A Day Full of Holiday Cheer

Friday, December 16

Sponsored by Highmark

• 11 a.m. Member Meeting & Building Update

There are a lot of rumours flying around about the building and our move. Come to the meeting for the latest news and get your questions answered.

• 12-2 p.m. Holiday Gift Wrap

 Hate to wrap? Bring in your gifts and we will wrap them for you!

• 1:30 p.m. Holiday Lunch Buffet $10

BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatos, and more. RSVP required. Call the Front Desk.

• 2-3 p.m. Decorate Holiday Cookies

Member Holiday Party

Wednesday, December 21 • 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. • $8

Sponsored by Aetna

RSVP required. Call the Front Desk. 

• Live music by Jay Yager & Chris Dollard.

• Guest appearance by Kelsey Dodd.

• Buffet prepared by Prime at Saratoga National.

• Have you been naughty or nice? Santa will be here…

Holiday Sing-A-Long

Friday, December 23 • 1:30-2:30 p.m.Holiday music with Garland Nelson. A well known and loved Saratoga staple, Garland will get us all in the spirit.

The Joy of Food!
Eat Drink & Be Merry 

Dinner with The Olde Bryan 

Tuesday, December 13 • 5:30 p.m.
$12 per dinner. Chicken Cordon Blue. 

PaL’s Meals To Go  

3:30-5:30 p.m. Curbside Pick Up
$12 per dinner. 

Tuesday, December 6: Lasagna
Place order by Friday, December 2.

Tuesday, December 20: Chicken Picatta with Ziti Place order by Friday, December 16.

Continental Breakfast

Wednesday, December 28 • 9-10 a.m. 

Free. Start your day with friends, laughter and good food. Sponsored by Albany Guardian Society

 What’s New This Month!

Zentangle Art Program
facilitated by Katie Long

Thursday, December 15 • 2 p.m. • $5 

Make a holiday card and ornament with Zentangle. Zentangle is an American method for drawing, which pro-motes concentration and creativity and increases personal well-being.   

Chinese and American Mahjong

Thursdays • 1-4 p.m.

New players welcome! Mahjong is fun and enormously popular, a classic Chinese game of strategy, skill, and summation.

Bridge Has Started!  

Mondays • 1-4 p.m.

We have had many members ask about starting bridge back up.  So if you are interested in playing, come to the Center on Mondays and let’s get the games rolling again.  

Van Trips
Sponsored By Zieker Eye

Troy Savings Bank – Carl Gutkowski & James Fitzwilliam, Classical Flute & Piano

Tuesday, December 13 • Music at Noon

Carl Gutowski is a flutist based in the Hudson Valley and Cape Cod who performs regularly in solo and chamber music settings. James Fitzwilliam is a Hudson Valley pianist, organist and composer. He has served as Organist at Christ Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie. Lunch at the Latham Diner following the performance. Pay $10 at signup. Concert is free. Bring money for lunch.  Leave the Center at 10:45am. Return about 3 p.m. 

Holiday Lighted Nights at Washington County Fairground

Thursday, December 15

The Holiday Lighted Nights flicker on at the Fairgrounds for its drive-thru holiday cheer. Enjoy close to two miles of large-scale holiday light displays, from Santa Clauses to North Pole scenes.  Pay $10 at sign up. Bring  additional money for snacks. Leave the Center at 3:45 p.m. Return about 6:30 p.m.

Lunch Bunch – Fo’Castle Farm

Tuesday, December 20

FoCastle Country store brings you back to a sweeter time… when neighbors gathered on the front porch while fireflies lit up the night sky.  Come back to that time and experience unique gifts that inspire the soul and life the spirit. Pay $10 at  ign up. Bring  additional money for lunch and shopping. Leave the Center at 9:30 a.m. Shop first then have lunch at the cafe. Return about 2:30 p.m.

One of the most popular New Year resolutions is to get your financial house in order. Understanding your finances, learning about the steps you should be taking, and then putting an action plan to work, are critical steps toward that worthwhile resolution. This is where hiring a financial advisor can make all the difference. 

