The Estate Planning Post Every Woman Should Read
August 12, 2011
Although couples usually come into our office together to discuss their estate plans, quite often it’s the women who lead the discussion about planning for the guardianship of children, and the men who lead the discussion about financial planning.
Estate planning is a subject which has a significant impact on women—in fact, this article in Forbes suggests that estate planning may affect women even more than men because “Among Americans 65 and older, 42% of women, but just 14% of men are widowed. Women’s longer life expectancy, combined with their tendency to marry older mates and their lower lifetime earnings means they are far more likely to see their living standards compromised in retirement if proper estate planning isn’t done.”
How can women ensure that this doesn’t happen to them? The best answer is for women to be involved in the estate planning process—not just the issue of guardianship, but financial issues as well. Talk to your partner about what happens if (as is likely) your spouse passes away first leaving you a widow. Talk to your spouse and your family about how the remainder of your estate should be distributed upon your death. And don’t discuss the topic in vague terms, bring your estate planner or financial planner into the conversation and talk about cold, hard numbers.
Our firm understands that this is not the easiest conversation to begin. Talking about money in our culture has generally been considered a “dirty topic,” not to mention that nobody likes considering their own (or their spouse’s) mortality, but the consequences of avoiding the discussion can be disastrous.
If you’d like to start a conversation about estate planning with your family but aren’t quite sure how, the Forbes article mentioned above has quite a few excellent suggestions, including “start with current events or an anecdote about other people. Perhaps it’s a movie you saw, a book you read, a news report about someone your age who recently died or a sudden death in your community.” If you’re trying to bring up the subject with your parents as opposed to your spouse you may want to consider telling them “I just did my own estate plan. Don’t you think you should update yours?”
Alternatively, you may simply want to print out this blog post (or the Forbes article) bring it to your spouse/parent/children and read it together. Getting the conversation started is the hardest part, but it’s also the most important. If you can get the ball rolling, our firm can help with everything else.
What to Do When Dad’s Ability To Manage His Finances Begins To Slow Down
May 27, 2011
One of the most difficult aspects of caring for an elderly parent (or helping an aging parent who lives far away) is keeping one step ahead when that parent begins to lose the ability to manage his or her own finances. Many seniors can be very resistant to discussing what they feel is an extremely private and sensitive topic. Furthermore, according to this article in AgingCare.com, “for many elders, being able to take care of their own finances is an important symbol of independence and self-worth,” and one that they are not likely to relinquish easily.
Unfortunately, an elderly parent’s ability to manage their own money may cease before they are willing to ask for help. In these cases, it may be up to their children and loved ones to step in and help as best they can. What follows is a list of some non-invasive, non-offensive steps adult children and caregivers can take to help aging parents manage their finances.
- Ask for a list of important people and information you might need in case of emergency. This list would include contact information for an attorney, financial advisor, primary care physician, and insurance agent.
- Ask where your parent keeps important documents and how an executor or advisor could access those documents upon your parent’s death or incapacity.
- If your parent is willing, discuss their estate plan with them, including who they have chosen as their agent or executor, and what you can do if something happens.
- Ask your parent to make a list of monthly bills, expenses and account numbers. Although your parent may not want to hand over this information right away, the list should be stored with other important estate planning documents so that it can be accessed in case of emergency.
- As you keep track of your own financial deadlines (tax filing deadlines and the like) set up reminders for your parent as well.
- Ask that your parent list you as an “emergency contact” with their utility services, so that you would be informed if your parent’s service is in danger of being terminated.
- And finally, talk to your parent as often as you can. Keeping open lines of communication is the very best way to stay informed about the abilities and well-being of your aging parent.
Long-Term Care; Be Prepared in an Area of Uncertain Options
February 17, 2011
It’s flu season again, and the strain going around this year has been a difficult one, mainly because of how long it keeps its victims out of commission. So the article we recently found on Time.com about Long-Term Care seems particularly timely and relevant, if only because this year’s flu could be seen as an omen of what’s to come as Baby Boomers age into their golden years.
According to the article, “A huge wave of baby boomers may need long-term care in their golden years — and yet fewer than half have taken steps to prepare for it… two-thirds of Americans believe it’s important to plan for long-term care, but only 44% have taken steps to protect themselves.” Part of the reason for this lack of preparedness is that Baby Boomers underestimate the likelihood that they’ll need long-term care, or they overestimate the likelihood that their children or families will be able (or willing) to provide that care.
