If you or a loved one has had to enter a hospital in the last several years, you’re undoubtedly familiar with this scene that was recently highlighted by the AARP.
The patient is lying in a hospital bed, either awaiting or recovering from a procedure. Suddenly, a staff person who isn’t a doctor or nurse enters the room and introduces themselves as a member of the billing team. They talk to the patient and any family members present about what the bill is expected to cost, and ask how they would like to pay it. (more…)
Sooner or later, given enough time, most elderly adults will require care assistance, with much of this assistance requiring long-term care. While 65% of those needing care rely exclusively on those close to them, another 30% will employ paid providers for supplemental assistance.
In contrast to men, women are significantly overrepresented as care providers and provide the majority of support in a complex system of long-term care. According to an article published by the National Center on Caregiving, Women and Caregiving: Facts and Figures, the informal care provided by women to aging parents, spouses, friends, neighbors, and so forth ranges from $148 billion to $188 billion annually.
We all know that a positive outlook can have an immense effect on your quality of life. If you’re looking for silver linings, you’ll generally find them - if all you look for are clouds, that’s what you’ll see.
This can become even more important during retirement. Seniors who work hard to maintain a positive outlook during this major life change can reap real, concrete benefits. (more…)
Contemporary Alzheimer’s disease treatment has long been dominated by drug-based interventions. Though pharmaceutical approaches have shown some success in halting cognitive decline, their use is quite limited and not without the many serious side effects that may accompany the use of any drug. (more…)
As many families know all too well, Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease in so many ways.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2016, 5.5 million Americans had this illness, and 15 million Americans provided unpaid care for someone with the disease. That means Alzheimer’s is affecting at least 20.5 million Americans in a highly personal, day-to-day basis. (more…)
iYou’ve just helped your client complete a life settlement. Congratulations! You’ve saved them years of expensive premium payments, increased their financial security, and given them a financial cushion in case they need long-term care.
Now that your client has received their lump sum payment, the question becomes - now what?
While some clients may know exactly how they want to use the funds received from a life settlement, others will need some guidance. First, all clients should have a discussion with their tax advisor about the tax implications of the transaction.n
Depending on your client’s circumstances, however, there may be other things that they need guidance with after a life settlement.
Providing for long-term care
If your client is currently in long-term care, he or she might have already decided that the lump sum would be used to pay the facility. That’s why some policy owners complete life settlements in the first place - to fund their long-term care needs.
If your client is not in long-term care currently, however, you might still want to discuss the possibility of using the funds to pay for any future care needs.
Long-term care costs are growing rapidly, and many families are struggling under the financial weight. Placing a lump sum into an account that’s reserved for paying for long-term care or medical care can give your client - and their family - peace of mind.
Managing estate changes
If your client is planning to include the proceeds from the life settlement in their estate as an inheritance, they may need to consider whether, and how, the addition will change the probate process for their heirs.
If the life settlement sum will affect the estate significantly, your client may want to use other methods of transferring, such as gifting, or a transfer on death (TOD) account, to pass these funds to their heirs.
The need and the options will vary depending on the state in which they live.
Planning for later retirement needs
Many, if not most, Americans underestimate how much they’ll need for retirement, largely because they don’t take into account the growing cost of healthcare, as well as the increase of longevity.
A life settlement can give you a great opportunity to re-open the retirement conversation with your client.
Clients who want to use life settlement funds to increase their retirement savings may need guidance as to what kinds of accounts to use for the money, how to invest it, and how much and how often to withdraw. This discussion can open up many options and enhance the advisor-client relationship.
Once a life settlement is completed, the conversation isn’t necessarily over. Many clients will need additional assistance as they decide when and how to use the lump sum payment. For more on helping your clients during the life settlement process, read our post “Building Strong Relationships with Senior Clients - And Their Families.”
One issue that financial advisors, elder care lawyers, long-term care advisors, and insurance advisors may all experience in common is that they don’t know when a life settlement might be a good fit for a client.
Since many financial professionals are unfamiliar with the life settlement market already, it can be difficult to determine how it might work given a specific client’s situation. Will it have any retirement implications? Will it change their estate plans? Will it affect their adult children? (more…)
Caregiving today looks very different than it did 50 years ago. Thanks to improvements in medicine, technology, and psychology, among other things, today’s family caregivers have more resources available to them, as well as a greater ability to maintain their loved one’s quality of life.
With the speed at which technology is currently developing, family caregiving is going to look even more different in 5 years - in fact, we’re on track to have more change in these next five years than we did in the last 20. Here are just a few things we can expect from the future of family caregiving. (more…)
For as long as many of us can remember, seniors who needed a little help getting around had two options: move in with family, or enter an assisted living community.
Most seniors, of course, would rather stay in their homes, but this often proves so difficult that they find themselves unable to do so. Unfortunately, the decision to move often happens after a crisis, like a health scare or fall. (more…)
