of-life? Uh what are some advice that you can share with our audience in preparing for estate settlement? For example, um what is the importance of having a transfer um on death deed?

[00:31:17]>> So, estate administration and settlement is the process of gathering assets, paying final debts and expenses, and transferring property to the beneficiaries that are entitled to that property.

[00:31:30]My advice is to be organized and prepare.

[00:31:35]Um I know it's really hard to think about, admittedly, and I'm almost embarrassed to admit, it took me 3 years to draft my own will and I do it for a living.

[00:31:45]Um so, I completely understand that you don't necessarily want to set time aside to think about your death.

[00:31:53]Um but it really does make it so much easier for your family if you do. And part of that preparation is something you can do on your own um and just keeping a list of your bank accounts, your assets, your passwords. Um I worked with a client whose dad died suddenly and all she wanted was to access his pictures, and she didn't know the password to his phone, and Apple made it as difficult as they could possibly be.

[00:32:19]I think it took us like eight or nine months um for her to finally get access.

[00:32:24]So, keep all of that, you know, ideally on one or two pages and update it regularly.

[00:32:31]And then a TOD is a is a useful tool. Um it allows you to avoid probate. Um it's a deed that transfers your property, your home for example, to certain beneficiaries upon your death. And one really great thing about it is that you maintain full control of your property during your life. So if you change your mind two days later, you can revoke it or change it. Um [snorts] you can sell your house, you can refinance, you can do anything that you otherwise would have been able to do. Um and then there's another deed that's called a ladybird deed and if you anticipate that you're going to use Medicaid, it shields your property from the recovery program that Medicaid has that would otherwise force the sale of your home to pay themselves back for your medical expenses.

[00:33:16]Um so those are really nice tools.

[00:33:18]Depending on what assets you have, you can avoid probate completely using a tool like that.

[00:33:26]>> So continuing with that and then I'm going to come to you, Sherry. Continuing with that vein of thought in terms of probate court, what are some of the ways to avoid? You just mentioned one, but what are some other ways to avoid probate court? In my role here as director of pastoral care, I deal with a lot of different situations. And unfortunately, um there have been situations or cases where people have had to deal with probate. So what are some things that we can do to avoid probate court? And if probate court prevails, what are some things one can expect about that process?

[00:34:03]>> So to avoid probate court, um you can style your assets in certain ways. So bank accounts, you can style them to be payable on death to a certain person. Um that would completely supersede your will. So if your assets are a home and two bank accounts, you can style your bank accounts payable on death and have a transfer on death deed for your home and you're likely not going to have to probate your estate. Um you have named beneficiaries for IRAs, 401ks, life insurance policies.

[00:34:35]Um that avoids probate. So, if you style all of your assets in a way to where they would pass to someone immediately upon your death versus um under your will, you can you could potentially avoid probate completely. Unfortunately, a lot of people, you know, prepare their will or style their assets in a certain way and then ultimately somehow end up with more assets. They've inherited something that they may not know about.

[00:35:01]Um and their estate needs to be probated. So, I I highly recommend that everybody has a will just in case something like that happens because it can cause a huge mess um if you don't. But fortunately in Texas, um the probate process is pretty efficient.

[00:35:20]Um the judges here in Bear County make it quick and easy. The My clients don't have to appear at the hearing. I know people get really nervous being in front of a judge. So, I normally handle that for them. And the hearing itself lasts 30 seconds. Um And just depending on the complexity of your assets, the whole process can be, you know, open and shut in a couple of months. Um So, it's not it's not the worst thing if your estate has to be probated. But if you can avoid it, that's ideal.

[00:35:53]>> Thank you. A minute ago you raised the issue with regard to Medicaid. Um and so with that, I want to ask Sherry if she can share with us the difference between Medicare and Medicaid and why it's important to be up on um the awareness of what they are and what they're not.

[00:36:12]>> So, a lot of people will call us and they'll say, "Mom is needing long-term care.

[00:36:21]She's got Medicare and maybe an insurance policy."

[00:36:25]And they're shocked when they find out that Medicare does not pay for long-term care.

[00:36:32]So, Medicaid on the other hand is a program for the impoverished, which means that they have an asset limit and they have income limits in order to qualify for Medicaid.

[00:36:48]Um whereas Medicare is a program that is for 65 or disabled that have a a working history. So, different programs really designed for different things.

[00:37:01]Uh long-term care, so Medicaid in order to pay for long-term care, you have to qualify both financially and you must qualify on what is called medical necessity. And my good friend here mentioned so long when you're talking about a nursing home, which if it nursing homes are the only program that take Medicaid true Medicaid.

[00:37:26]And when you're talking about a nursing home in order to get nursing home Medicaid, you have to qualify needing skilled nursing care for and it's a it's 24-hour care.

[00:37:39]Um on the other hand, there are things like Medicaid waivers. Here in Texas, it's the STAR Plus program that can pay for There's a limited number of assisted living beds.

