Taking Care of Tutu - Navigating Estate Planning and Probate with Aloha

When Tutu returns home from the hospital or the care home, who helps her get organized? Maybe Kalele Care Services! In this episode, we chat with Erin Salez, Clinical Operations Manager for Kalele Care Services. They play a critical role in post-acute (after the hospital or rehab) care across Hawaii. Erin breaks down what happens — and what can go wrong — in the gap between leaving the hospital an...

Aloha! June is Alzheimers & Brain Awareness Month, so in honor of that we're re-broadcasting our interview with Cindy Fowler, Program Manager for Kauaʻi and Maui County at the Alzheimer's Association Aloha Chapter. I keep telling caregivers about Cindy and her Care Bears at the Alzheimer's Association, because they offer individual consultations for caregivers to troubleshoot real caregiving chall...

Aloha! This week on the Taking Care of Tutu podcast, we sit down with mother-daughter duo Andrea Bacos (patient navigator) and Tori Golis-Bacos (care coordinator) from Pacific Cancer Foundation on Maui. They share their deeply personal path into this work, walk us through what the foundation offers, and explain why no one facing a cancer diagnosis on Maui should have to navigate it alone. In This...

Aloha! In honor of National Skilled Nursing Care Week, we're re-releasing one of our most informative episodes of the Taking Care of Tutu podcast. If you've already listened, it's worth a second pass. If this is your first time — this one is packed with information on accessing long term health care services. Today we're delighted to chat with Margie Albete and Zaira Katsuda from Hale Makua Health...

While Taking Care of Tutu typically focuses on caring for aging loved ones, this episode is dedicated to parents of children with disabilities. Whether your child has autism, a developmental delay, a physical disability, or any other condition that affects their ability to live independently, this episode is for you. We break down how the right — or wrong — estate planning decisions can have a pro...

In this episode, we are re-releasing one of our most important early episodes, Episode 13, Does Tutu Need a Conservatorship or Guardianship? Whether you're caring for an aging parent, a spouse, or a family member with special needs, understanding what a conservatorship and guardianship actually is and how the process works here in Hawaii could make a huge difference for your family. Follow and Rev...

In this episode, we are doing something a little different. We're bringing back one of our earliest episodes, Episode 2, which is all about probate specifically. What it is and how you can avoid it. Probate is one of the topics that comes up again and again in our office because so many families don't know about it until they're already in the middle of it. Understanding what probate is and how to...

In this episode, Meg sits down with Molly Schmidt, CEO of the Pacific Islands Region for the American Red Cross, to discuss the recent Kona Low storms that caused widespread flooding across Hawaii. Molly shares how the Red Cross responds in times of crisis—from opening 18 shelters serving 660 people and 3200 meals across Hawaii to offering financial assistance and supporting long-term recovery. Mo...

Managing care for an aging loved one from thousands of miles away is one of the hardest things a family can face — and it's exactly what today's guest, Petra Weggel, lived through firsthand. Petra joins Meg to share how she coordinated care for both of her parents in Germany while living on Maui, navigating a 12-hour time difference, language barriers, and a health care system very different from...

Navigating Medicare can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. In this episode, Meg welcomes Corey Dobashi, a Medicare broker and retirement specialist with Milestone Wealth Management based on Kauai, to break down everything you need to know before your 65th birthday. Corey walks through the three main Medicare options — original Medicare, supplemental plans, and Medicare Advantage — and e...

This week is the continuation of our two-part series with Pam Teal of Fidelity National Title and Escrow. Last week Pam taught us how to protect ourselves from deed fraud. In Part Two, Pam explains how real estate investors who are selling a property and buying another property can use a 1031 exchange to minimize their income tax liability. Pam and Meg also cover reverse 1031 exchanges: what they...

In this two-part episode of Taking Care of Tutu, we sit down with Pam Teal of Fidelity National Title and Escrow. Pam explains that escrow offices serve as a neutral third party in real estate transactions. She's here on the podcast to tell us how buyers and sellers can protect themselves from fraudulent transactions. Pam and Meg dive into the growing problem of deed fraud. They discuss how indivi...

