Helping Your Aging Parents with Their Finances

One of the most difficult discussions for adult children to have with their aging parent(s) happens when it’s time for Mom and or Dad to hand over the car keys for safety reasons. More times than not, all parties don’t see eye to eye on the timing. Another equally awkward conversation between grown children and their elderly parents comes when it’s time to talk about the parents giving up control and management of the check book and their finances.

After more than 30 years of working with countless clients, I can tell you that most adult children are not comfortable bringing up the subject of finances and estate planning with their parents. I can also tell you that most seniors need a considerable amount of help getting their finances and estate plans organized, updated, and coordinated. The takeaway here is not to wait until there is a crisis at hand before addressing the subject.

The senior population has long been the target of financial con men and scammers. What may surprise many people is that a large percentage of the financial exploitation cases of seniors involve family members and people close to the senior victim. It’s not just crooked family members or evil scammers that many seniors need help looking out for. Banks and credit unions are happy to have and will say nothing to long time senior customers who have large sums of money sitting in a savings account earning close to zero percent interest on their accounts. Insurance companies also love their long-term senior customers who just keep renewing policies without ever reviewing coverage or shopping rates. That being said, it is my professional opinion that at some point by their late seventies, someone in addition to the aging senior should get involved in reviewing and maintaining the finances.

Here are a few red flags to look for that may indicate that your aging parent or loved one may need help managing and or safeguarding their finances.

·         Piles of unopened mail.

·         Unpaid bills and shutoff notices, or bills paid more than once.

·         Unusual purchases on bank or credit card statements.

·         Contributions to charities that your parents haven’t supported in the past.

·         Mail and phone solicitations that suggest your parents may have already been defrauded.

·         They continually ask the same question even though it has been answered several times.

·         They have A new friend or organization that they want to help out financially.

·         A new friend or relative is suddenly spending a lot of time with your parents.

Here is a partial list of the important documents and financial & estate information that should be located, organized, and maintained.

·         Estate planning documents (Wills, trust, durable power of attorney for finances and healthcare, healthcare directive, Living will, DNR(s).)

·         Birth certificate(s), marriage certificate(s), death certificate(s), divorce decree(s), Social security card(s), Medicare card(s), Military discharge papers and separation documents.

·         Copies of all real estate deeds and current property tax statements

·         Retirement and pension papers (survivor benefit information)

·         Recent statement for each and every bank account, investment account, IRA, etc.

·         Bank/CU Checks, debit cards, credit cards, mortgage/loan documents

·         Auto loans, auto lease agreement, auto title(s) and registration, insurance, etc.

·         Boat, RV, ATV, motorcycle, snowmobile, trailer, firearm, etc. title(s) and registrations.

·         All property & casualty, life insurance and annuities policies and recent statements.

·         Safe deposit box info and key. Check to see who can access the box after death.

·         Tax records (past 7 years)

·         A complete contact list of all service providers and professionals that they work with.

·         And more…

Here is a partial list of other important financial information that should be checked on and maintained over time.

·         Do all bank, credit union and investment accounts have named (pay on death) primary and secondary beneficiaries and are those beneficiary choices in alignment with and coordinated with the estate plan?

·         Are there joint accounts? Are those joint accounts in alignment with the estate plan?

·         Do all banks, credit unions and financial institutions have copies of the DPOA for finances, trust documents, etc. Do they require their own documents?

·         Do all life insurance policies have primary and secondary beneficiaries and are those beneficiary choices in alignment with and coordinated with the estate plan?

·         If there is a revocable living trust, is the trust properly funded?

·         What income is coming into the household? How? When?

·         What bills are due and when? Is there a detailed written budget for running the household?

·         Are there personal financial statements? (Personal balance sheet, cashflow statement)

Getting a person’s finances organized and properly coordinated with their estate plan is a big job and requires a significant investment of time and energy. A challenge for many family members is the fact that much of the work that needs to be done such as making calls to banks, credit unions, insurance companies, etc. must be done during the work week. With only so many paid days off and family commitments of their own, many adult children find it overwhelming to complete the project on their own.

A solution for many families, especially those who live out of town from their loved one is to hire a professional Daily Money Manager (DMM) to step in and take on or complete the job. Once everything is organized and coordinated the DMM can hand it back over to a family member to manage and maintain or at the family’s request the DMM can provide those on-going services as well. To locate a qualified DMM in your area you can visit the American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADM) website at www.aadmm . In the state of Michigan you can reach out to my firm at www.mmifinancialgroup.com .

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Todd W. Meyer is one of the principals at MMI Financial Group, Inc. He has 38 years of experience working with clients and personally heads the Daily Money Management & Financial Concierge Services department of the firm. Todd is an active member of the American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM). Todd can be contacted at todd@mmifinancialgroup.com

 

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Coordinating Your Financial Affairs for A Successful Retirement

Did you know that a Daily Money Manager (DMM) or Financial Concierge (FC) typically acts as the professional coordinator for all of their client's financial matters? In addition to working with their clients to create and maintain an up-to-date personal bookkeeping system, financial and estate records retention system and seeing to it that all current and future obligations are being met, a daily money manager also sees to it that the other members of the client's financial team are kept informed.

Here at MMI Financial Group, Inc. our DMMs routinely work with client’s accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, investment advisors, financial planners, bankers, financial institutions, pension departments, care managers, DPOAs, trustees, executors and more. A few examples of how our DMMs work to communicate and coordinate services with the client's team of advisors and service providers includes the following:

· Accountants receive their completed annual tax organizers and the relevant tax receipts and documents necessary to make sure clients get all the deductions they are entitled to. Tax advice is also sought as needed.