[00:37:52]I'm not going to lie, they are few and far between, but it can also help pay for um maybe an apartment for someone and programs that um can be acquired.

[00:38:05]ACOG does have benefits counselors that can help as far as clarification, especially on Medicare, and making sure you understand the difference between like what's covered under Medicare Part A, what's covered Medicare Part B. Um if you end up in the hospital, and let's say God forbid you break a hip or need a new knee or something along that line, Medicare will pay for short-term care at a facility while you're getting physical therapy. So, sometimes people will hear about, well, you know, my great aunt, she had Medicare and they paid for her to be in a nursing home.

[00:38:46]What Medicare is paying for is short-term rehabilitative care after a and it's after a 3-day hospital stay. And I want to stress this because you have to be admitted.

[00:39:01]And so, some people will spend 24 hours or more in an emergency room or an emergency part of the hospital.

[00:39:14]That's not admittance.

[00:39:16]So, if you're pretty sure that, you know, you're going to want to try and get to physical therapy after this hospital stay, start asking about, hey, getting in a room because they do gen people through fast. Um, Medicare, so the rule is they will pay for up to 20 days of short-term care at 100%.

[00:39:43]Up to.

[00:39:45]So, that is not guaranteed. You can't think that okay, I'm going to get out of the hospital, I'm going to have 20 days to rehab.

[00:39:53]It's an up to and they can issue what is notice, it's called a NOMNC, it's a notice of non-payment or non-coverage where they're telling you you need to go home.

[00:40:03]In that case, there are appeal processes, but we want to make you aware that, you know, don't think that it's 20 days.

[00:40:11]Also, Medicare will cover up to 100 days in a period of time, but days 21 through 100, you've got a copay.

[00:40:21]And that copay is significant. It is usually around $220 or so a day.

[00:40:29]So, we want to make sure that that people are aware of that.

[00:40:34]Um something else for like Medicaid and long-term care. Um consider advanced planning. Medicaid, when you first go into Medicaid, you've got a 5-year lookback. And we hear so many times, you know, I didn't know I was going to need long-term care in 5 years. Okay, if you're getting older, you may want to consider that. And her business as far as an attorney can really help advise us on some steps to take in order to be able to maybe keep some assets, um shelter them legally, and in in options that you have.

[00:41:17]>> Thank you, Sherry. Brian, we have a question from uh Facebook.

[00:41:22]Does the content of my pre-needs change if I'm single versus now being married?

[00:41:29]Do I need to update anything?

[00:41:31]>> Regarding um marriage, no. Um everything that you're pre-arranging is uh based on a individual basis. So, if uh you are uh pre-arranging um for yourself, it's only for yourself. Um you may want to change your beneficiary um as far as it uh goes, but the actual contract itself, um it doesn't matter whether uh single or um married for the purposes of the contract. The contract is directly between the funeral home and the contracting party.

[00:42:20]It could affect um inheritance of cemetery plots.

[00:42:27]Um and so you would want to make sure that if you want to will your plot directly to a child versus a spouse, um you would want to make sure that that is very specifically laid out in the will. Um cemetery plots have to be detailed um in incredibly detailed. You can't just say, "I will my cemetery to uh my daughter." For example, you would have to say, "My uh plot in Faith um lot 11, space three, to my daughter."

[00:43:06]It has to be named very specifically.

[00:43:09]>> Thank you for that. Coming to you, Sam.

[00:43:13]What are What are the pros and cons? Uh can you tell us some of the pros and cons to moving to a senior living or an assisted living residence?

[00:43:31]>> I can yell really loud.

[00:43:35]Hello.

[00:43:36]>> Perfect.

[00:43:36]>> Uh so there there are the the pros the pros are easy. Uh you get increased safety and support. Um especially in an assisted living, you have a a full staff of caregivers, um a registered nurse, medication technicians, housekeepers, dining staff, um maintenance workers. So you have the safety and support. Like I said, you don't have to take care of a home. Um Um, we have activities programs, really good meals at at at my community for sure, medication management, any assistance with any activities of daily living, um, dressing, grooming, things like that. Um, the cons, it it it is a considerable downsize.

[00:44:27]Um, we offer three floor plans at my community.

[00:44:31]Um, and even our largest, you know, two-bedroom suite, it's it's not it's not a house, you know, you have to adjust to a new environment, a new routine, and it's it's an emotional period when you're when you're moving from from your house or if you're living with family to a to a community.

[00:44:52]Um, you also have to downsize your personal belongings and be be specific and intentional with with what you're bringing with you.

[00:45:00]Um, and and like I said, it's it's a major life transition, and it's it's normals for fam- it's normal for families to experience mixed emotions, um, which which can be a con for sure.

[00:45:13]Um, >> What if, um, what if we're dealing with a couple, and one part of the couple, one spouse is fine and well abled, but the other needs to be in an a senior living or an assisted living residence. Can I come with my spouse? Is there room for me?