In this episode of Taking Care of Tutu, we meet Rev. Mayanna Anderson of Doorway Into Light, Maui's nonprofit, green-certified funeral home, to explore the end-of-life options many families don't realize they have. Rev. Mayanna tells us about green burials, full-body ocean burials, and how creating a safe space to talk about death can ease fear and confusion. Reverend Mayanna gets very real with u...

Cancer screenings save lives, but too many people delay or avoid them altogether, especially in Hawaii!. In this episode, Meg sits down with Angel Nelson, Tumor Registry Supervisor at Maui Memorial Medical Center, to talk about why early detection matters, what happens behind the scenes with cancer data, and what she's seeing firsthand in our Maui community. Angel explains how tumor registry data...

We didn't! We were so interested to speak with Jessica Acop, Program Director for Wound Care at Maui Memorial Medical Center, about our very own wound care specialty clinic right here on Maui. Jessica talks about the prevalence of diabetes in Hawaii and the hidden danger of chronic wounds. She describes a patient with a 30-year-old wound that her clinic treated!  Jessica breaks down how advanced w...

Welcome to Season Two of the Taking Care of Tutu Podcast! We're happy to welcome Casi Saranillio, a registered nurse and Stroke Program Manager at Maui Memorial Medical Center. Stroke is one of the most time-sensitive medical emergencies, yet many people still don't recognize the warning signs soon enough! In this episode, Casi explains to us what a stroke is, how to spot it quickly, and why every...

Mahalo for joining us for the Season 1 Finale of Taking Care of Tutu! This finale episode is a look back at the conversations that mattered most, from sharing legal insights and Medicaid guidance to caregiving support and tales of community heroes. We recount the Top Episodes of Season 1, revisiting the moments that resonated most deeply. As we wrap up this year, our Team remains committed to our...

This episode was requested by our front office team, because it's one of the most common questions we get at Obenauf Law Group. What is a Trustee supposed to do? In this episode, Meg walks listeners through what to do when you've been told you're the trustee of someone's trust and that person has passed away. We break down the first critical steps trustees must take, the documents needed, the resp...

Guest: Darryl Ng, Civil Air Patrol – Maui In this episode, Meg speaks with Darryl Ng of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) about the incredible programs CAP operates on Maui—from youth training to emergency response to STEM education for local teachers. They also discuss the upcoming Wreaths Across America event honoring veterans at Makawao Veterans Cemetery on December 13, 2025. In this episode, you will...

This week on the Taking Care of Tutu podcast, we team up with Cindy Fowler, Program Manager for Kauaʻi and Maui County with the Alzheimer's Association Aloha Chapter . With a background in physical therapy and years of working with kūpuna in home health, Cindy brings deep professional and personal experience to the conversation—including caring for her own mother and father-in-law through dementia...

Aloha and welcome back to Taking Care of Tutu . Today is Veteran's Day, and in recognition of that, we're replaying one of our favorite episodes — a conversation with Chelsea Fernandez, a U.S. Army veteran who's dedicated herself to supporting other veterans right here in Hawai'I, especially younger veterans from more recent conflicts who were not aware of the resources available to them through t...

In this deeply personal episode, Meg sits down with Heritage Hall (name changed for privacy), a client who bravely agreed to share her family's story—an anonymous conversation from a small island community about love, caregiving, and a legal mystery decades in the making. When a 98-year-old family matriarch needed 24-hour care, her family faced the daunting $15,000-a-month cost of a nursing home a...

In this episode of the Taking Care of Tutu podcast, we break down some of the frequently asked questions from last week at our law firm, which turned out to be different versions of a central question:   Should married couples always have a joint trust? Spoiler alert — not always. Meg shares three common situations where a joint trust might actually create more problems than it solves. From blende...

It's not something we really want to think about, but it is something we all need. Our guests this week, Renie Menor and Raji Gaskin of Nakamura Mortuary and Maui Memorial Park, teach us about stress-free funeral planning. With Renie's extensive 15-year background in pre-planning and sales, paired with Raji's expertise as a funeral home manager and licensed embalmer, this discussion offers a compa...

Picture this: a small act of kindness, a simple meal delivered to someone in need, evolving into a 29-year legacy of community service. That's the story behind Nā Hoaloha, a nonprofit organization on Maui dedicated to enriching the lives of older adults. In this episode, Meg is joined by King Van Nostrand to unravel the offerings of Nā Hoaloha. With services ranging from friendly visits and medica...