When you’re thinking about hiring a financial advisor, it’s important that you do your due diligence to help make sure you and your advisor are well matched. Ideally, you and your advisor are both looking to establish a very long-term relationship, and part of that involves being very open and honest about your expectations, and asking probing questions. It’s also very important that your advisor be forthcoming with their expectations. Be sure to include the following questions in your vetting process. 

1. Are you a fiduciary? 

An advisor who is a fiduciary is legally required to put your interests ahead of their own, and ahead of the interests of their employer.

2. How are you compensated?

There are a few compensation models in the industry, and you have a right to know how you will be paying for the services you will receive. 

Commission Based – This “eat what you kill” compensation model means that your advisor only gets paid when a transaction takes place, and it had been the traditional model for decades. It has fallen out of favor with both clients and advisors because of the obvious conflict of interest it presents. 

Fee Based – Most advisors now operate under a fee-based structure. What this means is that they charge a stated fee for providing advice, as opposed to earning a sales commission. This fee is often a percentage of the assets they manage, but could also be hourly depending on the scope of work. Since the fee is assessed as a percentage of your balance, it changes as your accounts grow or shrink, and you and your advisor now have the same goal; to be careful stewards of your assets over time.  

Because certain important products, like life insurance, are inherently commission-based, a fee-based advisor has the latitude to provide these solutions as well. Here, again, it is important to understand if the advisor is a fiduciary.

3. Are you independent?

It’s important to consider whether the advisor works for a company with proprietary products to sell. Generally this will be common with insurance and mutual fund companies. Even with the best intentions, your advisor may be limited to, or incentivized for using, their employer’s products.

When the only tool in your toolbelt is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail. An independent advisor will generally have access to a universe of products, and be beholden only to you.  

4. Are you, or members of your team, a CFP®?

A Certified Financial Planner® professional is an advisor who has been through a rigorous education and examination process beyond the regular licensing requirements for the industry. A CFP® has demonstrated a level of proficiency across a wide range of planning topics, and has committed to a higher code of ethics. If your advisor is not a CFP® it could be beneficial to you that they are, at least, working directly with one in formulating their recommendations.

5. How much education can I expect from you?

The financial industry is full of jargon and acronyms. Every client has a different level of financial experience, and a good advisor will act as an educator to make sure you understand their recommendations. Most advisors don’t intend to talk over your head, but if you find them using language that you’re not familiar with, don’t be shy about asking for terms to be defined or strategies to be better explained. 

Good communication is the cornerstone of any relationship, and it’s crucial that you and your advisor are speaking the same language.  

6. How long have you been in practice?

There is no substitute for experience. Every advisor can look like a rock star during good times, but it’s important to know that they have been battle-tested and have the temperament to keep their head even if you’re losing yours, when volatility strikes.  In order to help shepherd you through the inevitable periods of uncertainty, they need to have been there before, and know the way through. 

Your relationship with your financial advisor can be the key to your financial success. It’s important that you feel comfortable asking them any questions, and that you’re satisfied with the answers they provide. When you find a good match, work closely with your advisor, and you’ll be well on your way to keeping your New Year resolution.  

Stephen Kyne CFP® is a Partner at Sterling Manor Financial in Saratoga Springs, and Rhinebeck.Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Sterling Manor Financial, LLC, or Cadaret Grant & Co., Inc, SEC registered investment advisors. Sterling Manor Financial and Cadaret, Grant are separate entities.

It was only when I had teenagers that I appreciated how relatively easy it is to clothe smaller kids.

Up to a certain age, my boys have never seemed to care too much what they’re wearing, so if their pants were a little short or their shirts a little big, it was no big deal. Also, up to a certain age, the sizes are straightforward — if you’re an average-sized eight-year-old, then size 8-10 will fit you. If you’re a bigger eight-year-old, then maybe 10-12 is better. You go up or down a size as needed, and when you have a bunch of siblings, there’s usually plenty to choose from. 

Once they get out of the kids’ sizes, though, things are different! When my big boys started needing man-size pants and I had to deal with waist size and inseam size I had to turn to my husband for help, since it was all unfamiliar to me. I’ve sent him out many times to help the boys get pants and shirts and suit jackets that fit.

