Don’t wait for a crisis: Financial caregiving should start long before need arises

We tend to think of a financial caregiver coming into the picture when someone like a parent or grandparent starts to decline, mentally, physically or both. However, that might not be the only time you should be considering either planning to bring in a financial caregiver or at least exploring your options so that you have a plan when needed.

I was speaking to a recent widower who said to me, “My wife did it all.”

This man was not in poor health (given his age and his mental faculties were intact), but he had spent nearly 60 years letting his wife take care of everything, from grocery shopping, prescription refills and scheduling, to paying the bills, balancing the checking accounts and monitoring the insurance and other financial matters. When she suddenly passed away, he was at a total loss of where to start.

This situation left him and his children with little time to get up to speed on the financial picture and get a plan in place for him to take over where his wife left off. Of course, this all took place while they were grieving and each of his adult children were trying to manage their own lives, to boot. The bills didn’t stop coming in and there was no pause button on life to take a moment to breathe.

So, what are some options for avoiding or easing the burden of a situation like this?

Start early

At a minimum, we always suggest having an action plan that you share with a trusted contact before a crisis arises. You can share your financial overview with this person and keep all account information in one location, such as a binder or computer folder. Passwords and/or account numbers are not necessary to divulge during this stage, but the trusted contact needs to know where to find the information should they need it.

Some additional information to consider includes:

▪ Digital estate information and passwords (computer and online passwords, social media platform passwords, phone access code).

▪ Security system pass-codes.

Get things in order

It will be much easier for a spouse or trusted contact to pick up where you left off if you have an organized financial picture with detailed records. This could mean having a record of payments and bill schedules for ongoing and sporadic expenses. The same goes for estate planning documents and insurance documents.

You may also consider developing a funeral plan to help alleviate some of these decisions from your loved ones left behind.

Set it up

If you have accounts, lock boxes or other financial items that allow for a trusted contact, now would be a good time to add one. You may even consider a convenience account or something similar, which gives someone authorization to help with an account, if needed, but does not allow access to funds in the account. They might also be contacted if suspicious behavior is observed on accounts.

Stay observant

We may not always have the time to plan for future financial care-giving. Some things to keep an eye on to determine if a need is more immediate include:

▪ Utilities or services are cut off. This could indicate the responsible party forgets to pay bills or may be in financial trouble.

▪ Any type of memory loss is observed.

▪ Falling for or almost becoming a victim of a scam. Scams are incredibly sophisticated these days. However, greater susceptibility may come with a decline in cognition.

▪ Changes in behavior, especially spending behavior.

▪ Caregiving technology can be an added layer of help. There are programs that help with financial safety, organization, monitoring, sharing and more.

Marc C. Shaffer is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional and member of the Financial Planning Association of Greater Kansas City. Shaffer is the chief financial officer of Searcy Financial Services Inc., a fee-only registered investment advisory and financial planning firm located in Overland Park.