For anyone who has dealt with an aging parent or grandparent the concept of long term care is likely a familiar one. Those unfortunate enough to suffer from Alzheimer’s or other cognitive illness can end up requiring nursing care that can reach and exceed $80,000 per-year depending on the quality of care.
The need for retirement planning didn’t really exist until well into the 1970s. Up to that point, people worked until age 65, spent a few years in leisure through their life expectancy which was about 69. Many retirees of that era were able to coast into retirement with a cushy pension plan.
Most people think estate planning is only for wealthy people. Certainly, the 55% of Americans who died without a will thought so, even though all of their estates ended up in probate court subject to the laws of the state. Sadly, the surviving families were thrust into a situation that resulted in unnecessary distress, expense and, for many of them, devastating financial consequence
In the realm of financial planning, time is our most valuable asset. It’s available to all of us, providing each individual with the same opportunity to optimize its value in building wealth. It’s the only resource we all have over which we have some degree of control.
In our discussions with clients, the term “wealth” has always been tossed about somewhat loosely. We talk about building wealth, wealth management, wealth enhancement, and wealth preservation and wealth in general as if it were universally understood.
There are many who would suggest that, in a digitally-wired world in which information travels at light speed to all corners, the investment playing field has been leveled between individual investors and the institutions. In reality, however, the incessant noise and information overload can do more to fuel the irrational behavior of investors than it can to provide any sort of advantage.
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