Preserving Your Wealth While Caring for Aging Parents Video from Savant Wealth Management

Download our complimentary guidebooks, checklists, and other useful financial resources at savantwealth.com/guides. Welcome to today’s Savant Live webinar. Today we’ll be talking about preserving your wealth while caring for aging parents. My name is Patty Black and I’m a financial adviser, a certified financial planner with more than 25 years of experience. I’ve guided many families through many of life’s toughest financial transitions, and I’ve been exactly where many of you are raising kids working full-time and caring for aging parents. I took care of my mom before she died in 2018 and my dad before he died in 2021. So, I well remember the sleepless nights. And while there are not easy answers to this season of life, there are tools and resources that you can use to help reduce some of the burden and secure your family’s financial future. Joining me today is Danny Hutcherson. Thank you, Patty. It’s a pleasure to be here and I can relate as well. Although I’ve been a financial adviser for 29 years, I would say my most relevant qualification is that I was a caregiver for my father before he passed in 2021. And we have several people in our family who lived with dementia. And I imagine that many who are joining us today have had similar experiences. And we’re especially grateful to be joined by some current caregivers. We hope our time together will reinforce that you’re not alone and that there are strategies and resources available to support you. The good news is if you’re concerned with preserving your wealth while caring for parents, Savant Adviserss can help you make a plan for them and for yourself. While we won’t be able to answer everyone’s questions live today, please feel free to leave a question in the Q&A box on your screen and we’ll be in touch. You can also visit the Savant YouTube page where you’ll find past webinars on topics like this and others that can get you on the pathway to building your ideal future with a Savant adviser. or reach out to our team by going to savantwealth.com and we can connect you with a team member who can help. Patty, can you tell us a bit about the agenda for today’s chat? Yes. So, there are several things that Danny, you and I are going to talk about today, so I’ll briefly touch on each one of them. First, Danny, you’re going to cover the realities of caregiving, beginning with the demographics of aging and highlighting the current state of care and caregiving in the US. Then I’ll talk about steps that the caregiver should take to protect their own finances. Then we’ll talk about some of the resources that are available to help you and your loved ones. At the end, we’ll take a few questions. So, with that, let’s get started, Danny.
Thank you, Patty. So, Savant has long recognized the connection between our wealth and our health. And in fact, health and well-being is one of the 10 key planning areas that powers Savant’s ideal futures financial health assessment. Whether you’re a current or a future family caregiver or a person who needs care themselves, today’s caregiving crisis will touch all of us.

As a former family caregiver and after 10 years of post-graduate training in gerontology, translational health science, and public health on three continents, I’m pleased to confirm that an ounce of prevention and planning can indeed be worth a pound of cure. So, let’s begin our discussion on the modern caregiving crisis by examining the demographics of aging. Then, we’ll look at the realities of care and the impacts on caregivers.
150 years ago, the average life expectancy of a newborn in the United States was only 35 years. Today, thanks to advances in medicine, public health, and increases in the standards of living, life expectancy at birth has more than doubled to around 75 years. The gains haven’t just been for infants, though. Life expectancies have been extended across all age groups, especially for those aged 65 and older.
So much so that in the next decade, the total number of adults over 65 in the US will outnumber children under 18 for the first time in our history. And we expect this trend to continue for the next several decades, particularly among women who on average live several years longer than men. Now, this incredible growth in the number of older adults has already brought us a range of popular demographic marketing themes such as the gray wave, the silver tsunami, and more recently the longevity economy. But underneath this opportunistic messaging, and the longer individual lifespans we enjoy today, there’s a far more crucial and important reality that we need to address. And it relates to how long we live versus how long we live in good health.
While life expectancy is how long we’re projected to live from a certain age, usually from birth, our lifespan is how long we actually live from birth to death.
And if our individual lifespan is how many years we live, our health span is how many of those years we live in good health. More specifically, how many years we’re free from chronic disease or other conditions that affect our mental and physical well-being?