[00:45:34]Um, will I be able to be there, or will they need to go by themselves? Particularly if they're dealing with something like, um, Alzheimer's or dementia, or someplace where they need a memory care, uh, wing?

[00:45:49]>> So, I've I've seen it all different ways. It ultimately comes down to what that couple wants to do.

[00:45:58]Um, at my building, we have a married couple that live in the same um room in the same apartment. We have a married couple that live across the hall from each other cuz they want they want the space. Um and then of course we have we have scenarios where the husband needs a a significant amount of care and and the wife chooses to still live at home and maintain the home and and come visit every day, spend the night. Um in in buildings like mine, you you can if you're a resident, you can come and go as you please if you're able to. So if you want to go back home to your spouse for for a couple days, that's fine. If they want to come up to the community and spend the night or spend the week uh in the resident's room, that's fine, too. So it ultimately depends on what the couple wants to do.

[00:46:51]>> Okay, thank you.

[00:46:53]Attorney Lauren, um what are some kinds of titles? Uh what is the importance of ensuring that all titles are kept in a known and safe place? And what is the primary need for a title at the time of someone's demise?

[00:47:08]>> So some examples are for vehicles, obviously, mobile homes have titles. Um the title for your house is your deed.

[00:47:18]Um a title for your bank account is the account agreement. Um it's important to have these because it proves ownership of the asset um that it's for and you usually need it to transfer that asset.

[00:47:33]I mean, you can it's not obviously people have house fires and stuff where they lose everything and you can figure it out, but it's just more costly um and time consuming to do that.

[00:47:44]So to hold on to the original title um for your vehicles and then have copies of the deed for your home or any other real property that you have, it's going to make it a lot easier later on down the road.

[00:47:59]Um, so it's important to keep them in a safe place.

[00:48:02]Um, if you have a fireproof safe in your house, that's a good place to put it or a safe deposit box. And then make sure that um, somebody that you trust has access and knows where they are so that it's not hard to find.

[00:48:17]>> So at the time of somebody's death, why why would it be important to What's the primary need for having a title?

[00:48:23]>> So they're helpful in transferring the assets. So a vehicle, they're going to be signing over, literally signing over the title.

[00:48:30]Um, for real property, um, the deed has the legal description for your house.

[00:48:36]So, um, your loved one will be able to provide that deed to the attorney who's preparing the deed to transfer it to them and it'll just make it a lot quicker and more efficient if they can provide those documents.

[00:48:48]>> Have you had any issues um, that you've had to mitigate as an attorney with regard to titles?

[00:48:55]>> Uh, yes. So people, um, leaving deceased parties on titles causes an extra hoop that you have to jump through.

[00:49:04]Um, a lot of times a married couple, when one person passes away, they won't do anything to transfer the house into the other's name or to transfer it to the beneficiaries that are entitled to it.

[00:49:17]And so when the second spouse dies, the family members have to figure out and coordinate um, for two probates versus just the one. Um, so um, to keep everything updated and um, you know, along the way is really helpful.

[00:49:38]>> And one last question for you or series of questions for you. What are some family issues that you've had to mediate or some disputes um, that you've had to work to resolve from your legal perspective, your legal background? And what are some ways our audience can prepare themselves to avoid such disputes, either as a survivor um of a deceased loved one, or in preparation if they become deceased?

[00:50:04]>> So, a lot of disputes arise because of bad planning or lack of planning. Um right now I'm dealing with a situation where um my client and her brother-in-law are co-owners of a house um with co-owners, they're both responsible for paying the property taxes, paying the to maintain the house.

[00:50:27]Um you know, sometimes people get along with their in-laws, um but most of the time they don't. So, to avoid that situation would have been nice. Um you know, just confusion causes a lot of problems. Um I highly recommend communicating with your family members so that they know what you're doing and why you did it, so that they're not wondering when you're not around to answer their questions.

[00:50:58]Um a lot of the times I tell my older clients to have a family meeting, and just have everyone come together. Um it it's shocking um what you'll find out your kids are interested in. A lot of people think it's, you know, great-grandma's China or our antique furniture, when really the younger generations are not at all interested in any of that. Um but they do want great-great-grandma's wooden spoon that's, you know, worth 25 cents, because they watched Mom cook with it every day. Um and then all the kids fight about the wooden spoon and spend, you know, ungodly amounts of money on attorney's fees to end up with something that they could have all just come to an agreement together beforehand. So, clear communication, being organized, um staying on top of it, that usually resolves a lot of the issues ahead of time.

[00:51:54]>> Thank you. Thank you so much. Brian, one last question for you.

[00:51:59]Um what happens if a person does not have life insurance um nor the funds to pay for the burial of a loved one?

[00:52:10]Do they have any alternative options to explore?