· Estate attorneys are kept informed of any life changes critical to keeping an estate plan current. Client accounts and beneficiary arrangements are maintained and coordinated with revocable living trusts and estate plans per the attorney's direction. Additional legal advice is sought as needed on any legal matter.

· Insurance agents are updated on any changes to vehicle ownership, property and tangible asset holdings, residential occupancy or changes that might impact policy beneficiary arrangements. Our DMMs see to it that health insurance and/or Medicare supplement coverage is reviewed during annual open enrollment periods. We also make sure all insurance premiums are paid by their due dates to prevent any lapse in coverage.

· Banks, financial institutions and pension departments are provided with copies of the client's DPOAs and trust documents and the account registration and beneficiary arrangements for each and every account are coordinated with the estate plan per the attorney's direction.

· Financial planners are kept informed of the client’s complete list of assets and liabilities, as well as ongoing monthly cashflow and obligations so that they may provide effective long-term planning advice.

· Family members, DPOAs, guardians and trustees have the benefit of an independent third-party monitoring accounts, processing payments, and preparing financial reports for necessary financial communication and filings.

· Geriatric care managers are brought in when the family needs assistance outside the scope of finance to provide services for aging family members.

· And more…

What most people don't actively think about is that in the absence of having a professional daily money manager or financial concierge, they (by default) are responsible for coordinating all things financial, estate and retirement related. We've all heard the phrase "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", the problem comes when there is no squeak.  If you're acting as your own DMM it's a lot like acting as your own general contractor to build a house. You may hire an electrician to do the electrical work, but they are not going to help you with the plumbing. The heating and cooling contractor isn't going to focus on anything but the heating and cooling. As the general contractor you have to make sure that you have coordinated everything correctly and that you haven't forgotten anything. There are a lot of moving parts to building a house. There are also a lot of moving parts to effectively creating and maintaining a comprehensive financial, estate and retirement plan.

Because of advances in medicine along with the fact that we live in a more helth conscious society, people are living much longer than ever before. Advanced aging brings with it a set of challenges that previous generations haven't really formally planned for. The fact is, for those individuals who live a long life the day will come when they have to hand over their car keys to someone else because it's no longer safe for them to drive a car. Another pivotal moment will come for the elderly when they have to hand over their check book to someone else because it's no longer safe or practical for them to manage their own finances. 

Rather than waiting until a health event forces the issue or a serious financial misstep comes to light, many seniors today are taking a proactive approach by hiring a DMM to help them get their finances and estate matters organized and prepared for aging so that a family member or a professional DMM can easily come alongside of them to lend a helping hand or take over when the time comes. Being able to effectively coordinate and utilize the knowledge and expertise of each of your advisors becomes more and more important as you age.  

If you know someone who may benefit from reading this article, please share it with them. If you would like to learn more about developing an aging and final chapter of life financial management plan, contact us today for a free consultation at (989) 725-9878 Ext.12 or info@mmifinancialgroup.com

____________________________________________________

Todd W. Meyer is one of the principals at MMI Financial Group, Inc. He has 38 years of experience working with clients and personally heads the Daily Money Management & Financial Concierge Services department of the firm. Todd is an active member of the American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM)

todd@mmifinancialgroup.com (989) 725-9878 ext.10

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Daily Money Managers Can Help You Manage and Settle an Estate

Daily money managers (DMMs) when utilized can play a pivotal role on a person's financial management and estate settlement team. Helping to coordinate the financial management and/or settlement of an estate is one example of how DMMs can take a time consuming, confusing and stressful job off of their client's shoulders.

At MMI Financial Group, Inc. our DMMs can come along side of a person who has been named as the executor/personal representative or successor trustee and take the lead in organizing and completing the many required tasks. Our DMMs will coordinate the participation necessary from the client as well as other professionals such as their banker, accountant, attorney, financial planner, investment adviser, insurance agents, etc.

As the lead professional, we can see to the details such as: Preparing an inventory of assets, determining date-of-death values, create and maintain cash flow and personal balance sheet financial statements, organizing bank and investment statements, locating and organizing all important documents, seeking legal assistance and direction from the attorney, arrange for appraisals of property and valuable items, prepare checks to pay debts and creditors, keep accurate records of all money transactions in and out, notify government offices, notify credit reporting agencies and interested parties about the death, help the executor/trustee to terminate contracts and leases, contact insurance agents to modify or terminate policies, contact investment advisors and financial companies to obtain and complete necessary paperwork to distribute or retitle the deceased's assets. complete forms and paperwork on a variety of matters for the executor's signature, arrange for an auction or estate sale, arrange consignment sale of automobiles, boat, RV, collectibles, and more, provide information to the accountant for income and estate tax returns, prepare and provide on-going transparency financial statements to heirs as required, oversee and attend to many other task and details.

Too often people are unaware of the fact that there is affordable professional help available to them, so they just go it alone. They assume that because they have been assigned to settle the estate that they are personally responsible for completing all of the work.  Because they are unfamiliar with the process and what steps need to be taken, the estate settlement ends up dragging on and on taking much longer to complete than it needs to.  Estate settlements can often take years and cost thousands of dollars in legal and accounting fees primarily because the executor has no direction and continues to procrastinate. 

If you know someone who is serving as successor trustee or executor of an estate now or may be serving in that capacity in the future share this article with them.  Let them known about our daily money management and financial concierge services.  A pre-death financial & estate planning review by one of our DMMs could save thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal fees, probate fees, court costs, and taxes and may shave months or years off the time needed to settle the estate. Contact us today for a free consultation at (989) 725-9878 Ext.12 or info@mmifinancialgroup.com  

___________________________________________________  

Todd W. Meyer is one of the principals at MMI Financial Group, Inc. He has 38 years of experience working with clients and personally heads the Daily Money Management & Financial Concierge Services department of the firm. Todd is an active member of the American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM)

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