Globally, the gap between how long we live and how many of those years we spend in good health is widening. This trend is the heart of what we call the longevity paradox, which highlights how, despite all the achievements in science that allow us to live longer, we’re not seeing the same proportional gains in the number of years of good health and vitality.
In the US, where we spend more per capita on health care than any other country, our health span lifespan gap is the highest in the world. While life expectancies have trended upward overall except during the pandemic, our health spans have in fact declined over the last 15 years, mostly due to the higher prevalence of chronic disease and lifestyle choices, but also systemic inequities, violence, and even the ongoing opioid crisis. And although women tend to live several years longer than men, they experience the onset of health issues at around the same age. On the left side of this chart, we can see that the health span lifespan gap for men is around 11 years. But for women, which is the green line on top, it’s approaching 14 years and trending upward. So, while women are living longer, they really aren’t living better. And in fact, the total burden in years of disease and disability for women is about 20 to 30% higher. So why is that? In part, it’s a function of living longer. Older adults need more care in their later years. So, by living longer, you’re likely to need more care. But these numbers also reflect the cumulative effect of economic and health disparities for women, which are magnified by both planned and unplanned leaves from work and even early retirement due to the demands and stresses of caregiving. Now, you’ve likely heard of the sandwich generation, which includes those caring for children and parents at the same time. But for many women today, it ends up being a triple cheeseburger. More and more, we see the same individuals and families caring for children, parents, and in some cases, their partners in later life.
In this section, we’ll examine the current realities of care from a 2025 AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving report. Despite greater balance in childcare over re over recent decades, well done men, the chart on the right shows us that women still provide the majority of unpaid care, over 60% in total. And one of the most admirable but devastating statistics I’ve seen in public health is that people who end up providing care full-time at home for their partner have significantly higher risk of depression, anxiety, and even death. So, planning ahead for care and then following that plan when the time comes can truly be lifesaving.
So how many of you have discussed what kind of care you want in later life with your family? And well done if you’re among those with a plan. Now are those preferences written down? We’ll see how you compare it to the other care recipients and caregivers across the country in just a moment. This chart shows the percentage of older adults in each group who needed care. It clearly demonstrates that most care is needed in later life, but not all care. In fact, the average age that care is needed is quite young, just under age 70. So, when care is needed, what care activities are needed most? Reviewing this list of activities of daily living or ADLs which are essential self-care tasks, we see that the most prevalent care needs relate to physical strength and mobility. So maintaining our physical health is therefore key to retaining our autonomy and our independence which could hopefully delay the need for care.

IADLs or instrumental activities of daily living are more complex skills needed for independent living. From getting out to shop for groceries and maintaining your home to preparing meals, managing finances and medications, IADLs are especially important if you or your parent live alone. Now, on the right side of this chart, we see that care support needs are becoming increasingly complex. The percentage of people who need help with at least three ADLs is shown to have risen from 77% to 84% in just the last 10 years. Now this slide is for our caregivers. The amount of unpaid care provided per week in the US on average it’s around 27 hours. And about 70% of the time that unpaid caregiver is also working. For those of you joining us who, like us, have balanced work and care responsibilities, we know that this can be an incredibly challenging and stressful burden to carry.
For all respondents in the AAP study, the average amount of time that care was needed was around 5 1/2 years. But if we remove those in the study who didn’t need care at all from that average, for those who did need care, the average was about seven years. Now, the most striking data from the study, at least for me as a gerontologist, was the average amount of time, I’m sorry, is the trend that fewer care recipients had a plan for care in place than just 10 years ago, which we can see decreasing here over time. But we can also see that caregivers on the right, usually family, are taking up the slack and making plans for care for their own. So, for those of you who answered a few moments ago that you have a written plan, you would be in this group. And really, this trend gives us hope.