But there’s another reason why Baby Boomers are statistically unprepared for the crisis of old age; to put it simply, there aren’t any clear avenues to solid and reliable financial preparedness. “While it’s clear that not enough people are thinking about preparing for their long-term-care needs, it’s not at all clear what, if any, the best solutions are.”
Some think that extra savings in the bank will cover the cost of long-term care; others believe that government programs such as Medi-Cal or Medicare will take care of them. Unfortunately, both of these beliefs are mistaken. “The average cost of a nursing home ranges from $85,000 to $120,000 a year, while hiring an aide to spend six hours a day on average in the home starts around $40,000 a year… Medicare, meanwhile, only covers up to 100 days of long-term care and often involves co-payments. Medicaid [Medi-Cal in California]will cover long-term nursing-home care but only after the person has drained his or her savings account.”
Another solution is long-term care insurance; but even with long-term care insurance, nothing is clear cut, and too many people have found themselves paying into a policy and ending up with no return on their investment. You also need to be healthy enough to qualify for the policy. Long-term care insurance is still one of the best options out there, but “There have been horror stories of people paying premiums on long-term-care insurance policies for years, only to find the benefits won’t cover their needs 20 or 30 years down the road when health care and long-term-care costs are significantly higher.”
Another option may be Medi-Cal for those who need nursing level care. Our firm has been a leader in assisting clients with qualification, and with helping them plan their estates to enable qualification when need later arises. There are many myths associated with Medi-Cal. For more information, we invite you to download a free copy of our “Consumer’s Guide To Medi-Cal Planning“.
The best advice we can give is to do your research and ask for the help of an advisor with experience in elder law, elder care, and senior financial planning. Be prepared.
Resolutions to Last You Through the Year
January 6, 2011
What are your resolutions for 2011? A majority of New Year’s resolutions have to do with money and health—or more specifically, with saving money and losing weight. Unfortunately, most New Year’s resolutions don’t last through the first month of the year. But what if there were steps you could take in that first month, when you’re still feeling inspired and motivated, that would pay-off throughout the rest of the year when all your good intentions fall by the wayside?
Luckily, there are steps you can take right now that will help you save money throughout the rest of the year. This article in USA Today lists 5 steps you can take right now to help you save money in 2011:
- Order your free credit report
- Get a medical exam
- Update your beneficiaries
- Increase your 401(k) contributions
- Rebalance your portfolio
All of these will help you keep your 2011 resolutions throughout the entire year, but the ones we’re most concerned with are #s 2 and 3. Too many people “take care of business” pertaining to beneficiaries and 401(k)s when they first get hired (or open a new account or life insurance policy) and then never think of it again. But lives change over the years, and the people you listed, or the amount you contributed 5 or 10 years ago is probably not what’s best for your family right now.
The New Year brings with it new beginnings… and new hopes. Why not take advantage of this feeling of optimistic euphoria by taking steps now that will carry you through the entire year?
Preparing Boomers for the Finance Sandwich Squeeze
November 15, 2010
Baby-boomers are called the sandwich generation—and with good reason. They were expecting to pay for their own retirement and their children’s college education; but now recession upon recession has toppled their elderly parents’ savings, and Boomers find that they are faced with the prospect of shouldering the financial burden of their parents’ final years as well. The pressure of providing for so many people at once can quickly become overwhelming, and using one’s own savings or retirement fund can begin to look like an easy solution to immediate financial concerns.
Although it may seem like an easy fix to looming financial debt, don’t give in to the temptation to use your own savings. Before you give in to fear and drain your retirement, get some professional financial advice. This special edition recently released in the New York Times shows that it is possible to prepare for what’s coming—both for your parents and yourself.
Our first recommendation is to discuss your situation with a trusted financial advisor. After that, one of the primary suggestions offered in the Times is to talk to your parents about their situation. It may not be easy; be prepared for your initial advances to be met with resistance. Aging parents often worry that they will lose control of their own finances, or that giving decision-making capacity to one child will lead to anger or hurt feelings among their other children. Instead of gearing up for a fight, the article mentions a few ways to gently lead into the conversation (including talking about family philanthropic projects.)
Another discussion you won’t want to skip is one about Long-Term Care Insurance. This article by Ron Leiber discusses different kinds of insurance, whether or not you’ll need it (you will), and how to pay for it.
The world of “old age” is changing. People are living longer than their predecessers and are experiencing more long-term health issues. In some situations, elders may be able to rely upon Medi-Cal to subsidize the cost of residence in a nursing facility, provided that appropriate planning is in place. However, care outside of the nursing home environment usually requires reliance upon savings and/or long term care insurance if available. For veterans, a tax-free Veterans Pension may be available, even if the disability is not related to military service. Serious discussion and serious planning are essential to surviving the challenges of the “new” old age.
