Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about incentive trusts? I have two adult children that are financial disasters. Before I die, I want to put some type of requirements in place that they will need to follow in order to receive their portion of my estate. Otherwise, they’ll blow it all in the first year.
Troubled Parent
Dear Parent,
If you want to influence your family members even after you’re gone, an incentive trust is definitely an option to consider. Here’s how it works, along with some tips to help you create one.
Incentive Trust?
An incentive trust is an estate-planning tool designed to help prod your heirs in a direction you desire when you’re no longer around.
With an incentive trust, some or all of your assets are passed to your trust when you die rather than directly to your heirs. Your trustee is empowered to distribute funds from the trust only if and when your beneficiaries do whatever it is you have specified in the trust.
For example, an incentive trust might encourage a beneficiary to graduate from college, enter a particular profession, get married or even have children. They could also reward beneficiaries who do charitable work, or supplement the incomes of those who choose low-paying, yet meaningful careers like teaching or social work. Or, they could penalize beneficiaries who don’t work by cutting off or decreasing distributions, or placing restrictions on heirs with addictions by requiring that payments go directly to rehab centers.
But be aware that these types of trusts can also have drawbacks. A poorly constructed incentive trust can have a high risk of unintended consequences. For example, if your trust provides a financial incentive for your children to be employed full-time, but one of them gets sick or seriously injured in a car accident and can’t work, they would be punished unfairly.
You also need to know that incentive trusts aren’t cheap. You can expect to pay an attorney $2,500 to $5,000 to draft one.
There are also legal limits on what you can do with an incentive trust. While state laws vary, incentive trusts that encourage a beneficiary to join or leave a particular religion, or leave a spouse or not marry at all, can be challenged in court and possibly struck down.
How To Make One
To create a solid incentive trust that accomplishes what you envision, tell your estate-planning attorney that you want to include precise instructions that clearly spells out your wishes, but you also want to include language granting your trustee the right to use his or her discretion and that the trustee’s decisions should be final and binding.
This allows your trustee to make common sense rulings, which will reduce or eliminate the chances of unintended and unfair consequences. It also makes it very difficult for beneficiaries to successfully challenge the trust or trustee in court. When a trust grants final decision-making authority to its trustee, it becomes almost impossible for beneficiaries to successfully argue that this trustee is not correctly implementing the trust’s terms.
The key is to select a trustee who’s smart enough to interpret your intent and has sufficient backbone to stand up to beneficiaries when necessary. You also need to select a successor trustee too if your first choice can no longer serve. Fees paid to a trustee vary widely depending on the state’s fee schedules, the size and complexity of the trust, and conditions laid out in the trust.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Oklahoma Forestry Services announces the retirement Forest Ranger Jack Fain on November 1, after 29 years of service. Fain, who is based out of Oklahoma Forestry Services’ northeast regional office in Tahlequah, has assisted on wildfire suppression across the state as an engine boss.
“Jack is an extremely competent leader who always knows how to improve situations and prevent accidents in hazardous wildfire conditions, said George Geissler, director, Oklahoma Forestry Services. “We appreciate Jack’s service and will certainly miss his wildland firefighting experience and expertise. We wish him well.”
A cattle rancher in the Chewey community, Fain’s retirement plans include ranching and helping his children and friends with their business ventures as needed.

Vampires are as deeply embedded in pop culture as their fangs are in the necks of their victims.
But before vampires became the darlings of TV and movies, their legends haunted folklore for centuries. According to Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation President Stephen Prescott, M.D., the origin of these creepy beliefs likely rises from a legitimate medical basis: disease.
“When a large group of people would die in a village, the true villain wasn’t a pale-skinned blood-sucker. It was something even more terrifying: microorganisms,” said Prescott, a vascular biologist and physician. “Vampires were often used as an explanation for diseases like smallpox or tuberculosis and other conditions that couldn’t be diagnosed at that time.”
