Managing Your Lifestyle Wherever It May Take You
The challenges of Financial Caregiving vary with each client relationship. From the rigors of a family fighting the good fight of cognitive decline, managing the shutdown and end of life services for a family who have lost a loved one or simply assisting someone with their daily money management, each Tight Ship Advisor leverages their expert knowledge of being a senior in today’s world to create comfort and assurance.
The stand out moment of the week centered around those that are managing multiple households. The “dream” for many seniors is to be a Snowbird – split time between the family home during the fairer months and then head to a warmer climate for winter. As with anything related to home and financial management, that’s easier said than done. The details of temporarily moving your primary residence pile up quickly and the likelihood of something falling through the cracks will increase. Where is the mail going? Who is paying the bills for home/utilities? Medical files – what needs to be taking along? Who is checking on the house during the winter? Transportation? End of year distributions & then tax season – what paperwork needs to come along? And on and on……
As Tight Ship Advisors advocate with almost all activities, it’s never too soon to start planning. So, with a client’s impending departure in October to their home in Florida for a seven month stay, the action plan and checklists are in high drive. First and foremost, understanding the manner in which our clients wants to manage their affairs is the Advisor’s priority. With that, the action plan takes shape and as departure day approaches, there are little to no surprises.
In this instance, the Tight Ship Advisor was able to assist the family crete the following action plan and source all related services at the best price & with reliable professionals:
1. The car – sourced an insured & bonded driver to transport the car directly to their home in Florida.
2. The locked trunk will be pre-packed with clothing & belongings so the family will not be bothered with extensive luggage on their flight. Two secure boxes of necessary paperwork & medical records will be shipped down three days in advance of their arrival – the “Traveling Desk” as we call it. “The Desk” set to be received and signed for by verified third party for security purposes in anticipation of their arrival.
3. Medical appointments & prescriptions – necessary and ongoing treatment is required between locales. All doctor’s appointments have been secured in advanced in FL to insure no lapse in treatments. Further, prescriptions will be available at the local pharmacy.
4. Who’s checking on the house while they’re gone? The Tight Ship Advisor will make weekly visits to the home to insure all is well and no mail has been erroneously delivered. If a weather event should occur, the Advisor will make an unscheduled visit.
5. Regular Financial Activities – The Tight Ship Advisor will continue to monitor the bills and credit cards online but will also make sure that all other professionals are working in concert at critical times throughout the year.
6. Landscaping – Fall and spring clean up at the house
7. Housekeeping – Deep dive cleaning after their departure to FL and then prior to their return
8. Repairs – a portion of the roof needs to be replaced. The Tight Ship Advisor will oversee this project while they’re away.
9. Medicare Enrollments – There’s been a change to prescriptions over the past year. With Open Enrollment starting on 10/15, the SCB Advisor will do an evaluation to insure that their Medicare D program is best suited for their needs.
10. Wealth Management & CPA – The business of being a senior never ends….. The Tight Ship Advisor will facilitate the following communications: November/December – On advice of the family CPA, advise the family Wealth Manager how much will need to be earmarked for taxes & track all charitable giving to maximize returns Jan – April – Insure all appropriate documentation is collected and supplied to the family CPA for tax filing. (This timeline may differ based on individual filings.)
So, is your head reeling with all the details of what is supposed to be a relaxing and recuperative change of scenery? Not only it is paramount that each of these details are attended to in a timely fashion, it is vital that they’re done accurately and with the highest level of professional advice. For this family, their Tight Ship Advisor is their in house professional on all things senior living as well as concierge assistant allowing them to age in place – be it, Chicago or Florida.