Things have recently taken an interesting turn, as I now have a boy who doesn’t fit the standard measurements. My tallest boy has a 32-inch-waist and a 36-inch-inseam, which, I have discovered, is a size that baffles even the sellers with a wide array of sizing options. The problem seems to be that it’s assumed that if one has an extra-long inseam, that one also has a larger waist size. From what I’ve seen, the Big & Tall Sizes don’t take into account “Big OR Tall.”

It took me several months to realize that my boy needed new pants, since he’s lived in shorts since the spring. The first time this fall that I told him he absolutely could not wear shorts to wherever we were going was the eye-opening moment — he didn’t have any pants to wear other than the paint-splattered, grass-stained jeans he wears for work! Nothing fit him, everything was far, far too short. 

That night, I got on the computer. I do the vast majority of my shopping online, as getting out to the store is often difficult. Generally, I’ve found the options online to be more extensive — I’m usually able to find exactly what I need easier and more quickly online than browsing through a store. I figured it would be no big deal to find 32-waist-36-inseam pants.

I was shocked at how wrong I was! I searched in my tried-and-true online stores, and I did general google searches, but I either found *nothing* or the selections were weird in terms of color and cut. And expensive! It makes sense that more fabric would mean higher cost, but wow! I couldn’t understand why I was having such a hard time — my boy is extremely low-maintenance when it comes to fashion, and my standards are only a bit higher than his.

Finally, I found something that would work! (SCR SPORTSWEAR Men’s Sweatpants from Amazon, in case anyone else is having the same struggles.) I ordered them right away and when my boy put them on a few days later, I couldn’t stop gushing over how good he looked! The pants fit him perfectly! The length is perfect! The waist is perfect! I even took a few photos when he wasn’t looking while we were out and about that day, because I was so pleased at how great he looked in his new pants. 

The second time he wore the new pants, he and his brothers played football in a field, and the new pants ended up covered in grass stains.

I was so mad! After years of trying and failing to get grass stains out of baseball pants, I was not at all confident that I’d be able to get the stains out of the new pants. Turns out the Spray ‘n Wash did a better job on the new pants than it ever has on the baseball pants, so it’s not a total loss, but I did jump back online and buy him another couple pairs of those pants so he’ll always have pants to wear this winter. He put on a pair of the new ones when they came, and I felt that same sense of satisfaction I’d felt with the first pair. Look at my boy! In pants that fit! He looks so great!

What lesson or bit of wisdom can I impart to you all through this story? I have no idea. Maybe: don’t wait until the cold weather to discover that your child doesn’t have pants that fit? Maybe: keep searching until you find what you’re looking for, because it’s surely out there somewhere? Maybe: boys will find a way to get grass stains on new pants? Maybe: be grateful while you can for straightforward sizing for little ones? I hope something here is helpful for you as we enter the Deep Freeze of our northeast winter, and if nothing else, I hope it gives you a laugh! A huge thank you to all veterans on this Veterans Day, with a special shout-out to those in my own family, and happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, and 4. Email her at kmtowne23@gmail.com.

Earlier this year, Article 82 of the New York Mental Hygiene Law (Article 82) became law, allowing for supported decision-making in New York. This new law gives intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals new tools to help them live productive and successful lives.

Prior to the passage of Article 82, parents with children who had intellectual or developmental disabilities were mainly limited to seeking guardianship of their child under Article 17-A of the Surrogates Court Procedure Act (Article 17-A). Article 17-A was passed in 1966, and more recently many disability advocates have pressed for alternatives to such guardianships.

Guardianships under Article 17-A 

Disability advocates have argued that the Article 17-A guardianships are too sweeping in nature, giving almost total control to the guardian over the disabled person’s financial and medical decision making. Contrasts were often made when comparing the broad powers granted under SCPA Article 17-A and the other New York guardianship statute – New York Mental Hygiene Law Article 81 (Article 81).

Article 81 guardianships are usually put in place for adults and are often used when a family member ages and begins to lose some of their functional capabilities. Under Article 81, however, the person seeking to become guardian (often a spouse or child of the allegedly incapacitated person) must prove that the guardianship is the least restrictive alternative, and the guardianship must be tailored to address the particular needs of the individual based on their functional limitations. Article 81 also mandates that the allegedly incapacitated person be represented by an attorney, if they request one.