This resulted in a huge swell of belief in vampires in the Middle Ages in Europe, as fast-moving diseases with no explanation swept through towns and villages.
“Without formal educations and modern science to clarify the situation, people grabbed onto something that made sense to them,” said Prescott. “People struggled with causes for illness and death long before we had medical research or modern science to make heads or tails of it.”
The most common physical depictions of vampires share a number of similarities with people who suffered from a rare group of blood diseases called porphyria.
“There are multiple manifestations, but in most cases, people are extremely light sensitive,” said Prescott. “A lot of them couldn’t tolerate the sun at all without severe blistering and deformities, enough to cause them to lose their fingertips or produce facial scarring.”
In addition, the facial mutilation often caused the skin to tighten and pull back, resulting in the appearance of fang-like teeth.
“There were bizarre things going on: They had abnormally long teeth, they slept during the day and came out at night because they couldn’t take sunlight,” said Prescott. “It serves to reason that this would play a role in the origin of the vampire legend. People would have seen them around and drawn their own conclusions of what was happening.”
Some of scarring and physical characteristics were also observed in exhumed corpses of the recently deceased, furthering the rise of the legend in Europe. Natural decay caused the lips and gums to lose fluid and contract, creating (or further exaggerating) the illusion of fangs. The skin also contracts in other parts of he body, causing a claw-like appearance to fingernails and longer hair.
“Vampires came from needing an explanation for why bad things were happening, and blaming disease and death on something that comes out at night and sucks your blood isn’t actually that far off,” said Prescott. “Just look at mosquitoes.”

Working in partnership to enhance quality of care for all Oklahomans

To best serve the current and future health care needs of Oklahomans, SSM Health’s St. Anthony Hospitals and Physicians Group are partnering with the University of Oklahoma (OU) and the University Hospitals Authority and Trust (UHAT) to create a premier health care network. This combined network will partner with physicians to not only deliver exceptional health care, but also to advance transformative clinical research and provide innovative educational experiences for future physicians and health professionals.
“This is an exciting time for health care in Oklahoma,” said William P. Thompson, president and CEO, SSM Health. “As a part of SSM Health, the St. Anthony Hospitals and St. Anthony Physicians Group have a long history of providing high-quality, compassionate and personalized care. By coming together with OU Medicine, we will build upon our collective heritage of serving this community, while also striving to ensure that Oklahomans receive exceptional care for years to come.”
The combined resources of OU Medicine, UHAT and SSM Health include more than 23 Oklahoma hospitals and affiliates, including OU Medical Center, The Children’s Hospital and OU Medical Center Edmond, as well as St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, Bone and Joint Hospital at St. Anthony, and St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital.
As a part of the integrated delivery network, OU Physicians and St. Anthony Physicians Group, with a combined total of more than 1,100 physicians and providers, will work together to share best practices and clinical expertise with the goal of best coordinating patient care.
“Today, we begin a new era, focused on further elevating patient care, clinical research and health professions education for the benefit of all Oklahomans,” said OU President David L. Boren. “We will continue to bring Oklahomans the best health care throughout the state with the ongoing support of University Hospitals Authority and Trust and by combining OU’s highly respected Health Sciences Center with a leading health system, SSM Health.”
This new network brings together organizations that each represent more than 100 years of caring for Oklahomans. Established in 1898 as the first hospital in Oklahoma territory, St. Anthony Hospital’s community-based network of services includes St. Anthony Physicians Group as well as a network of 17 rural hospital affiliates. Founded just two years later, in 1900, the OU College of Medicine and its faculty physicians began training future doctors and conducting leading medical research. UHAT has supported the state’s teaching hospitals in Oklahoma City since 1993, helping to build state-of-the-art medical and research facilities.