[00:52:14]>> So, as a family-owned and operated uh business, we're not beholden to a corporation outside of San Antonio. Um our owner lives and works here in the community and is very passionate about community support. So, we're going to do our best to see what can we do to support the family at their time of need. Um and fortunately, San Antonio is an extremely generous community. We've seen families holding uh plate sales.

[00:52:44]We've um had community uh there's community fundraisers. And we're happy to work with families um to see what their options are. If they have absolutely absolutely nothing and there's no other options, um I know there are government organizations um that provide uh uh pauper burial uh assistance. Um but regarding um MeadowLawn, if uh the family is able to um we're willing to work with families if families can work with us. So, it just depends on each individual situation, but still uh come out, talk to us, see what the options are. Um don't just rule it off immediately.

[00:53:41]Uh let's see what we can do.

[00:53:44]Of course, all of this can can be mitigated with advanced planning because you're putting aside that money um at the time of and um I didn't want to interrupt during the Medicaid uh section, but if you're concerned about the asset limit, one of the options is um to spend down to get below that asset limit is funerals. Is you can do prearranged funerals. You can do prearranged cemetery and make it irrevocable so that there's no chance of refunding it and that does not count towards the asset limit as long as it is irrevocable.

[00:54:32]Usually um every every month when uh Medicaid is sending out their when they're looking at assets, we're getting calls saying, "Oh, is my policy irrevocable?" And so, we can make policies irrevocable. We can help families with planning ahead with setting aside funds even if you're on uh limited incomes, um come in, talk to us, let's see what we can do to um protect uh yourself and your families at the time of need.

[00:55:10]>> Thank you. And you recently uh became partner or you recently acquired the Lewis >> Lewis Funeral Home, yes. Um so, Meadowlawn um recently acquired Lewis Funeral Home. Um it's a historic funeral home that has been around for uh uh I think since 1921 um was when they were founded. they've been around for generations. It's a um establishment here in San Antonio, and Meadowlawn is proud to help uh continue their history, and uh we do not want to erase who and what Lewis Funeral Home is to the community. And so, most of our support is back-end uh support.

[00:56:03]Although, if you've been to Lewis Funeral Home recently, you may have seen some uh landscaping improvements. Um we recently finished up uh the landscaping facing the street. We've improved um their sign um recently. So, we're just uh helping um them continue the excellent work that they're already doing. But, um for those of you who know like Mr. uh Clarence Bains is uh back at our table right now, and he's been um an icon here in our community um for many years. He's worked at Lewis Funeral Home, I think since he was 14 years old.

[00:56:42]He got started um there and worked there ever since. So, um we're proud to keep the link to the community strong um with our partnership with Lewis Funeral Home and with Meadowlawn.

[00:56:58]>> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Sherri, coming to you, I have some questions from YouTube related to uh Medicare and Medicaid, and we are wrapping up. So, if you can be concise, um one question says, "My mother is on Medicare and Medicaid, and she owns property and land.

[00:57:18]Will her property and land be at risk when she passes? What is the best way to protect it?" So, that might actually be >> I'm actually going to defer that because I'm not an attorney. I'm going to defer that over to our attorney um because I think that's the best way to answer that.

[00:57:33]>> I hate please. I hate to do this, but I'm not an elder law attorney, so I don't specialize, and I don't want to pretend to know anything that I don't know. Um the furthest I do with Medicaid planning are lady bird deeds, and even then I talk with an elder law attorney to make sure that we're not doing anything.

[00:57:51]>> So those are So lady bird deeds, if if you don't know, let me just just so you know, they allow you to transfer an asset, a home for instance, and and when the person dies, it transfers to whoever you've specified. So it takes it out of what is called Medicaid estate recovery.

[00:58:12]Um so that's what she's talking about there. There are things that you can do to protect your your assets, but I would refer you and encourage you to talk to an estate attorney that is who specifically deals with those.

[00:58:26]>> Yeah.

[00:58:27]>> And the last question on YouTube says, "What is the difference between What is the difference between Medicare Advantage versus Medicare with supplemental options?"

[00:58:39]>> That one um I am not totally versed in, going to be honest with you, because I deal with long-term care. So I would like to tell you to call into the benefits counselors. I think they can provide you better information than I can here. Medicare Advantage programs are insurance programs sold by private insurers, and each of them have specifications. So it's very important in with each insurance program that you have, no matter what kind of insurance it is, that you read those documents, and that you know what is and what is not covered.

[00:59:21]>> Thank you so much. One last question for you, Sam.

[00:59:25]What is a long-term care policy, and how does one obtain it?

[00:59:30]>> Okay.

[00:59:31]So, a long-term care insurance policy is designed to help cover the costs associated with extended care services that traditional health insurance and Medicare may not fully cover, which includes assisted living, home care, memory care, skilled nursing.

[00:59:51]And people typically obtain these from their insurance provider companies.

[01:00:03]The best time to to get a long-term care insurance policy is before major health issues arise cuz eligibility and pricing are based on age and health status. And policies vary, so it's important to to speak with somebody that knows about it way more than I do, but do it early.

