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FROM THE OFFICE TO THE AIRWAVES INTRODUCING ‘THE CHRIS BERRY SHOW’
I’ve always believed in the power of education. Maybe that’s because I grew up with a college professor for a father (thanks, Dad!), but mostly I just think it’s because I’ve seen how much people appreciate learning a little more about legal, financial, and tax planning issues. I’ve always done workshops and even written a few books to help spread the word as far and wide as possible. I’m proud to announce that we’ll be adding a new ingredient to our educational recipe in the form of a weekly radio show and podcast called, fittingly, “The Chris Berry Show.” Radio has always been a big part of my life, introducing me to new music, ideas, and worlds I never would’ve explored otherwise. Listening to our local classic rock station was the first time I ever heard The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and so many other artists I still love to this day. When I was in the car with my dad, we would listen to talk radio stations covering news and culture from every angle. Those car rides helped pique my intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledge. So it goes without saying that I’m incredibly excited to be on the other side of the airwaves.
“The Chris Berry Show” will be an hour-long program airing every Sunday at 2 p.m. on both the 101.5 FM and 1400 AM stations of WDTK The Patriot. You’ll also find podcast versions of every show on iTunes. I want to make sure that everyone who is interested has the chance to tune in, even if they
miss the original broadcast. Information, after all, is only valuable when people have access to it.
capacity of the buildings we hold them in. There’s no limit to the number of ears and minds you can reach over the radio, especially when you factor in digital distribution. I hope you’ll find the show valuable, instructive, and fun. As we’re just getting the show off the ground, I welcome any suggestions for future topics or guests. I hope you’ll tune into “The Chris Berry Show,” and I want to thank everyone for their help in preparing for this new project. I also want to thank all the radio DJs and commentators I’ve listened to over the years for providing me the inspiration to put my voice out into the world.
The show will be structured in three segments. The first will be a round up of the week’s news, ranging from local and international to personal and professional. After that, we’ll transition to a discussion of an educational topic relating to law or finances. I’m hoping to have guests join me for these segments who can shed some expertise on a particular area. Finally, the show will conclude with a Q&A session where I will answer questions submitted by listeners. If you want to have your question answered on air, you can submit it to askchris@thechrisberryshow.com. More than anything, “The Chris Berry Show” is designed to help people achieve their financial and estate planning goals. As much as I’d like to, I can’t speak to everyone in our community one-on-one. Even workshops are limited by the
“I’m proud to announce that we’ll be adding a new ingredient to our educational recipe in the form of a weekly radio show and podcast
Happy Listening!
called, fittingly, ‘The Chris Berry Show.’”
– Christopher J. Berry
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age-related thinning. Dr. Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist specializing in the effects of yoga and meditation on cognitive and behavioral function, reports that long-time meditators don’t show a decline in the thickness of the prefrontal cortex. THE HIPPOCAMPUS Your hippocampus helps you process and form new memories, and it’s very sensitive to stress. In fact, research shows that your hippocampus will shrink in response to stressful situations and chronic stress. The remedy? Meditation. Dr. Lazar’s study showed a positive correlation between meditation and a higher concentration of gray matter in the left hippocampus. THE AMYGDALA Often called the fear center of the brain, the amygdala is triggered by stressful situations. But unlike the hippocampus, which shrinks in response to stress, the amygdala has been shown to become denser. In one study, people who attended mindfulness meditation classes showed a smaller stress response in brain scans compared to those who did not attend the classes. Meditation may help to decrease the density of the amygdala and therefore increase your ability to handle stress. Of course, in addition to these benefits, there’s a good chance that five minutes of meditation each day will simply make you feel better. People who meditate report an increase in overall well-being. Why not give it a try? IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN MINUTES HowMeditation Helps You Maintain Brain Health
Meditation has often been touted by New Age gurus as a way to find inner peace and stillness. But what if meditating could reduce the effects of aging on your brain? According to research, taking a few minutes out of your day to meditate may improve cognitive function. As meditation’s popularity has spread, so have studies of the practice. The results of 100 studies examining the cognitive effects of meditation all show evidence of improvements in psychological and cognitive functions. Some of the results are intuitive, such as how meditation helps us deal with stress. But other results are incontrovertible, such as scans showing that meditation causes structural changes in the brain. For people facing age-related changes like memory loss, the results of these tests are especially relevant. The studies point to evidence that meditation can strengthen certain areas of the brain — the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala — that weaken as we age. THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX Your prefrontal cortex thins with age, which is associated with decreased cognitive function in your later years. However, meditation may reduce this
MEET ELIZABETH A. LAUER
New to Our Team, But With 30-Plus Years Experience
Elizabeth A. Lauer joined the Elder Care team just a few short months ago, but she’s already making a positive impact on our firm. Working as a paralegal, she brings more than three decades of experience in the legal field. And almost all of that time was spent working with estate planning. Obviously, she had no shortage of choice in deciding where to use her vast skill set, so we’re honored she chose us. “I had heard of Chris and the Elder Care Firm from a few friends and colleagues who are currently employed here,” Elizabeth says. “They all spoke about the firm in glowing terms, so I figured I had to experience it for myself.” After joining our team, she noticed just how much we care about and for our clients. “The client service at the Elder Care Firm is truly exceptional. Everyone understands the mission, and a lot of that is down to Chris’s passion and energy for the work.”
back. “I already have some clients of my own whom I help with estate planning matters. In the future, I’m excited to start handling VA and Medicaid benefits as well.” When she’s not working, Elizabeth enjoys participating in marathons through the Team in Training program to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “I’ve been able to do races in Hawaii and Dublin through Team in Training,” she says. “It’s a way to travel while also benefiting a very worthy cause.” She’s also a born-and-raised Michigander who enjoys taking vacations to the Lake Michigan coast. “It’s an amazing place and one I never get tired of visiting.” Elizabeth may be a new addition to our team, but she already feels like a veteran performer. We’re so happy to have her working alongside us to make our clients’ lives as fulfilling and secure as possible. Welcome aboard, Elizabeth.