No such limitations and protections are present in the Article17-A process, which has been a source of concern by not only disability advocates, but also disabled persons themselves and their loved ones. Article 17-A guardianships are generally approved by the court based on the medical testimony of two doctors or a doctor and a psychologist. Over the course of time, alternatives to Article 17-A guardianships have been developed, and one of the more promising is the supported decision-making process.

What is supported decision-making?

In supported decision-making, the disabled person is referred to as the “decision-maker” and they are assisted by “supporters” who help them make decisions regarding their financial affairs and health care. The decisions are made pursuant to a “supported decision-making agreement” (SDMA), which details how the disabled person will work with their supporters to come to decisions regarding their affairs.

What do facilitators do in the process?

A facilitator is a person or entity authorized by the New York Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to work with and educate a decision-maker and their supporters regarding the supported decision-making process and SDMAs. Within the next year, OPWDD is expected to come out with regulations that will describe more fully the role and responsibilities of facilitators. Generally speaking, the facilitation process should be expected to take several meetings and perhaps a number of months to come to fruition.

What is a supported decision-making agreement?

A SDMA is an agreement signed by the decision-maker and their supporters which details what type of decisions the decision maker will be assisted with and what the role of the supporters will be in that process. If a facilitator was involved in the agreement, they will also sign the SDMA and they will confirm that the agreement was made in accordance with a recognized facilitation and/or education process. The SDMA must be witnessed by two people or notarized.

What effect does the SDMA have?

If the SDMA is properly drafted and signed by a facilitator, then decisions made pursuant to that agreement by the decision-maker will have the force of law and can be enforced by a court of competent jurisdiction. For example, if a disabled person signs a lease with a landlord, pursuant to such a SDMA, that lease would be a legally enforceable agreement. 

What does the future hold for supported decision-making?

Disability advocates hope that supported decision-making will be considered as a viable alternative to Article 17-A guardianships. There has been significant discussion about modifications to Article 17-A to make these guardianships less sweeping in scope. We will likely see changes in the future to Article 17-A, which will allow these guardianships to be more tailored to the needs of the individual.

There will likely always be a need for Article 17-A guardianships, especially for individuals who have more severe disabilities. For disabled persons with less severe disabilities, however, supported decision-making may provide the help they need, without the loss of control and autonomy that an Article 17-A guardianship can bring.

Supported decision-making cannot be fully utilized to its potential in New York until the regulations in support of Article 82 are promulgated by OPWDD. But in the interim, disabled persons and their families can explore how the process may work for them by discussing options with trusted advisors experienced in this area. If you would like more information on supported decision-making, you can go to the Supported Decision-Making New York website maintained by Hunter College – sdmny.hunter.cuny.edu. 

Matthew J. Dorsey, Esq. is a Senior Partner with O’Connell and Aronowitz, 1 Court Street, Saratoga Springs. Over his twenty-five years of practice, he has focused on the areas of elder law, estate planning, and estate administration. Mr. Dorsey can be reached at 518-584-5205, mdorsey@oalaw.com and www.oalaw.com

I usually cover the topic of year-end planning in my December column, but with rampant inflation, economic uncertainty, geopolitical strife with no end in sight and, most recently, a divisive election season, putting the year 2022 in the rearview can’t come soon enough for many of us. In preparation for closing out the year, let’s discuss some important steps you should consider.

The first order of business is to make sure you’ve made the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your IRAs and other retirement plans for the year.. If you’re age 72 or older, or have certain inherited retirement accounts, you will need to make minimum distribution by year’s end. The penalty for non-compliance is 50% of the amount you should have distributed, so check and double-check that you’ve distributed the proper amount.

If, like many, you don’t need the RMD to make ends meet, and would prefer not to take any distribution at all, consider donating it to a charity of your choice. The IRS allows you to distribute funds directly from your IRA to a charity, and not pay taxes on the distribution, even if you aren’t eligible to itemize deductions on your federal taxes. This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), and it’s important to remember that funds must be cut directly in the name of the charity; you cannot act as an intermediary and qualify for a QCD. 