[01:00:27]>> Thank you so very much. That is the end of our round for our panelists. Let's put our hands together for them.

[01:00:40]Certainly, if you have any further questions, those of you who are tuned [clears throat] in online on Facebook or YouTube, if you have additional questions, please reach out to me. You can call me at 210-646-7997 extension 126. That's my office number, 210-646-7997 extension 126. Or you can email me at [email protected].

[01:01:13]If I don't know the answer to your question, I will connect you with a subject expert matter subject matter expert who does know the answer to your question. At this time, we are going to take a brief uh intermission for our evening's offerings. And so, um please go ahead and prepare your offering as Brother EJ comes to lead us in that, and then we will go into a time of Q&A from you all in the audience.

[01:01:47]>> Hello.

[01:01:48]Good evening. Well, it is receiving time.

[01:01:52]Woo!

[01:01:55]But, if you do need an envelope, please raise your hand uh as we look at the big screen for the ways that we give.

[01:02:03]So, here at New Creation, we believe in the tithe. The tithe is the 10% of our increase.

[01:02:08]Um so, yes. If you look, we have our Givelify, we have our envelopes. Uh so, if you need an envelope, please raise your hand, like we said. You can also give at uh nccf.online.org, and then the 8700 app.

[01:02:23]Okay. Y'all need a little bit more time?

[01:02:27]Okay, we see some people raising their hands.

[01:02:31]Amen. Uh and if you're online, uh this opportunity is also for you. So, like we said, we have our 8700 app, we have uh Givelify, and we also have the website. Uh you can also mail those in to uh 8700 Four Winds Drive, Windcrest, Texas.

[01:02:50]All right, if you wouldn't mind standing all over the house, please hold up your offering, and let [clears throat] us pray.

[01:03:01]Lord, thank you so much for allowing us to give. God, uh I thank you for that opportunity. And Lord, I also want to pray for those who had the heart to give, but were not able to. God, I ask that as we give, God, that as we sow this, that you return it to us some tenfold, some 100-fold, God, and that you allow us to be cheerful in our giving, God. Bless those who are giving, bless those who are not able to, God, that the next time they will be able to, and it's in your holy name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

[01:03:29]Now, please look to the big big screens as we do our offering declaration.

[01:03:35]According to God's word, we believe that when we sow bountifully, we reap bountifully. We return back to God what belongs to God, and because we do, we declare that we receive more than enough for our family, our friends, our community, and our future. In [music] Jesus' name, amen.

[01:03:56]Uh please pass your offerings towards the center aisle, and our ushers will be down to collect them.

[01:04:01]Thank you.

[01:04:05]>> And just by way of observation, if you purchased a ticket for the luncheon tomorrow, the COGIC convention luncheon, uh through New Creations website, ncccf online.org, or through uh Pastor C's wellness website, please see Sister Betty Williamson at the front desk after service to receive your ticket. She is here tonight. You want to go out to our atrium after service and see her. If you are not picking up your ticket tonight, please see Sister Betty tomorrow at 12:30 at the convention center to receive your ticket. You won't be able to get in without your ticket, so you want to make sure to see Sister Betty.

[01:04:59]Sisterhood game night will be Friday night, this Friday night. Yeah, y'all can give it up.

[01:05:06]Dr. Demaur Lewis is here, our Sisterhood director.

[01:05:10]And so, uh this Friday night will be girls night. It'll be fun and games.

[01:05:15]Please register at nccfonline.org and the donation is $15. Again, if you have any questions, please feel free to see Dr. Jamal Lewis this evening. And lastly, don't forget this coming Sunday after service, we will have our ministry fair. Amen. So, that means all of our ministries that that function here in good standing at New Creation, we will meet in the gym and you can come by each table, find out more about how each ministry serves, and how maybe you can join and be a active participant in your church. So, don't forget to come out after service immediately in the gym for the ministry fair. Wear your best rodeo outfit.

[01:06:04]>> [laughter] >> Um if you've got the boots, if you got a hat, whatever you have, and come on out.

[01:06:09]There [clears throat] will be uh dinner available for purchase in the cafeteria.

[01:06:14]So, if you don't you're you're wondering if there're going to be food, there will be food available for purchase in the cafeteria. Amen?

[01:06:22]All right. For our audience here in the house, if you have any questions that you want to ask that may have not been addressed or covered in our round robin uh panel discussion, this is your time to shine. So, come on down. It's not The Price Is Right, but you know, you can still come on down.

[01:06:44]>> [laughter] >> Please state your name and then address which panelist you'd like to speak to.

[01:07:03]There we go.

[01:07:04]My name is Ms. Thomas and my question is to Attorney Lauren.

[01:07:09]Um, you talked about the trust and the transfer deeds. Um, can you talk a little bit about the cost of those?

[01:07:19]>> So, it's hard to say. It depends on the complexity. Depends on the situation.