Because of Elizabeth’s outstanding experience, she hit the ground running and has never looked
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THE TOP 5 WORRIES
For Individuals Approaching and Entering Retirement
PAYING FOR HEALTH CARE For many retirees, health care costs account for a substantial portion of their monthly budgets. There are ways to plan for these expenses to ensure that you can pay for health care without exhausting your retirement funds. OUTLIVING YOUR SAVINGS Living to 100 is a wonderful goal, and it’s one that’s increasingly common. But the longer we live, the more money we need in our retirement accounts. Many people worry that a longer life will require them to sell off assets. The way to avoid this fate is to plan for a long retirement.
Retirement should be a time to relax and enjoy the fact that you’re no longer tied to a full-time job. As with any major life change, however, retirement can engender just as much anxiety as excitement. A lot of that apprehension can be resolved through careful, comprehensive planning. While everyone approaches retirement on their own terms, there are common concerns that many people face as they begin the next chapter of their lives. Here are five that we speak with clients about often. SAVING ENOUGH MONEY It can be difficult to know how much money you need to save for retirement. People now live longer than ever before, and the cost of living is always on the rise. You probably can’t rely on Social Security to maintain the standard of living that you enjoy now. Beginning your planning early will ensure that you have sufficient funds when the time to retire comes. RETIRING WITH DEBT Couples and individuals often retire with a mortgage, car payment, or other debt. Having to make payments after you retire isn’t the end of the world. What matters most is understanding how much you’ll be able to contribute once you’re retired. In the vast majority of cases, it will be less than you can during your career.
LACK OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS The fear that Social Security will shrink or disappear is common among young people. Predicting what will happen decades down the road is a fool’s errand. Planning for retirement without the aid of Social Security will leave you secure with the knowledge that no matter what happens in terms of policy, it won’t affect you adversely.
Chris’ Paleo Corner:
BALSAMIC CHICKEN WITH BACON AND APPLES
Thank You! For us to be able to help family and friends just like you, we depend on referrals.
[inspired by wholesomelicious.com
With this one-pan wonder, you can complete an entire meal in under an hour. It tastes delicious and makes your kitchen smell heavenly.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Thank you to the following people for your support!
1. Blend balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon, rosemary, and garlic to create marinade. Pour into bowl or sealable bag and add chicken. Marinate for at least 5 minutes or up to 12 hours. The longer you marinate, the more flavorful the chicken will be. 2. Heat oven to 375 F. Spread Brussels sprouts, bacon, and apples on a baking sheet. Add chicken and pour any extra marinade over the top. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Bake 20–25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. For extra crunchiness, turn the heat up to 425 F for the last 5 minutes. 4. Transfer to platter and serve immediately.
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut into pieces • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar • 1/2 cup olive oil • Juice of 1/2 lemon • 2 cloves garlic, crushed • 1/4 cup rosemary, finely chopped • 10 ounces Brussels sprouts, halved, stems removed • 2 apples, cored, peeled, and coarsely chopped • 6 slices bacon, cut into squares • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Catherine Magnan Michael Morrow Kathy Fackler Gerald Stribbell Randolph Bayless Mary Ann Slazinski Harold Selesky
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8550 Grand River Ave., Ste. 200 Brighton, MI 48116 888-390-4360 www.MichiganEstatePlanning.com
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INSIDE This Issue
A New Broadcast From Chris PAGE 1
How Meditation Can Help the Aging Brain PAGE 2 The Newest Member of The Elder Care Team PAGE 2
Common Retirement Worries PAGE 3
Balsamic Chicken With Bacon and Apples PAGE 3 3 Fathers Who Risked It All for Their Kids PAGE 4
3 AWESOME DADS
Fathers Who Put Their Lives on the Line for Their Kids
GREG ALEXANDER BATTLED A BEAR FOR HIS SON’S LIFE.
This Father’s Day, thousands of dads will receive a “No. 1 Dad” mug to sip coffee out of at the office. But the following dads took that “No. 1” to a new level.
While camping in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Greg Alexander was startled awake at dawn by the screams of his 16-year-old son, Gabriel. He rushed out of his hammock to see a black bear dragging his son away by the head. Without hesitation, he kicked the beast in the side, and when that didn’t work, he leapt onto its back and started punching it in the face. When the bear finally released Gabriel, Greg threw rocks until it fled. His son was hurt but made a full recovery in the hospital over the coming weeks. Artur Magomedov was devastated to discover that his wife had taken his 3- and 10-year-old daughters from their home in Dagestan under the cover of night, flown to Turkey, and crossed into Syria to join ISIS. But he resolved to get his kids back. After a long, hazardous journey, he arrived in Tabqa to embrace his two daughters. To leave the caliphate — under penalty of death — they hitched a ride to the border one night and crawled along a railway line until they were within 70 meters of the border. Then they ran under fire from Turkish border guards until they could scramble into tall grasses. After some help from the Russian consulate in Istanbul, they made it back home, together again and safe. ARTUR MAGOMEDOV SAVED HIS DAUGHTERS FROM ISIS.
BRIAN MUNN GAVE HIS SON A LIVER TRANSPLANT.
When doctors discovered that baby Caleb Munn had a rare disease called biliary
atresia, they told his parents that he was unlikely to survive
past age 2 without a liver transplant. Luckily, his father was a perfect match, and he eagerly donated part of his liver in
March 2015 to save his son’s life.
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