Financial Caregiving w/BJ Miller & Marci Lobel-Esrig
On top of the physical aspects of illness and aging, there are also important financial considerations with big ramifications. A general lack of understanding about estates, pensions, life insurance or social security can make a huge difference in quality of life, dying, death or lead to unnecessary suffering. The reality is that nearly half of adults aged 53-71 manage or help manage a parent or other aging relatives’ finances, and 47% of adults aged 50-59 are simultaneously raising children and caring for aging parents. Being there for your family is a true joy, but caring for an aging loved one on top of regular responsibilities can easily become an overwhelming situation. BJ Miller MD and Marci Lobel-Esrig, Attorney and founder of Silver Bills discuss aspects of financial care that are best to understand before you find yourself in a crisis.
We discuss:
0:00 Introductions
6:08 Financial well being is related to our physical health: creating high blood pressure, etc.
10:05 The importance of involving your family in financial decision making: people of all ages want and need help with finances. Increasingly people want to outsource financial care
12:07 In our culture there’s a lot of secrecy around finances
13:18 Being estranged from family and dealing with finances, the epidemic of loneliness
14:10 The sooner you start planning, the easier it will be. The topic of finances causes a lot of anxiety and sometimes people put their heads in the sand instead of addressing them.
16:35 Patients end up living longer and exceeding their prognosis and finances
17:43 Examples of financial gaps
19:50 The importance of having conversations around finances before someone passes away. Surprises and heartache can happen when reading the will, or in a health crisis
21:15 The multiple types of financial professionals: investment, CPAs, fiduciaries, wealth managers, tax advisor, insurance brokers
24:58 What is the job of a professional fiduciary?
25:58 What are the financial differences between Medicare and Medicaid? Medicare generally based on age, and Medicaid is generally income based
28:26 Importance of budgeting on a monthly basis: monthly expenses and categories
31:24 What are the geographical factors and implications of aging in place? If you live in one place in the US the costs of care and aging may be drastically different then other locations: elder index.org
34:27 How credit scores and credit repair can affect ability to borrow, if you need to do so to comply with financial plan - credit repair can be implemented to help individuals come up with payment plans. Check your credit yearly!
35:32 What is long term care insurance? The industry is in crisis and is very expensive to obtain these policies
38:18 Finances and debts don’t stop at the moment of death: certain documents, like a death certificate, are required to process debts and close out accounts. Someone will need to take care of these issues. These are not issues reserved for just the wealthy. Empathy.com
41:42 How to think about long term care insurance? Is it worth it? Is it meaningful? Speak with a trusted financial advisor: it’s a case by case basis, so hiring someone to help with the specifics can be helpful. Have the analysis done with a full financial plan
43:04 What are the things that you - BJ and Marci - have done to prepare for your future and what doesn’t exist that should exist? Co-living as a solution to many of our social issues. Why are we all living alone at home by ourselves?
51:30 The terms elder orphans and solo-agers: finding others on Facebook groups
52:16 What are thoughts on bill pay management and possibility of financial exposure?
53:22 Books, movies, etc. that tackle these topics? Non-fiction film, The Guardians, The Man Called Ov, On Being Mortal by Atul Gwande
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