[01:07:26]Um, where I work, we mostly bill based on the amount of time it takes us to do something. So, if I'm drafting a deed for you, that's normally going to be about an hour um of my time. My hourly rate is 450 right now, but we do have associates who are billing at a lower rate. Um, I also can refer to other attorneys um for a will, if you know, as I said, everybody needs a will. So, if cost is a problem when it comes to that, there are clinics. I know St. Mary's School of Law has a clinic where you can go get your will done for free. I used to work in that clinic. They're really great. Um, they're supervised by attorneys like me.

[01:08:12]Um, so you're going to get a good will, and you're not going to have to pay anything for it. Yeah, it's wonderful.

[01:08:21]>> Awesome. Any other informa- uh questions that you'd like to ask of the panel?

[01:08:27]>> Okay, I have two questions. I have one for Is it Brian?

[01:08:31]Okay, I have the right person. Okay, you were talking about prepaid funerals, and now you just uh purchased another funeral home. So, if those the people that were from the funeral home that you guys just uh received, if those people have already paid uh for plots and all of the other stuff, is that still going to be honored?

[01:08:53]>> Yes, ma'am. Everything um that if you've purchased prearrangements through Lewis Funeral Home, everything is still going to be honored through Lewis Funeral Home um regarding your services. It's still going to be held at the Lewis Chapel. It's still going to be Lewis staff.

[01:09:12]Primarily where you're going to You're really not going to see much of the integration because that's happening in the back end. So, we're kind of we're pulling um our payroll together so that way your We're not running two billing offices, one at Lewis, one at um um Meadowlawn. They're being merged there. It's mostly back end that you're seeing. Lewis Funeral Home is still operating as Lewis Funeral Home. It's not We're not trying to erase who they are and their history. It's so important to the community and Craig Cates, the owner of Meadowlawn, he is extremely aware of how important Lewis Funeral Home um is and he doesn't want to erase them. He wants to um continue to help improve and keep them going.

[01:10:16]>> Okay. It was just because uh like with older people when they buy {quote} uh services and then something happens to them or they may move out of Okay, like if I purchase something in Texas, but all of a sudden I move someplace else, then I would still need to come back over here. So, what happens to people that like if you went into bankruptcy or something like that, those uh policies or whatever the insurance things are like >> the few the prepaid arrangements >> Yes, prepaid arrangements something like >> So, um regarding prepaid arrangements, if you preplan locally and then uh you move out of state um to um a different a you move to a different state, um different environment. Um we've had uh we've worked with other funeral homes where um they will accept our policy. We'll send uh what we have over to them. We'll transfer the policy. And or we'll help bring people back for services. Um I know uh a couple of months back, we had a family from uh Georgia where uh their loved one was moved back to be closer to family, but uh they had a prearranged burial place here at Meadowlawn. And so, when they passed, uh we worked with the funeral home in Georgia to bring them back here to San Antonio so that the prearrangement could be honored and they could be laid to rest where they had a a prearrangement.

[01:11:57]>> additional charge, or there could be other charges added to it?

[01:12:00]>> There could be additional uh Regarding the additional charges, it would be the additional transportation cost.

[01:12:08]Um they didn't have to pay extra for uh their plot. It was just arrangements from uh getting them from Georgia to here.

[01:12:21]And that is also something that if your situation changes and you know that you still want to be laid to rest here, we can adjust your prearrangement or create an additional contract um to where we don't touch the um your prior arrangements that have been frozen in cost, but we would uh freeze the new additions at the current rate so that way you don't have to wait.

[01:12:50]>> Okay. Can I ask one more?

[01:12:53]Okay, thank you. Uh Miss Laura Miss Miller? Okay.

[01:12:58]Uh my uh friend's mother had a clause in her will where she did not want the courts involved. It was in another state. Do we have anything like that in the state of Texas?

[01:13:11]>> Can you repeat? I didn't hear the middle part of your >> Okay.

[01:13:13]A a friend of mine in another state had a statement in her will, her mother had, where she did not want the courts involved in the distribution of what she had in her will. So, when my friend's uh called over to probate and she told them what that document was, then that person said, "Okay, I have some papers that you need to fill out and just bring them in and everything will be taken care of."

[01:13:41]Can you speak to that? Uh do we have anything like that in Texas?

[01:13:44]>> So, the the courts aren't the ones determining whether the will needs to be probated. It's going to be the bank. The bank or an institution is going to say, "I need what are called letters testamentary um to prove that you have authority to access this bank account if it's not held in a way that I talked about earlier where it passes to somebody immediately upon their death without the need to probate. So, having a clause in there doesn't necessarily help if there's a bank that's requiring you to probate the will. The way to avoid probate is to make sure all of your assets are styled in a way that they're going to pass to the the person that you want it to pass to under contract versus under your will.

[01:14:29]>> Okay. Thank you.

[01:14:30]>> Of course.

[01:14:32]Elder Sherman, you had a question.

