Be Ready for the Unexpected: A Big-Picture Checklist
National Preparedness Month is observed every September to encourage individuals, families, and communities to plan for disasters and emergencies.
Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),[1] this annual campaign emphasizes actionable steps such as understanding local risks, making a family emergency plan, building an emergency supply...
Helping Clients Stay Financially and Logistically Prepared
When Clients Travel, Small Gaps Can Turn into Big Problems
Travel takes us out of our comfort zone, exposes us to new stimuli, and can rekindle a sense of awe as we leave the familiar behind and embrace the unknown.
It also challenges us to think and act differently.
But by stripping away our daily...
Understanding Long-Term Care Insurance: Insights for Advising Your Clients
One way to manage long-term care risk is through a dedicated insurance policy. Long-term care insurance (LTCI) covers care at home or in assisted living, memory care, or nursing facilities—services that standard health insurance and Medicare do not typically pay for.
Although roughly 70 percent of people turning 65...
Strategies to Help Clients Protect Their Assets If Long-Term Care Is Needed
Long-term care needs can introduce significant risk to a client’s estate and financial plan. Advisors should take a layered approach, integrating strategies that address private-pay options and potential public benefits while preserving client objectives.
Not all long-term care risks or planning needs are the same, so asset protection strategies...
Do I Need Long-Term Care Insurance and How Does It Work?
Policy experts and families alike have long noted that the United States lacks a comprehensive public system for long-term care.
Medicare generally does not cover these services, and while Medicaid can help, it is available only to people with very limited assets, often requiring a spend-down that can leave...
How to Protect Your Estate If Long-Term Care Becomes Necessary
Once you understand what long-term care (LTC) is and the real risks it can pose to your finances, goals, and family, you can begin to plan accordingly. Addressing the possibility of long-term care early puts you in a stronger position to manage its potential financial and personal impact.
What...
Why Long-Term Care Planning Is a Critical Part of Estate Planning (Even If You Are Healthy)
For many people, estate planning sounds like a final act—a set of instructions for what happens to your accounts and other assets only after you are gone.
In reality, a truly comprehensive estate plan also helps protect you during your lifetime. While a standard plan covers medical and financial...
Why Long-Term Care Planning Matters to Your Client’s Financial and Estate Plan
An effective plan for the future goes far beyond controlling and directing asset transfers at death. When structured properly, an estate plan also protects against incapacity during life, ensuring that a client’s medical and financial affairs can be managed without court intervention.
But one risk that many estate plans...
A Windfall and a Target: Navigating Family Expectations After Sudden Wealth
Good news in the form of a sudden windfall can put your family in a new financial position that may materially alter your legacy and estate plan.
And while it may seem like a pure positive, it can also attract the attention of the Internal Revenue Service and prompt...
When an Adult Child Has a Crisis: How an Emergency Can Reshape Your Estate Plan
You never stop being a parent. Even when your child reaches adulthood, they are always in your thoughts - and, in many cases, your estate plan.
There may be times when your adult children need you just as much - or more - than they did while growing up....