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We believe in building strong relationships with our clients. Creating a life planning support plan involves getting to know an individual/family in a very intimate way. This includes details about your family’s dynamics, your financial details, your short & long-term goals, any potential health issues, etc.
For a married couple, a comprehensive life planning support plan will address at least five stages of life -
- Alive & Well: The stage most of us will spend our lives in.
- Alive & Not-So-Well: Planning for this stage will address what you want to happen in the event of a health care crisis (i.e., emergency medical decisions need to be made) and what you want to happen if you have a dreaded chronic (usually cognitive) condition such as dementia.
- What Happens When One of You Dies: Planning here helps the surviving spouse feel secure and protected. It also considers how life may change emotionally, financially, and practically after such a loss.
- Surviving Spouse - Alive & Not-So Well: As time moves forward, the surviving spouse may face new health or care needs. Thoughtful planning helps ensure comfort, dignity, and peace of mind during this stage.
- What Happens When the Survivor Dies: This is what most consider when thinking of life care planning and estate planning. Who do you want to receive what you leave behind? What is the best way to give it to them? How do you do this at the lowest possible cost?
Schulze Elder Life Planning will help you understand these aspects properly so that you can take the right steps for your life care planning needs!
Lifetime Planning for Financial and Health Care Preferences
Generally, the areas of “lifetime control” addressed by life care planning can be broken down into three distinct areas -
- Control over finances and property
- Control over personal health and medical care decisions
- Control over the care and well-being of minor children and other dependents (if applicable)
Planning for the Quick & Inexpensive Transfer of Assets
When you are dead and gone, creditors, financial institutions, and other interested parties must be notified; funeral and burial arrangements must be carried out; debts must be addressed; taxes must be paid; tangible and intangible assets must be protected and eventually transferred to beneficiaries.
And the decedent’s overall wishes must be carried out. There is quite a lot to do, and for the ones you leave behind, this may not be the best time for them to experience these tiresome and tricky situations.
That’s where our planning support comes in. We help families organize everything ahead of time so nothing feels rushed or unclear later. Our role is to make things easier, think ahead to potential issues, and help you through clear, practical planning decisions.
Planning for My (Our) Family
We often discover that most of our clients have definite ideas about how they would like their beneficiaries to use their inheritance. Similarly, there is usually a strong desire to protect the beneficiary’s inheritance from outside forces, like “creditors and predators.”
But thoughtful family planning can help you tackle these situations properly. It focuses on people, values, and real-life situations that may unfold over time. Some of the important questions we help families think through include -
- Who would be the best people to step in and care for minor children if parents are no longer able to do so?
- How to guide and protect inheritances for children or loved ones who may not yet be ready to manage them on their own?
- How to structure support for adult children in a way that helps shield what they receive from future life disruptions?
- What values, habits, or life choices do you hope to encourage through the support you leave behind?
- How to reduce the risk that a large inheritance becomes overwhelming or harmful rather than helpful?
- What planning considerations are needed if a loved one has, or may develop, special needs or long-term challenges?
Equally important is a complete understanding of you, our client. You are unique, and your needs differ from what others may have - no one plan works for everyone. Our role is to listen carefully, help you think through these decisions, and shape a plan that reflects who you are because no single approach works for every family.
Elder Life Care Planning - Support for Senior-Specific Needs
A comprehensive and useful elder life planning support plan must address the unique challenges faced by our aging population. Senior-focused planning focuses on the personal, financial, and care-related needs that often arise later in life and uses thoughtful strategies to help meet individual goals and priorities.
All of the typical long-term planning considerations still apply, but older individuals often need additional support when preparing for possible long-term care needs, including nursing home care and thoughtful end-of-life decision-making. Planning to coordinate personal resources and available public programs to help manage the cost of care, while working to support access to quality care, are all important parts of elder care planning.
Legacy Planning
Legacy planning emphasizes the belief that wealth goes beyond just material possessions. It involves your heritage (ancestors, traditions, heirlooms); your family beliefs, values, and connections; and your community (including work, friendships, affiliations, and philanthropy). Legacy planning is as varied as the individual and means different things to different people. It may include planning for your children and beneficiaries, charitable planning, or business succession planning.
We help you turn these values and priorities into something your family can understand and carry forward through our life care planning support plans.
Is a Revocable (Living) Trust Plan Right for Me?
While I am alive and well, I want to continue to have full control over all of my assets and not add to the complexity of my life.
I want to ensure that my family can maintain control of and benefit from my assets without court intervention during periods of incapacity.
When I die, I want to give what I have to whom I want, in the way that I want, without needless delay or court intervention.
And I want to achieve these goals in a way that avoids unnecessary complications and added expenses for my family.
For some families, a revocable living trust can offer flexibility in supporting these wishes. This type of trust can help outline how assets may be managed during your lifetime and shared later. Many people use it as a way to keep their assets organized in one place as life changes.
When it comes down to it, the question is whether or not you feel the need to create a “comprehensive” plan or are comfortable with a piecemeal approach. It helps keep things together and allows you to stay in control throughout your life and after.
At Schulze Elder Life Planning, we’ll explain these options to you in clear, everyday terms so you can decide what feels right for you.
So, if you need help with life planning support, you can contact us at (775) 853-5700. We’re happy to answer your questions and help you understand your options.
