19+ min ago (260+ words) As my kids have grown up, I've tried to come to terms with the slow loss of them to the world. While this is the natural order of parenting, it's still hard to accept. They've moved forward, and I've mourned the loss of our time together. Evenings once spent watching shows or talking have become rare. They spend more time with friends than with me, and I've wondered how to remain a relevant part of their lives. One of the best ways I've managed to maintain my connection with my kids as they've moved into middle school, high school, and college is by adjusting my own interests. Adopting their interests has let me discover hobbies " both new and old. When they were younger, I'd let many personal interests slip, even giving up reading for fun. There was no time or…...

51+ min ago (738+ words) My young daughter wasn't yet 1 years old the first time she shook her head and stretched her hands out to push away a hug from relatives. Everyone laughed it off, assuming she would grow out of it. What they didn't realize was that, even at that age, I was teaching her that she always has a choice " something I didn't have growing up. Every family gathering began the same way when I was a kid. I would open my grandparents' front door, and the smell of tamales, turkey, rice, and the best of our Mexican-American world would welcome me at the doorstep. I loved the laughs, food, and family, but before I could settle in, I had to brace myself for the greeting ritual. With my shoulders tight and my steps tiptoeing along the living room, I scanned the faces…...

4+ hour, 30+ min ago (545+ words) A little more than two years ago, I woke up in my childhood bedroom for the first time in more than three decades. I wasn't home just for a visit. In fact, I wasn't even back with my parents. At 41 years old, I moved in with my 88-year-old grandmother to take care of her. (I call her Mamaw as any good Texan kid would.) All along, my family knew that one day the Mamaw would no longer be able to live alone. Since my grandmother refused to give up her own home, I offered to move in. When I was a kid, Mamaw, Mom, and I lived together in this house. Mamaw became like a secondary parent to me. Over the course of four years, she taught me the joys of old musicals and playing card games that were way…...

4+ hour, 48+ min ago (392+ words) Answer: Dynasty trusts are designed to pass wealth down through multiple generations. They're irrevocable, which means the person who created the trust gives up control of the assets. That doesn't mean the trust can't be changed, says Los Angeles estate planning attorney Burton Mitchell. He recommends getting a complete copy of the trust and asking an experienced trust and estate attorney to read it. The trust may include language allowing an early termination. If this is truly a dynasty trust, "back doors" to allow changes are usually built in, Mitchell says. If not, there may be a way to terminate or modify the trust by agreement of the beneficiaries. If all else fails, you may be able to go to court to modify the trust provisions based on changed circumstances, provided all beneficiaries agree, Mitchell says. Dear Liz: Recently, you…...

5+ hour, 19+ min ago (260+ words) As my kids have grown up, I've tried to come to terms with the slow loss of them to the world. While this is the natural order of parenting, it's still hard to accept. They've moved forward, and I've mourned the loss of our time together. Evenings once spent watching shows or talking have become rare. They spend more time with friends than with me, and I've wondered how to remain a relevant part of their lives. One of the best ways I've managed to maintain my connection with my kids as they've moved into middle school, high school, and college is by adjusting my own interests. Adopting their interests has let me discover hobbies " both new and old. When they were younger, I'd let many personal interests slip, even giving up reading for fun. There was no time or…...

5+ hour, 42+ min ago (1852+ words) When I moved out of my apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and into a house in a suburb on Long Island, I thought it was for the long haul. Like many others during the pandemic, my husband and I took the time to consider our priorities. For us, that meant leaving our large commuter town outside New York City " and all of its expenses and conveniences " for a small, rural town in the Catskill Mountains, about three hours north. We've always loved the Catskills for its outdoor activities, breathtaking landscapes, and quieter way of life. So, in January 2021, we sold our home on Long Island, New York, and relocated. The town we left behind had a population of 25,000 people, thousands of homes, busy roadways, a town center with restaurants, bars, and businesses, and a train line that took us straight…...

5+ hour, 51+ min ago (738+ words) My young daughter wasn't yet 1 years old the first time she shook her head and stretched her hands out to push away a hug from relatives. Everyone laughed it off, assuming she would grow out of it. What they didn't realize was that, even at that age, I was teaching her that she always has a choice " something I didn't have growing up. Every family gathering began the same way when I was a kid. I would open my grandparents' front door, and the smell of tamales, turkey, rice, and the best of our Mexican-American world would welcome me at the doorstep. I loved the laughs, food, and family, but before I could settle in, I had to brace myself for the greeting ritual. With my shoulders tight and my steps tiptoeing along the living room, I scanned the faces…...

6+ hour, 6+ min ago (291+ words) The United States has an ever-growing list of belts. You know of the Bible Belt, where evangelical Christianity reigns supreme. The Rust Belt is the former hotbed of mid-Atlantic industrialization. There's a whole subsection of belts related to health issues, like the Stroke Belt, Diabetes Belt, and the Obesity Belt. Now, we can add another to the list: the Epilepsy Belt. According to a new study published in JAMA Neurology, researchers from Houston Methodist Research Institute and Case Western Reserve University sifted through Medicare data from 2016 to 2019. They found that older adults in the southeastern U.S. are significantly more likely to develop epilepsy than seniors anywhere else. Roughly 20,000 new cases popped up in 2019, but they didn't spread evenly. States like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Florida saw an explosion in epilepsy rates. Epilepsy is a disorder where the brain occasionally…...

7+ hour, 20+ min ago (612+ words) This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Audrey Serna, 33, who dropped out of college after two semesters. It has been edited for length and clarity. It was a horrible feeling to drop out of college when all of my peers chose that route. But I wouldn't have done anything differently. I withdrew from college after two semesters and started on an emotionally and financially draining career journey that I'm now grateful for. I felt like a total failure leaving school at 20 years old. I was working just to pay the bills " I held two jobs as a restaurant server and in retail, and in the back of my mind, I always had motivation to push myself to find a more stable career. I just didn't know how. Many companies rejected me right off the bat because I didn't…...

9+ hour, 48+ min ago (392+ words) Answer: Dynasty trusts are designed to pass wealth down through multiple generations. They're irrevocable, which means the person who created the trust gives up control of the assets. That doesn't mean the trust can't be changed, says Los Angeles estate planning attorney Burton Mitchell. He recommends getting a complete copy of the trust and asking an experienced trust and estate attorney to read it. The trust may include language allowing an early termination. If this is truly a dynasty trust, "back doors" to allow changes are usually built in, Mitchell says. If not, there may be a way to terminate or modify the trust by agreement of the beneficiaries. If all else fails, you may be able to go to court to modify the trust provisions based on changed circumstances, provided all beneficiaries agree, Mitchell says. Dear Liz: Recently, you…...