Liza Hanks is an approachable estate planning attorney who hosts the “Women & Wills” podcast. Her most recent guest was Dr. Jessica Zitter, the producer and director of a documentary film called, “Caregiver: A Love Story“. You can listen to the full episode below, and learn more about seeing the film here.
In this episode you’ll hear producer Dr. Zitter share stories about creating the film. She and Liza discuss broader topics like hospice and estate planning. They also share actionable tips families can take to get ahead of and manage the burden of caregiving.
Notes and timestamps from listening to “Caregiver: A Love Story”
- This is my first time listening to a full episode of Liza’s podcast and I’m surprised by how natural she is at hosting.
- 2:00 – An explanation about the movie – what it is and how it came to be.
- 3:25 – Dr. Zitter talks about how shocked she was to learn about the burden on caregivers.
- 3:54 – Caregiving is a rising public health crisis. Lots of statistics, including ‘1 in 5 Americans are caregivers’.
- 5:30 – The caregiver crisis is mostly an invisible crisis.
- 7:05 – Hospice is great, but they can’t do everything for everyone. It’s important to understand what they can and can’t do. [listen: “Paula Span’s Intro to Hospice“]
- 9:20 – Advance directives, medical power of attorney are a great start but don’t include a plan for caregiving.
- 11:10 – Caregiving from afar can cost 2x as much and still be incredibly stressful.
- 11:45 – Caregiver workshops related to the film.
- 13:45 – What questions should family members be asking medical professionals at the time of discharge from the hospital?
- 15:00 – Who should I do advance care planning with, since doctors and lawyers won’t prompt you to talk about caregiving?
- 19:00 – Caregivers can be like the frog in boiling water – the burden sneaks up on them.
- 21:00 – Strategies learned in caregiver workshops, including: making time for self-care, asking for community help, and creating systems to track activities that can be delegated.
- 23:30 – Recognize that you are a caregiver. Give it a name. Own it.
- 24:30 – Raising awareness that caregivers are a category that needs protection and support is an important lever for change that we need to pull. [listen: “Caregiving is Infrastructure“]
- 25:00 – How to see the movie
About “Women & Wills”
Liza Hanks is a graduate of Stanford Law School. She has been an estate planner since 2001. She’s a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust Administration & Probate Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She is a partner at GCA Law Partners LLP.
So, yeah, she has the credentials. But honestly, too many lawyers think it’s about their expertise. What she’s interested in is your expertise. Her favorite part of the job is teaching people to understand and use legal documents effectively — so she created the Women & Wills courses and podcast.
If she’s done her job right, you will understand how and estate plan works and why it is so important to get your legal act together. You’ll feel better and you’ll have gone a long way towards protecting the people and organizations that you love the most.
To make an estate planning appointment with Liza, or to learn more about her law practice, visit www.lizahanks.com.