Prepare Now for an Uncertain Future
October 14, 2010
There’s a useful saying that goes something like this: “Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.” Never has that saying been as useful as it is right now in regards to asset protection and estate planning. As Laura Lallos mentions in her article in the Morningstar Advisor, “Estate attorneys are trained to prepare for every contingency. But how do you plan for the unimaginable? Who would have predicted a U.S. tax system with no estate tax at all–and no certainty about what the estate tax will look like in 2011?”
Planning for the future when the future is so foggy is a challenge at best, but this unique year for taxes offers some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for giving and saving as well. This seems to be a time of contradictions. As the article points out, “The best strategy that financial advisors and attorneys can pursue now is to prepare their clients for the worst. On the bright side, some clients can also seize opportunities created by the gaping holes in the tax law for 2010.”
The article suggests a number of strategies that you can implement now to prepare for an uncertain future. Some of these include:
Give monetary gifts now, when the gift tax rate is a low 35%, in order to lessen your taxable estate. Better still, gift away assets, such as real estate, that are likely to appreciate in the future.
Take advantage of the one-year-only lapse in the Generation Skipping Transfer Tax.
Create a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust before the end of October to take advantage of the currently very low Section 7520 rate.
See your estate planner and make sure your estate and asset protection plans truly are “prepared for the worst.” We may not yet know what next year will bring, but that doesn’t mean we can‘t take steps to ensure our clients are prepared for whatever the future may hold.
Women and Retirement: Your Money, Your Future, Your Plan
September 27, 2010
You have a longer life expectancy than a man, different ideas about what constitutes risk, often work for a different pay-scale… and if you’re a woman, you likely need a different kind of retirement plan as well.
You may think that the financial advisor recommended by your husband/father/brother will suit you just fine, but this new article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that what works financially for men doesn’t always work for women—and this includes old-school financial advisors. According to the article, when women start seriously planning for retirement, “many find that the financial-services industry is an obstacle, not an ally. In a recent Boston Consulting Group survey of women investors, respondents said they routinely feel underserved by the financial-services industry, with more than 70% expressing dissatisfaction with the service they’re getting. Among the complaints: disrespectful advisers, narrower investment choices based on the assumption that women can’t handle risks and patronizing pitches.”
This isn’t just a case of emotional discomfort; it also hits women in the pocket-book, where it’s likely to hurt the most. “A recent survey by financial-services company MassMutual found that women’s retirement accounts were, on average, just two-thirds the size of men’s.”
Not all of this can be blamed on financial advisors though. Women have a dangerous (if generous) tendency to put their spouses and families first, with little thought for their own financial security until it’s too late. In addition, married women often count on their husband’s retirement plan to take care of the both of them—only to find that his plan works for his life expectancy, leaving her without a plan when he’s no longer around.
What can women do? The first thing each woman should do is have is her own retirement account, and contribute to it each month. Make sure your financial advisor recognizes your unique needs and listens to your hopes and concerns. You can plan with your partner for golden years spent together, but it’s your responsibility to save for yourself.
You’re Never Too Young to Need a Financial Planner
September 4, 2010
Most people don’t think about visiting a financial planner until they’re old enough to have some money to manage, but if your child is a recent college graduate, or in his or her final year, you may want to consider a joint trip to your financial planner. A recent article in the Boston Globe lists a number of very compelling reasons why even young adults with little or no savings can benefit from a little bit of planning.
1. A visit to a financial planner can help young adults learn early the importance of budgeting: “If you are living on your own for the first time you haven’t had the responsibility yet of paying bills and learning to make your paycheck last until the next payday… One of the basic tenets of financial planning is to know where your money is going.”
2. Start planning for retirement while you’re still young. The earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. “A financial planner can go over the various fund choices in your 401(k) or other retirement plan and help you choose one or more funds that suit your needs.”
3. Learn how to turn big dreams for the future into a reality. Whether you plan to get married, buy a house, or start your own business, “A Certified Financial Planner® can figure out how much you need to save and create a plan to make saving painless.”
4. And finally, a financial planner can help young adults learn the basic tenets and terminology of borrowing, lending, saving smart and paying off loans with interest. “Learn about interest rates and how they work, whether they are for credit cards, auto loans, student loan or other borrowing. See how compound interest can help you reach goals faster.” An early trip to a knowledgeable professional can ensure that your child doesn’t get taken in by persuasive credit card companies.
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