When an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Changes Everything: The Financial Planning Decisions Families Face
A client of mine was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
She had just retired after a wonderful career and was looking forward to enjoying her retirement.
Unfortunately, her circumstances changed quickly.
One of the first things we revisited was her existing alimony agreement, which had been established before she began working with me.
As part of the divorce settlement, she had already given half of her assets to her former partner. In addition, she was required to pay $4,000 per month in alimony indefinitely.
That agreement may have made sense when she was working.
But she had now retired, her earned income had gone away, and she had been diagnosed with a progressive disease that could require significant long-term care.
So I reached out to the attorney who represented her in the divorce to explore whether the alimony obligation could be modified or terminated.
At the same time, we began working with experienced elder law attorneys to develop a plan for her potential future care needs.
Alzheimer’s can eventually require assisted living and/or memory care, both of which can place enormous pressure on a retirement plan.
Our goal was to understand what resources would be available to her, what she could reasonably afford, and whether we could structure her financial affairs in a way that would allow her to qualify for appropriate Medicaid-supported care if and when she needed it.
This is one of the reasons I believe financial planning is about much more than investment management.
A portfolio can be perfectly invested and still have major financial vulnerabilities.
In this case, the planning process uncovered two potentially significant issues:
• An ongoing $4,000 monthly alimony obligation that may no longer be appropriate given her circumstances.
• The need for a long-term care strategy that could potentially preserve more of her assets while helping provide for her future care.
Neither issue was solved by picking a better investment.
They required coordination between financial planning, family law, and elder law.
That’s what comprehensive financial planning should look like: not simply managing a portfolio, but continually asking, “What has changed, and what do we need to do about it?”
If you’d like to learn more about working with Caligiuri Financial, schedule a complimentary Exploratory Meeting at the link below.
Comments