“We are excited to open this new chapter with SSM Health,” said Mike Samis, chairman of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust. “During its history, the Trust has invested in health care in Oklahoma to advance the mission of our state teaching hospitals, helping to provide quality care to patients and train the doctors of tomorrow. We are appreciative to our HCA colleagues for a nearly 20-year relationship, during which we have expanded our range of services and enhanced our quality of care. Now, we look forward to continuing our role in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma and SSM Health.”
UHAT and SSM Health are committed to making significant investments in this new integrated network to ensure patients and caregivers continue to have access to the latest technology and state-of-the-art facilities. A capital plan is already under development and includes a new patient tower at OU Medical Center.
SSM Health and UHAT will share governance and financial responsibility in the network, with SSM Health managing the day-to-day operations. The transaction should be finalized within the first half of 2017, pending regulatory and other approvals. No state-appropriated funds will be used to create the new network.
The OU Medical System is currently managed by HCA, an investor-owned company based in Nashville. UHAT and HCA plan to end their relationship within the first half of 2017.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It was a Monday morning when for some reason Eleanor Fuller decided to come to work a few minutes early.
The volunteer at Integris Canadian Valley Hospital still doesn’t quite understand what caused her to arrive at work a few minutes early in late August, but to one pregnant woman and her husband those minutes were just what they needed.
“I was coming down the sidewalk and I heard this ‘Oh, Oh,’ groaning,” Fuller remembered. “I thought maybe somebody had fallen or was hurt. I went over and saw this woman who was really pregnant.”
Fuller had parked in the back of the hospital like normal and had started on her way into the hospital when she encountered the couple in distress.
The woman, who was in obvious pain, could barely move.
Fuller remembered a wheelchair that she had seen tucked inside the west entrance. She rushed to get it and brought it back for the woman to sit down before pushing her inside the hospital and to the waiting nurses.
“We were hoofing it down the hall to the women’s center as fast as we could,” Fuller said laughing. “Later I asked how soon the baby was born after we got there.”
Four minutes was the reply.
“I’m going to start carrying gloves in my pocket,” Fuller joked. “I was in the right place at the right time I can say that.”
After talking with the family later in the day Fuller learned the couple had driven from Corn – an hour away – driving 80 miles an hour the whole time on the highway.
A beautiful, healthy eight-pound baby boy was the outcome and he wasn’t born in the hospital parking lot thanks to Fuller.
“I’m just very thankful I was able to be there at the right place at the right time,” Fuller said.
Fuller doesn’t remember why she was early that day, only that she arrived just when she needed to.
It’s been that way for the last nine years as Fuller has volunteered at the outpatient desk. Before that she volunteered six years at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
“I do like the patient desk very much, interacting with people,” Fuller said. “I like people. I like to do for people. I tell people I was a preemie and I weighed two-and-a-half pounds. I’m very thankful to be here so that’s why I feel like I’m here to help people.”
More than a few times Fuller and the volunteers at Canadian Valley have been there to provide that reassuring word, a cold drink or just a willingness to listen.
“I try to make them feel good,” Fuller said. “I tell the ladies they look beautiful. I get them a warm blanket, just make them feel good and get their minds off of it.”
The “it” is also different. Maybe it’s the worry before an impending surgery or maybe it’s an unexpected outcome that a family is just starting to sift through.”
Fuller considers being there for people as a blessing. She feels the same way about those she volunteers with.
“They’re very good friends. I’ve made a lot of good friends through the years,” Fuller said. “I really enjoy the camaraderie. They’ll do anything for you.”
Dana Crum serves as the volunteer services coordinator and is Fuller’s boss.
“She’s kind of an icon of the volunteer unit,” Crum says. “People look up to her and she’s easy to talk to. She’s just a big part of the family.”
It’s volunteers that help Integris Canadian Valley run smooth.
“Imperative,” Crum said of how important they are. “They’re just about in every department. They supplement what the health professionals would normally be doing. What they do relieves the professional staff and lets them spend the extra time with the patient. They give them that extra time.”
