Sandwich Generation Stress SMART STRATEGIES TO SURVIVE THE CAREGIVING YEARS
Caring for children and aging parents can be stressful for the generation in the middle, leading to heavy workloads and round-the-clock worries. Nearly 1 in 4 American adults are shouldering those duties as part of the sandwich generation — that is, they have at least one parent over 65 and are raising a child under 18 or supporting an adult child financially, according to Pew Research. These cross-generational responsibilities can easily leave a caregiver feeling swamped and stressed out. However, family-care experts have provided three strategies for navigating this challenging stage of life. Self-Care Essentials Neglecting your own physical and mental health is a mistake, not only for your sake but for ensuring you have the inner resources you need for your family. One social worker told Care.com, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” If you simply can’t find time for a break to exercise, read, or chill with friends, ask a spouse, another family member, or a friend to take over caregiving duties so you can get away. If you need support or space to vent, look for a caregiver support group through a local aging agency, hospital, or senior-care facility. Streamline Tasks Plan to delegate chores, such as driving the kids to sports practice or taking Mom to a doctor’s appointment. To avoid constantly updating family members on a loved one’s status, set up a group text or shared Google Doc. Family-focused platforms such as Lotsa
Helping Hands offer more elaborate information-sharing functions and can be especially useful during crises. Non-Negotiable Needs
You may never attain a sense of balance during this life stage. As one caregiver says, sometimes it’s all about putting out fires, and that’s okay! But don’t surrender your own needs entirely! Identify the activities you simply cannot give up without sacrificing your mental health, such as regular exercise, time outdoors, or coffee with friends. Make time for these pursuits by enlisting others to help or paying for professional care.
Remember that the difficult, unpredictable labor of family care you provide can make a huge and enduring difference in your loved ones’ quality of life. And that is a purpose well worth pursuing!
When High-Low Agreements Save the Day A LITIGATION LIFELINE
In the world of personal injury, it sometimes happens that the insurance company for the defendant and our client cannot agree on the case’s value. This inability to settle leads both parties to go to trial and accept whatever the jury decides. However, there is another option: a high-low agreement. What is a high-low agreement? In this sort of arrangement, the parties agree that, irrespective of the jury verdict, the defendant will pay a minimum amount of money to the plaintiff (the “low”) but will not have to pay above a maximum amount agreed to by the parties (the “high”). So, for example, let’s assume that a plaintiff and a defendant agree to a “high-low” in which the low is $100,000 and the high is $500,000. At trial, the jury awards the plaintiff $50,000. Under the parties’ high-low agreement, the
defendant (their insurance company) would pay the plaintiff $100,000. By contrast, if the verdict was $700,000, the insurance company would only be obligated to pay the plaintiff $500,000, the “high.” We recently had a tough case in which a high-low agreement proved incredibly beneficial. The jury verdict was substantially below the “low” agreed to by the parties. Therefore, my client will get paid substantially more by the insurance company than the jury thought the case was worth. Although the result is not entirely satisfactory to the client, it is better than the alternative of accepting what the jury awarded. High-low agreements are valuable because they provide each side some insurance against catastrophic jury verdicts – either on
the high side for the insurance company or on the low side for the plaintiff. High-low agreements are very common and ensure clients receive at least a baseline figure for their losses. Additionally, they give each side a fair idea of what a high-stakes case will pay or receive when entering it. Above all, these agreements help assure our clients they will leave a case with something even when a defendant refuses to negotiate a settlement and prompts a jury trial. Please contact me if you’d like more information on high-low agreements or any other facet of a successful personal injury case. –Kevin Mottley
2 | (804) 823-2011
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