We’ll now turn to the impacts of providing care on caregivers. While we know that having time off work is crucial for mental and physical health and productivity, over half of caregivers are forced to go into work late, to leave early, or take time off for their caregiving responsibilities. And many caregivers, as we can see from these responses, had to shift from full-time to part-time status, took leave, were reprimanded for attendance or performance, had to quit work entirely, or were passed up for promotions.
Now, the responses on this slide should set off some alarm bells for us all. Nearly one third of caregivers stopped saving money because of the impacts of providing care. Many others completely depleted their short-term reserves and, in some cases, their long-term financial resources. Over 20% of caregivers took on more debt. Some even had to borrow from family and friends just to make ends meet. And despite spending down their savings and borrowing at a higher rate, even still, 20% of caregivers were late in making their bill payments. And we saw a nearly 30% rise in the number of caregivers who weren’t able to afford basic expenses for themselves like food in the last 5 years. Some caregivers had to take on a second job while others postponed retirement and almost 10% of caregivers were forced to downsize their home. All of these data reinforce the importance of working with an adviser as soon as it becomes clear that you might become or that you are a caregiver.
Now, one might think that having substantial wealth can make many of these problems just go away. For high- net worth families without a plan though, the stakes are still high with complex financial pictures, complicated financial dynamics, multiple properties, in some cases multiple financial dependence, access to documents, businesses that may not have a clear successor, and a strong preference for autonomy and privacy. Without a plan in place, all of these could be put at risk with an unexpected health event. For family caregivers, beyond the health and financial toll of stress and putting their lives on hold, there’s also the emotional weight of uncertainty and unspoken obligations and expectations both for the person needing care and for those giving it.
The good news is that everyone on this webinar has already taken the first step in making a plan, which is to identify the problem. The next step is to begin building solutions with a trusted adviser. Now, the usual solutions we see in the financial planning industry typically involve outdated or static assumptions for longevity and potential care expenses. At Savant, we use evidence-based assessments to develop more personalized estimates for how long you or a loved one may live, what kind of care may be needed, and how much that care is likely to cost based on where you live. And these personalized estimates are then added to the lenses of your overall wealth, tax, and estate planning picture to build your ideal future. Having a care plan, having a care and a caregiving plan in place is truly one of the greatest gifts that you can give to your family. Patty, what are some steps that caregivers can take to be better prepared? All right, Danny, before I jump into steps, I got to just say that was incredible. I feel like you just delivered a master’s level type class to us on the caregiving crisis. So, so thanks for putting all that out there. But here’s the good news. We’re not just stopping at the problem. Now, we’re going to shift gears. We’re going to move from overwhelm to action because I am a firm believer that action is the antidote to anxiety. So, we’re going to roll up our sleeves and I’m going to walk you through some clear, doable steps starting today that you can take to protect your parents, your wealth, and your peace of mind. So, let’s get started. So, welcome to step one. It’s the foundation of every smart g caregiving plan. And we’re going to take these steps one at a time. And it starts with knowing exactly where your parents are financially. That means answering four big questions. What do they own? What do they owe? What comes in? And then what goes out. So, let’s dig in. If your parents have a financial advisor, that is great. Ask permission politely of course if you can join them at their next meeting because sitting in on that next meeting is going to give you a very good overview of their financial situation, their assets, their liabilities, their income, their expenses. But if your parents aren’t working with a financial advisor, you can put this information together on your own. Go online and download a simple net worth statement and then let’s fill it out. You’re going to start with listing their assets. That simply means where are their bank accounts, their investment accounts, their retirement plans like 401ks or IRA or 403bs, real estate that they may own. So, the house that they’re in, , vacation property, rental property, and then you’re going to list after the assets the