In her professional life Fuller retired from Moore Public Schools as the accounts payable supervisor. She paid every bill in the district for 25 years before retiring in 1996.
A Moore High graduate, Fuller is one of four generations that have gone through Moore Public Schools.
Fuller has a granddaughter in Indiana in her third year as an OBGYN resident and she plans on listening a bit harder the next time she calls.
“I’ve heard her talking about delivering babies,” she said.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

Branson, Missouri has long been identified with top notch entertainment and entertainers. Over the years Branson has changed and updated, but the quality has continued. If you have visited there in the past with it being the home of iconic performers, you might be disappointed to find out that those entertainers have either passed on or moved out of town. Don’t be alarmed as the Branson, Missouri reputation is still intact. As Branson likes to say, “Branson is not your grandmothers anymore.” True, but fun and family entertainment still survives, and is well suited to senior tastes.
Recommended for your new Branson visit is your home base accommodations. The Hilton has two locations offering the Hilton familiarity and both are in the downtown area. Off at Table Mountain Lake is the Chateau resort, complete with views of the Ozark lake, and options for your boating pleasure. The 15 minute drive out of Branson’s entertainment strip is a small price to pay for this elegant peaceful retreat. Both hotels offer ample self-parking, some with a fee.
Food can be entertainment as well. The Level Two Steak House inside the Hilton, offers the very best in quality steaks. One real surprise is the display and choice you might be offered by your server with a cabinet collection of steak knives with varying handles and steel blade varieties from which to choose your cutlery. The superior steak and beverage served from your instructions may surprise you, for you’d never expect such luxury in an Ozark tourist location. Another surprise is the dining at the Chateau Grille Restaurant at the Chateau resort, where again top of the line beverages and meals assure you of no regrets.
Steamboat Branson Belle, is a combination of food, excursion and entertainment. The food quality was surpassed by the friendly wait staff, and the entertainers again, were of the highest quality with comedy and a variety of song styles to suit a variety of tastes. The evening Steamboat cruise on the lake is hard to take in at night as you are cruising the lake so calm and dark that you hardly believe you’ve left the dock. A daylight cruise is recommended.
Other food venues not to be missed are Mel’s Hard Luck Diner in the Grand Village shopping area conveniently located on Highway 76. Your servers sing live to recorded background tracks with extreme precision and talent as they move about the dining rooms. The vocal talent exhibited there is equaled with the Happy Days style of food and ice-cream, in a setting fit for a movie set. The Grand Village with plenty of free parking also offers several upscale shopping opportunities, with the two Christmas shops a real favorite. As one of the largest Christmas selections in the area, you are sure to be tempted with a purchase or two of items not found elsewhere. I happily succumbed to the holiday decor temptation.
The main street of Branson entertainment is Highway 76, which is undergoing a several year renovation to improved sidewalks and the removal of high wire utility lines that obscure the elaborate exterior attractions of: King Kong, a giant Chicken and even a large meatball. Along this strip you can find the recently added Ferris wheel and the expertly presented Titanic experience.
Sitting back and letting the many entertainment options take over may be the best enjoyment of Branson. A few of the best of Branson talent and entrainment is the Raiding The Country Vault, where iconic country songs are performed by talented performers; the magic of Illusionist Rick Thomas, where his expertise at fooling the eye is truly mind boggling and admired; and Legends at the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, where while watching impressions of well-known celebrities do their act, you can enjoy food and beverages at the upstairs VIP balcony during their performances.
A short drive away, a visit to Silver Dollar City can offer a meaningful experience, especially during one of their festivals.
At the National Harvest and Cowboy Festival; the Wilde West Show, the display of the 1880 restored Journey Stage Coach and a meeting of artist and Gunsmoke co-star, Buck Taylor, was an unexpected treat.