If you’re not subject to an RMD, but are charitably inclined, you can still utilize a QCD to benefit your charity of choice in a tax-favored way.

The next piece of financial housekeeping will be to begin to gather documents you’ll be needing just after the new year to prepare your taxes. Compile receipts for medical bills, tuition payments, child care and charitable contributions, among others.

While many of us will no longer be able to itemize deductions due to recent tax law changes, there are credits for things like child care and education expenses which you may still be eligible for. For those with large medical bills, mortgage interest, or who have been particularly philanthropic this year, you may still be able to itemize, so it is important to have those receipts handy.

When it comes to planning for your retirement, this is the perfect time to evaluate contribution levels to your retirement plans at work. If you have the ability, and you’re not yet contributing to the maximum levels allowed, consider topping these accounts off to take advantage of the possible tax deduction this year, as well as the ability to simply squirrel as much away for the future as possible. Even if you can’t contribute to the maximum, be sure to at least contribute enough to take advantage of any employer matching contributions. 

You may not be aware, but once you reach age 50, you are eligible for higher catch-up contribution levels than in prior years. So, if you’ve turned 50 this year, consider increasing your contributions. For 401(k) and 403(b) plans, you can contribute an additional $6,500 to a max of $27,000 from $20,500 for those under 50. For SIMPLE plans, you get to contribute an additional $3,000, up to a max of $17,500. 

In 2023, limits are increasing again. 401(k) and 403(b) limits increase to $22,500 (plus $7,500 catch-up) and $15,500 (plus $3,500 catch-up) for SIMPLEs. Take advantage of this opportunity to catch-up on contributions you may not have been able to make when you were younger. 

The end of the year is a good time to review your various forms of insurance, including your home and auto. Take note of various coverage limits and deductibles. If you can, consider a higher deductible in order to save on premium expenses. 

As home values have increased dramatically in recent years, ensure that your homeowners coverage amounts reflect the value of your home. You may also want to consider an umbrella policy, which provides additional personal liability coverage, in excess of your home and auto limits. 

An often-overlooked task is to review your beneficiary declarations each year. Families grow, as new members are added, and shrink with death and divorce, which means that beneficiary and Transfer-on-Death declarations can easily become outdated and no longer reflect your true wishes. 

Since these declarations are a matter of contract, they will overrule what your will may say. So, even if you’ve updated your will to exclude an ex-spouse, but you left them as beneficiary on your IRA, your new spouse won’t be able to inherit those assets, but the ex will, and it can’t be challenged in probate.

Your Certified Financial Planner® professional is well suited to help you mark most of these items off your list. Review your beneficiaries, gather tax documents, maximize funding of your various retirement plans, take required distributions, and review your insurance coverage with your advisor each year, to help ensure that your financial plan is well-tuned as you prepare to turn the page on 2022.

Stephen Kyne CFP® is a Partner at Sterling Manor Financial in Saratoga Springs, and Rhinebeck.Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Sterling Manor Financial, LLC, or Cadaret Grant & Co., Inc, SEC registered investment advisors. Sterling Manor Financial and Cadaret, Grant are separate entities.

Though I’ve always hoped that the stories I share here are entertaining to you all, I’ve had a special hope that reading about the challenges and joys I’ve experienced as a mom are helpful to other moms — maybe helpful in showing you that you’re not alone, maybe helpful in sharing interesting lessons I learned the hard way, maybe helpful in giving you a laugh on a bad day. I’ve also thought that reading how our family life has changed over the years might help moms of little ones to see what’s ahead, and moms of older ones to “remember those days.”

Our life as a family feels like it’s changed rapidly and drastically in the past year or so with my oldest graduating high school and going away to college, which you might remember having read about (a few times!). Another thing that’s been a big change for us is that I started working at an outside-the-house job last year, which is what I want to write about today.