[01:14:37]If anyone else has a question, please uh come to the center aisle. We are about to wrap up and you can certainly go out into our walk around and ask additional questions at our vendor tables.

[01:14:50]>> My name is Rodney Sherman. I had a question for Sam. Sam, you talked about the uh the two-room suite.

[01:14:59]Is that right? You You said in the Huh? It was a two-room suite, right? Huh?

[01:15:08]N- No, I thought the You s- The suite has two rooms in it, is that >> got two bedrooms and >> Two bedrooms. See, they're young.

[01:15:18]I I just had one question. Can I bring my barbecue pit?

[01:15:22]>> You could. We We have >> I'm serious. I'm serious cuz I'm I'm thinking this would be a tough transition for me for coming from a home uh you know, to a senior living and I'm trying to think of things that might make that a little easier. So, you're saying I can bring my barbecue pit?

[01:15:39]>> We We have a resident who brought his barbecue pit and it's in our courtyard right now. Our Our community has an interior courtyard and about every couple weeks he'll he'll fire it up and we love it when he does.

[01:15:51]>> Okay. Now, my barbecue pit is bigger than two of those tables, so I'm When I come holding up with them >> Lord, have mercy.

[01:15:58]>> Thank you.

[01:15:59]>> [laughter] >> Okay.

[01:16:06]Last call. Last call.

[01:16:09]Okay. My name is T. Johnson.

[01:16:13]>> [clears throat] >> And I'm asking about something. I want to know if this is a scam. Um on online, especially on Facebook, it says that at the time of death, if you have Medicare, um they will pay $255 towards your burial.

[01:16:34]And then it there's a promotion that says um that there are $25,000 in funds available to you, but you have to know to apply for it. It's available to every senior citizen over 65.

[01:16:54]And I want to know if that's a scam, or is that something that uh we can apply for as senior citizens who are over 65 and uh pay for our funerals.

[01:17:10]Nobody It's a scam.

[01:17:12]>> I'm not aware of it. I know there is a death benefit for social security.

[01:17:18]>> Yes, that's what I mean.

[01:17:20]Not Medicare, but social security.

[01:17:22]>> There is the There is [clears throat] the the death benefit for social security.

[01:17:28]Um although that can take some time to pay out. It may not pay out immediately because it usually requires a death certificate, which can take uh 3 to 4 weeks to issue. Um Yeah.

[01:17:45]So, there you'd have to talk to social security to to get that. Um regarding any additional funds >> State funds.

[01:17:55]>> State funds. I mean, there's all sorts of programs out there that exist. Um but each one has to be investigated independently. I'm not aware of any um specific ones that have that amount available uh to seniors.

[01:18:19]>> Okay, and how much are How much is the average funeral and the average cremation?

[01:18:26]>> Um average funeral depends on what you're looking for.

[01:18:32]Um in at our table, um we have our general price lists. Um, so it it really comes down to what are you looking for?

[01:18:43]Because if you're looking for a one-day service, that's going to be more affordable than if you want a two-day service or multiple days. If you want a certain type of casket, um, I know people will joke, "Oh, just put me in a pine box and throw and throw me in the ground."

[01:19:04]People don't realize that wood caskets are generally much more expensive because of the nature of handcrafting versus metal caskets. Metal is usually more affordable than wood. Um, so it it's going to depend, I would say if you're looking to budget, I probably around 8 to 8 to 10,000 dollars is kind of a starting range um, for traditional and then cremation, um, it depends whether you want services associated with it or not. Um, they're going to start around uh, 1795 and then uh, go from there depending on what you're looking for because um, I'll not everybody is aware that you can have a full-service cremation where you can have your body embalmed, be in a ceremonial casket for the duration of the ceremony, and then rather than going out into the cemetery to be buried, you return uh, to the care of the funeral home for cremation to follow. So, for families that want to experience to have that final farewell experience of the traditional funeral, but they don't want to pay for um to pay to have the casket be buried, to pay for a plot, to pay for um everything that's involved in burial, um fam- families will sometimes opt for the full-service cremation. And at our table, um we have our general price lists available here, and then we also have our general price list available online um for people to look at, and I highly encourage you to um to anybody who's listening and who has questions to uh call and speak to a family service counselor. We're happy to um talk to you about the those prices.

[01:21:15]>> Thank you, Brian.

[01:21:17]Sister Batie she'll be our last question in person.

[01:21:21]>> Thank have two questions. One, in the state of Texas, if you have property property like acres or something like that, can you designate part of that property for burial?

[01:21:35]In I've I've heard some people say that they have a family plot a family burial place on their property. Is that Do you know anything about that?

[01:21:45]>> Um very briefly, I have looked into it out of curiosity. Um it does have to be a certain amount of acres, and each um local municipality is going to govern it differently. So, um I am not qualified to speak to what the requirements are. I know you can do it.

[01:22:10]Um but I would um highly encourage you speak to a lawyer and the local municipal government um well in advance of um making any sort of designation because uh it is not a simple process from the the brief looking into that I did.