Many other notable attractions await your visit in Branson, as a long weekend in Branson may not be enough time to take in all it has to offer. Find your options at: http://www.explorebranson.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-oklahoma-city/terry-zinn
www.new.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

73 year old Side Saddle Sisters of Oklahoma member makes trip to Kentucky

Jo Rench a savvy 73 year old senior and her horse, Snapper, recently returned from a 12 day trip to Kentucky with the Side Saddle Sisters of Oklahoma. The SSSO is an equestrian drill team of 6 horses and riders, who ride the old fashioned, elegant way-aside. Jo has resided in Edmond for the past 36 years.
The “girls” who range in age from 9 to 73 started their trip by attending the Rolex, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington for the 1st 3 days. The Rolex is the only 4 Star 3 Day Event held in the western hemisphere. International and U.S. riders and their horses try to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. They then traveled to Louisville, where they worked at the Pegasus Preview, and rode in the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade, with their parent group, the American Sidesaddle Association. On Friday, they were back at the KHP to start their performances at the Breeds Arena. In the evening they attended the ASA awards banquet, where the girls won numerous awards for their activities during 2015. The Saturday and Sunday performances were well received by the audiences. It was a tired but happy group that made their way back to Celtic Cross Equestrian Center in Norman, Oklahoma, with dreams of another trip in the future. They will be appearing in local parades, rodeos, and other exhibitions.

José M. Olivero
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 65 million Americans will increase 0.3 percent in 2017, the Social Security Administration announced today.
The 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2017. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2016. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $127,200 from $118,500. Of the estimated 173 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2017, about 12 million will pay more because of the increase in the taxable maximum.
Information about Medicare changes for 2017, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) began surveillance for seasonal influenza early this fall and is detecting laboratory confirmed cases of influenza among Oklahomans. In addition, there have been 14 influenza-associated hospitalizations since September 1, 2016, a total that is concerning at this point in the season. Cases of influenza illness have been geographically spread across the state and have occurred among people of all age groups.
Each week, a network of voluntary medical facilities and hospital laboratories report the number of patients that have been seen for influenza-like illness and the proportion of influenza tests that are positive for flu. Some positive samples are forwarded to the OSDH Public Health Laboratory for confirmation and for determining the type of infecting influenza virus strain. All hospitals and healthcare providers are required to report influenza-associated hospitalizations or deaths to the OSDH.
Symptoms of influenza usually consist of a sudden onset of fever, body aches, headache, sore throat, cough, and fatigue. Most persons affected by the flu require bed rest for 4-7 days to recover fully. Others may be at risk of serious complications of the flu, such as pneumonia, secondary bloodstream infections, or heart problems leading to hospitalization or even death.
To protect against the flu, an annual flu shot is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. Vaccination is especially important for persons at high-risk for severe complications from influenza infection including children less than five years of age, persons age 65 years and older, pregnant women, and persons with underlying medical conditions. Flu vaccination not only protects pregnant women, but also protects their babies for up to 6 months before they are old enough to be vaccinated. Influenza vaccination is safe during pregnancy, after delivery, and for breastfeeding women.
The importance of protecting yourself and those close to you by getting immunized cannot be overstated.
“If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to get your flu shot before influenza activity is elevated,” said OSDH State Epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley. “While the flu shot does not completely prevent all cases of influenza illness, many studies have shown that it greatly reduces the risk of developing severe complications from influenza infection such as hospitalization and death, as well as shortening the duration of illness among people who got the flu vaccine compared to those who did not.”
In addition to getting your flu shot, the OSDH reminds you to follow these respiratory virus illness prevention tips:
Practice frequent hand hygiene using soap and water, or alcohol-based hand gels or wipes when hands are not visibly soiled
Make “respiratory hygiene” a habit, including use of tissues to cover coughs and sneezes, then disposing of them and performing hand hygiene right away. When tissues are not readily available, sneeze or cough into your sleeve — never your hands
Stay home from work, school, and other public places if you are sick with the flu.
