Managing Financial Affairs: It’s Their Money
Whether due to a degenerative disease like Alzheimer’s, or simply due to frailty with aging, there may come a time when seniors want or need help in dealing with their finances. It can be a tricky area, and unfortunately some seniors are victim of financial abuse from their own families.
See below a good article from the Globe and Mail that talks about one families experience. The key lesson is that it is important for seniors to put mechanisms and plans together when they are still able to.
The article references a 2016 survey by Fidelity Investments which found that just 9 per cent of Americans, aged 50 through 80, thought they would lose their ability to manage daily finances. Meanwhile, 60 per cent said they’d witnessed it happen to a friend or family member. And 40 per cent helped to manage their own parents’ finances. Clearly there is a disconnect between what people prepare themselves for versus what they witness happening to others.
Given the rapid increase in home values, there is a real problem with some families making decisions to preserve the value of their inheritance instead of using the funds to create the best quality of life for the aging parent, and to respect their wishes.