debts. So, what do they owe? Maybe there’s a mortgage that still exists on the house. Perhaps there’s credit card debt, car loans, or a home equity line of credit. So, you’re going to put the assets and the liabilities together and build a net worth statement. Then, you’re going to work on their cash flow. You’re going to tally the income coming into them. So, it’s likely going to be from sources like social security, pension or annuity checks, required minimum distribution, sometimes called RMDs, from IRA or 401ks, VA benefits, rental income, if they own rental property. Then, we of course have to take a look at what the expenses are that are being paid. So, again, look to housing. Maybe there’s a rental payment being made or a mortgage payment, utilities, property taxes, maintenance expenses on the upkeep of the home, utilities, groceries, gasoline, insurance premiums for Medicare, for prescriptions, and then we’ve got to add in the caregiving cost. So, you’re going to total all of the income. You’re going to total all of the expenses. And then you’re going to ask the million-dollar question. Does the income cover their expenses? If so, great. Do they have extra left over at the end of each month? Or are income covering expenses without any room to spare? Or is there a deficit? Is there not enough income coming in to cover the expenses that they have? After you’ve inventoried their assets, their income, their expenses, then you’re going to take a look at their insurance safety net. They likely have Medicare and there are different parts of Medicare. So, you want to make sure they have all of the necessary parts A, B, and D, and make sure there’s no gaps there. Then, you want to take a look at long-term care insurance. If they have that, you want to understand what those benefits are. Medicaid may also play a role, but that’s typically only if that your parent has very low income or assets. Now, I want to acknowledge this step is going to take some time. You might feel like a detective as you dig through old file folders, file cabinets, as you look at old statements. But here’s the mantra. How do you eat an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time. So, you’re going to start small. You’re going to look for one document today and then tomorrow you’re going to look for another one and you’re going to put this information together bit by bit. You can do this and it’s an important first step in protecting your parents’ dignity and your family’s future. So, from there, let’s move on to step two where we’ll talk about building a caregiving budget. So, we’ve mapped out your parents’ assets, their liabilities, their income, their expenses. So now we’re going to build out a caregiving budget to show the real cost of care. First, I want you to take a look at the cost of care in your area. So, if care for your parents hasn’t started yet, you may not know what the costs are going to be. So, I want you to go to a website. It’s carcout.com. That’s ca t.com. You’ll plug in your zip code, and it’ll give your local averages for your area. For example, I’m based in Birmingham, Alabama, and the average cost of assisted living here is about $64,000 a year. The average cost for a private nursing home room is around $109,000 a year. But let’s compare that to cost in Chicago. So, in Chicago, assisted living is about $84,000 a year. And a private nursing room, a private room in a nursing home is about $185,000 a year. So, these numbers shift fast. It depends on the location and on the level of care. So, you want to get your local estimate. Then you want to take a look at other expenses for caregiving. So here we’re talking about medications, co-pays for doctor’s visits and hospitalizations. In-home caregivers if you have those or expenses at a facility if care is being given there. But don’t just stop with those expenses. You need to dive into things that you may be paying. You may be buying groceries for your parents. You may be adding things to your Amazon order for them. You may be paying for plane tickets to fly back home. Fly back home to see your parents and check on them. And then this one, this one may sting a little bit. You’ve got to look at the part that Danny mentioned earlier, and that’s the impact on your work. Are you cutting back hours at work? Are you taking unpaid leave? Or have you stepped away from work entirely? That’s all part of the cost of care. So, you’ve got to tally all of those expenses. Add it all up to get a true picture of the cost of caregiving. And here’s something that may surprise you. Sometimes hiring a professional to help is cheaper than the income you lose by scaling back at work. Now, I want to say this clearly. These decisions are not just about dollars. We know there’s guilt, there’s love, there’s the expectation, I should be the one doing it. I should be the one providing the care for mom or for dad. I get it. And we’re going to do our best to honor both the numbers and your heart as we move forward.