When I first started writing this column fourteen years ago and for many years after, I titled it “Saratoga SAHM,” with “SAHM” standing for “stay-at-home mom.” Several years ago I changed it to “Mothering Boys,” in part due to the fact that the “SAHM” part felt a little misleading — though I thought of myself as a stay-at-home mom, I meant it in the sense that I had no outside-the-house responsibilities that weren’t connected to the kids, and that almost any non-mom thing I spent time doing could be dropped in a second to tend to the kids. 

But I was starting to feel like “WAHM” was a more accurate acronym for me — “work-at-home mom” — since I had always spent quite a bit of time working on professional things: mostly writing (always writing! Many of which have been opportunities with the Saratoga TODAY family of publications, which I’ve loved), some editing/proofreading, and I even had a small ministry/business for several years doing baby name consultations for expectant parents. These things were all extremely flexible — things I could work on as I was able, in between diaper changes and nursing the baby, school drop-offs and pick-ups and baseball games and swimming lessons, making dinner and doing laundry, while sitting on the couch in the middle of the kids in clothes that had been spit up on. 

These were things I spent time doing in large part because I enjoyed them. Knowing that I had the capability of doing non-baby things kept me sane on bad days, and my babies also inspired me — this column, for example, has been such a gift to me, as it requires me, on a monthly basis, to record some aspect of our family life as it currently is, and going back to read through articles I wrote years ago never fails to make me laugh and cry and remember things I’d forgotten. But I also knew that keeping up with these professional pursuits helped me keep a foot in the door for the time when I would almost certainly be going back to work outside the home.

That time came last year — I found a job that was absolutely perfect for me and my family: it’s part-time and flexible, and it’s tailor-made for my professional background and experience. When I started, I was able to work three evenings a week, which worked out really well in terms of continuing to do school drop-offs and pick-ups and figure out after-school sports and other extra-curricular activities, as well as schedule all the kids’ doctor and dentist appointments, and keep them home without stress when they were sick (also: we were still deep in COVID). My job is down near Albany, so three evenings a week I piled the boys into the van and drove there, where my husband would meet me coming from work in Albany; we’d switch vehicles and he’d bring the boys home and take care of dinner and bedtime while I went to work. I was so pleased that I could continue doing all the mom things, and also be able to spend some time working and contributing to the family in a new way. The biggest downside was probably the fact that my then three-year-old would often fall asleep on the drive down at 5:30, which wasn’t great, since he’d then be up until 11:00, but then again, I’d get home at 10:15 so I’d be able to see him and put him to bed. Not too bad!

This year, I had the ability to switch to mostly daytime hours and to work a bit more, which I was excited about. It involved making a switch for my littlest guy’s schooling — his brothers never attended full-day school until Kindergarten, but I took advantage of the option for my youngest for his three-day-a-week program. Fortunately, he seems far readier for it than any of his brothers did at that age, and he has been loving it! 

One major challenge we’ve had this year, though, has been figuring out how to deal with our annual months-long Sick Season. Ohmygoodness. Trying to figure out how to properly care for sick kids who need to stay home from school when both parents work at in-person daytime jobs is a task!
Especially now, at the tail end of the pandemic, where even very mild symptoms are still being taken seriously and remote work isn’t as possible as it used to be. My husband and I have found ourselves trying to plan ahead as much as possible for different scenarios that involve little kids who can’t be left home alone for any amount of time (big kids are a bit more flexible this way) and symptoms that are mild enough that my mom could possibly be asked to provide some care or oversight (depending on the severity), while taking into account the demands and preferences of our jobs (which change depending on the day of the week). It’s not even November and we’ve already had several kids home sick for varying amounts of days. Ohmygoodness. If we come up with a good system, I may write about it in the future in case it’s helpful to any of you (and if any of you have good tips or strategies that you’ve found helpful in this regard, please feel free to email me!).

These bumps in the road remind of other such times of often hard and stressful adjustment that we’ve gone through — good things like adding a new baby into the family; sad things like caring for my dying mother-in-law; new things like my oldest going to college — all of it necessary, all of it requiring patience and perseverance, all of it part of the fabric of family life. Things always shake out and settle down again and the “new” becomes the “normal.” It’s sometimes hard to believe that when you’re going through it, but it’s true!

Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, and 4. Email her at kmtowne23@gmail.com.