[01:22:36]I was just curious so I was looking at laws.

[01:22:39]But it is not something that's going to be easy.

[01:22:43]>> And the other question I had was Okay, if you like want to try like a senior living place or something like that like you own your house and you know, you don't have any bills or nothing like that. You just want to see if you like it.

[01:22:59]When you make a agreement with the facility or whatever is that like for a period of time? Do they do it for like 3 months a year or do you know will they work with you it's like I don't like this you know, my house is paid for I got I can go back home if I want to.

[01:23:16]How does that work?

[01:23:18]>> So for for the company I work for Brookdale, we're a month-to-month agreement.

[01:23:26]So you can try us for a month and if you if you love it great. If you don't you can go back to your home or or wherever you're living. There's no commitment. We do require a 30-day notice and and that's it.

[01:23:41]>> Okay, but there's a cost. I mean you pay for that period of time. Okay.

[01:23:46]>> I'll also add to that that there is respite care often available within within various communities.

[01:23:54]Respite care can be utilized for instance if you're caring for someone and you need surgery or a vacation. You need a couple of weeks that they're going to go there that each facility will have different specifications.

[01:24:07]But in your case you might consider respite care, try it out for a short term and that would give you the ability to try out numerous locations.

[01:24:17]>> Okay, thank you.

[01:24:19]>> Thank you. As we wrap up I do want to address two things that came in from YouTube.

[01:24:27]We have a question that says if a spouse passes away and they were exempted from paying property tax, will the living spouse have to start paying property tax?

[01:24:40]So there's a homestead exemption and there's a 65 plus exemption.

[01:24:46]Typically, if the surviving spouse continues to live in the home, they're going to qualify if they're over 65 and for the homestead exemption, they might need to uh file an application for the homestead exemption.

[01:25:01]And then I did want to just mention in response to the questions that were specifically asked about Medicare Advantage Plan, Brother Corey Leggon is actually here in the sanctuary. Corey, would you stand?

[01:25:16]And he is a life insurance agent and so if you have any questions about policies, I'd love for you to speak to him after we wrap up here, but he did answer the question in the chat on YouTube by saying that the Medicare Advantage Plan is a low-cost, sometimes free all-inclusive plan that comes with health, prescription, some dental, vision, hearing benefits and they operate within a network of doctors and pharmacies. And with regard to Medicare supplement, Medicare supplements are plans that cost a monthly premium.

[01:25:54]They only cover medical care. You can see any doctor that you want and usually you won't have any co-pays, just meet a small deductible. So I wanted to make sure we addressed those those those questions.

[01:26:10]In the walk-around, we have several community organizations. We have of course tables from each of our panelists. We have ACOG, we have abode contemplative care for the dying, we have the San Antonio Alzheimer's Association, we of course have Brookdale Marxt Burger senior living Langley and Banack attorneys at law, we have Meadowlawn Memorial Park and we have power your potential professional development which helps veterans get their 100%. If you have any questions if you're a veteran if you have any questions um specifically about um you know the process of of of um passing away, how do you process your DD214, all of the things, please go and see that table and then finally we have Vitas Healthcare. So, please please please give a round of applause again to our panelists.

[01:27:08]So grateful for your time and your talent and your energy and coming out pro bono to be with us tonight. Please make sure that you go out to the walk around and pick up every single piece of brochure paper that you can um and take it home with you. Lastly, we have Angelia Hendricks. She is a notary republic and loan signing agent and she is at the table uh with her colleagues of the San Antonio Alzheimer's Association table, but she has her information here because all of the documents that uh we spoke about some do require a notary signature to be signed and dated and so if you want to uh connect with a notary, she is here on site and her services are on this card at the San Antonio Alzheimer's Association uh table. Okay? We are going to close.

[01:28:04]Would you all stand with me? Have you all enjoyed tonight?

[01:28:10]Amen.

[01:28:12]And certainly we don't want to close without honoring the shepherds of this house, Bishop David Michael Copeland, our senior pastor, and our lovely Pastor Emerita, Reverend Dr. Claudette Anderson Copeland. We love you, Bishop and Pastor. Thank you for allowing us to have this space tonight. Let's look to the Lord.

[01:28:33]Thank you, Jesus, for tonight. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for every panelist here, every organization that is represented. We pray now that you would go with us, lead us and guide us until we meet again. We thank you, Lord, for your grace and your mercy as we travel home, and may we find all of our goods in order. Go in peace, New Creation, and the Lord go with you. See you Sunday.

[01:29:05]>> Thank you so much for joining us today.

[01:29:08]You know, you're always welcome at New Creation Christian Fellowship to worship with us in the presence of the Lord. I hope you had an impactful experience today. Please tune in again with us doing our Sunday morning worship at 10:00 a.m. and Wednesday night Bible study at 7:00 p.m. Hey, we'll see you next time. God bless.