All right. Before we go any further, let’s talk about you. I am confident you’ve heard the flight attendants say this thousands of times. Put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. And that’s not just for planes. That’s really caregiving 101 because you can’t pour from an empty cup. If you drain your savings to fund your parents’ care, you risk becoming the one who needs care later or who needs help later. So, step three is simple but non-negotiable and that is you’ve got to protect your finances first before you help your parents financially. So you want to sit down and you want to take a hard look at your financial situation. You want to ask, do I have a rock solid financial plan for my retirement? Do I have extra income or savings that I can use that I’m not going to need in the future? If you do, that’s what you’re going to use to help your parents. But please, please don’t dip into your retirement accounts, your emergency fund, unless you’ve run the math and you understand the tradeoff. Because here’s what can happen. If you tap your 401k early, you’re going to pay taxes and penalties. If you drain your emergency fund, you’re going to face a car repair bill or a home repair bill, and you are going to be in crisis. This is not selfish. This is responsible love. The best way to help your parents long term is to make sure that you don’t become a burden later. Next, we’re going to talk about smart, safe ways that you can help without sacrificing your future.

All right, we’ve talked about ways to protect your future. So, now we’re going to make sure that your parents’ wishes are ironclad and that their coverage is ready to work. We’re going to talk about estate documents and long-term care insurance. With estate planning, I want to strongly encourage you not to assume that it’s done. I can’t tell you the number of clients that I’ve had who’ve said, “Oh, yeah, we’ve got wills, we’ve got powers of attorney, or mom and dad have those documents.” And then we take a look at them and we find out that they are decades old and that the family situation and the financial situation has changed greatly since then. You may also want to take a look at those documents and see if mom and dad have named each other to serve as the key decision makers to serve as the executive, the power of attorney. That’s very common. But as your parents age, you need to ask the tough but loving question, do they still have the health and the mental clarity to handle those roles? You’re not doing anybody a favor by naming them as executive or power of attorney. You really need to understand if they’re up for that hard work. So, it’s time for a candid conversation. And it may also be time to bring in an elder law attorney to review the wills, to review the powers of attorney, to talk about trust if those are needed. And here’s a tip. While you’re looking at mom and dad’s estate documents, take a look at your own. Do yours need to be updated as well? Then take a look at long-term care insurance. If your parents already have long-term care insurance, you’re going to want to pull that policy out and look at what the daily benefits are that are available, what the elimination period is. And that means how long you’ve got to pay expenses, or your parent has to pay expenses out of pocket before those benefits begin. And then you want to understand what the activities of daily living are and what’s going to trigger benefits. Standy touched on some of those earlier. If your parents don’t have a policy for long-term care and they need help right now because of issues like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s or frailty, the reality is they probably are not going to qualify to buy long-term care insurance. It’s unlikely that underwriting would approve them if they already need that type of assistance. But if you’re here because you’re planning ahead and your parents are relatively healthy, it’s worth taking a look at long-term care insurance and getting some quotes to understand what those costs and benefits are. I want to acknowledge this step is not glamorous, but it’s the difference between chaos and control when crisis hits. So, next we’re going to move on to talk about how to pay for care without wrecking your retirement. So, we’ve already done some heavy lifting here. You know the numbers that your parents have. You’ve built the budget. We’ve talked about ways to make sure estate documents are in good shape. So, now let’s talk about the resources that are available to you, the caregiver. Because you’re not doing this alone. So, here we’re talking about government programs, tax breaks, and workplace benefits. So, government programs like Medicare pay for hospital stays, doctor’s visits, and prescriptions, but Medicare does not pay for assisted living or nursing home care. Medicaid does pay for nursing home and some in-home care, but it’s only for seniors who have very low income and very low assets. The rules for Medicaid vary by state. So, it is really important to find a good local elder law attorney who specializes in Medicaid planning to get help in this area. If your parents served in the military, then they may be eligible for VA aid and attendance benefits of up to $2,300 a month. This type of benefit can be used to pay for care at home or care at assisted living or in a nursing home. Reach out to your local VA or search va.gov for aid and attendance. Then check out your local community and nonprofit resources. You may have a local area agency on aging. You can look at AARP’s caregiving resource center, and you can reach out to the elder care locator at 800677116.