Visit flu.health.ok.gov for the Flu View updates posted every Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It’s been more than a decade since legendary entertainer Dean Martin passed away.
But for a few hours every Friday and Saturday night his infectious spirit and joy are alive and well inside the Yellow Rose Theater in Moore.
Impersonator Michael Cooper and a troupe of performers breathe new life into characters like Martin, Jerry Lewis and members of the Rat Pack at Oklahoma’s only full-time dinner theatre.
Cooper has been portraying Martin for 14 years now in what began humbly as a ministry outreach of the Revival for Christ Club.
Christian-based original plays and dramas came in the early days and are still scattered among the offerings.
A big fire destroyed the area that is now the Yellow Rose Theatre nearly 15 years ago.
During the rebuild the church’s contractor ran off with much of the repair money.
So guys like Cooper would work their regular jobs during the day and then come to the church at night to make repairs.
The church’s then-pastor asked what it would take to do a Rat Pack show.
Cooper wasn’t sure.
“We didn’t look like them, didn’t sound like them and didn’t act like them,” Cooper said. “We could just sing because we were praise and worship leaders. We decided ‘let’s see if we can’t ride this thing.’”
So Rat Pack boot camp began. The group read every book, watched every movie and read every snippet online about the famous entertainers.
They finally nailed it.
The group now travels around the country, stopping at Carnegie Hall and Hard Rock Casino.
Fifties, sixties, seventies shows began to pop up as did Motown and Country performances.
BECOMING DEAN
“I’ve read lots of books and watched lots of footage and just luck I guess,” Cooper said of becoming the persona of Dean Martin. “The first couple years I wasn’t very good.”
The group is now one of the four most recognized Rat Pack groups in the country.
“Now it’s just the experience of having done it thousands of times,” Cooper said. “I can fire up and do it any time. Some nights are better than others. I’ve been doing it for so long now it’s just natural.”
Cooper channels his inner Dean Martin on the weekends and during the the group’s most recent show run of The Colgate Comedy Hour, which featured standup, skits and original Colgate Comedy Hour commercials in between.
And it’s all done while guests are dining with friends or soon-to-be friends.
Executive Chef Kim Johnson handles the cuisine. A catering company also operates out of the theater, which can be rented during the holidays.
“The food is phenomenal. We’ve had people ask for recipes,” Cooper said. “When we started the dinner theater we traveled all over the country. One thing we knew was we would have good food. People aren’t going to get a sliver of shoe-sole meat, a slap of mashed potatoes and some corn on a plate. We give big portions.”
GIVING BACK
The shows are indeed a ministry for Cooper and his ensemble.
After every show Cooper and the performers greet the guests as they leave the building.
One night a woman came up with tears in her eyes.
“My husband has Alzheimers,” she said, her voice cracking. “Once the music started I had my husband back.” I danced with him. He recognized who I was.
We were all in here crying. Literally, once they got back in the car he was far away. But for two hours she had her husband back.
“Even though you might not have a Bible in your hand or be in the sanctuary we’re able to minister to people and that’s why we do it.”
All of the recent skits and standups are versions of the skits that the original group did on the Colgate Comedy Hour.
“Some of the humorous parts of it were because it was Dean and Jerry,” Cooper said. “As much as we try to portray them we’re not them. It’s almost harder for us than it was for them.”
“We knew from the beginning that we had them. We knew this was going to be a viable show.”
I laughed so hard my throat hurts. I haven’t laughed this much in years.
Both are just a sampling of the comments the group gets after every show.
Cooper will be busy again during the holidays.
For Christmas the group will put on Dean’s Very, Very, Very Merry Christmas. Jerry Lewis will be a part and possibly Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante thanks to Cooper’s friends.
But three Tuesdays and one Saturday in December will be dedicated to the Sharon L. Vanover memorial dinner.
Qualified families from Moore, South Oklahoma City and Lawton are treated to a show and each child receives a Christmas present.
It’s all about showing love for people.