You might also be eligible for some tax breaks. If you pay more than 50% of your parents’ support, you may be eligible to count them as a dependent on your tax return. You might also be able to deduct their medical expenses that you paid for them if those expenses are more than 7 and a half% of your adjusted gross income. Examples of these medical expenses include nursing home bills, home care aids, even mileage to and from doctor’s appointments. You’re going to get with the CPA. You’re going to want to meet with the CPA to make sure you max those deductions. And then if you’re working, you may have some benefits from your workplace. Family Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave. If you need to step away for caregiving, you might have an employee assistance program or EAP that offers free counseling and referrals to different resources. You’ll want to reach out to your human resources agency to see what more information is available on your workplace benefits. But pick one of these benefits. Call the VA. Google, your area agency on aging. do one thing to find a resource that’s available to you. You’ve got allies and you want to use them. All right, everybody. We’ve covered a lot already, but before we wrap up, I want to just hone in on a few takeaways for you. And the first is to pro to assess where your parents are financially to build the caregiving budget and to explore resources before crisis hits. The next is to protect your own wealth. You want to set firm boundaries. You want to make sure you’re not raiding your retirement without a plan. Leverage the help that’s available to you, whether that’s through the VA or some of the the nonprofit resources in your community. Those benefits are already funded, so use them to ease the money and the heart strain. And then schedule a family meeting. Put it on the calendar and tell mom and dad, “Let’s talk about money and care. We don’t want to have any surprises down the road.” to help you initiate that conversation with your parents. As followup to today’s webinar, you’ll get a link to this recording as well as a resource titled Caring Conversations, a checklist for adult children. So, each of you will receive that as followup to today’s webinar. You came in today worried. I hope you’re walking out feeling armed, knowing that you can take some action to beat down the anxiety. And I just want to encourage you to take the first step today to put your caregiving action plan together. Thank you, Patty. I really wish that my family had had the opportunity to, you know, to hear these suggestions from you and to have this resource. So, thank you so much for sharing this with us and thank all of you for investing your time, which we know is so valuable to join us for today’s webinar. We know that you may have additional questions and if you do, we’d invite you to please click the link in the chat box to schedule an introductory call to see how we can help you with your unique circumstances.
Just as you plan for retirement by setting goals and saving for your ideal future, planning for care for your parents and for yourself is not just a gift for those providing and receiving care. It’s a powerful act of self-care and self-determination.
So, we’re grateful for the questions that have been submitted so far and we’re really looking forward to answering several in the time that we have left together today. the first question is about health span. So, what are some ways to add to the number of years we have in good health? Well, that’s a terrific question and one that a lot of authors, some trained in medicine and public health and some who are not, would love to sell you a book to answer. And the most succinct answer though is that our health and longevity are heavily influenced by both our genetics but also our lifestyle. And research is leading us more and more to the realization that we have a high degree of self- agency through lifestyle choices because our health comes our health outcomes are unknown. You know we hope for good health, but we should plan for other outcomes. and planning for different scenarios is key. Everything we do at Savant is evidence-based and Savant advisors have access to financial planning-based resources. evidence-based financial planning resources that can help you envision a wide range of those possible needs and even more personalized estimates for longevity and care expenses. As Patty Aptley advised us, let’s make sure that your oxygen mask is in place and then take a look at those in your care. Patty, what’s our next question? All right, Danny, before I tell you the next question, I’ve just got to say personally after watching my mom’s decline, that was a big motivation to me to really focus on nutrition and exercise. Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but that was a really big motivator for me to make sure I’m doing all that I can, not only financially, but from a physical health standpoint, a mental health standpoint to try to reduce my likelihood I’m going to need care. So, Sure. Yep. All right. So, Danny, it looks like the next question that we’ve got somebody’s written in and they’re saying that, you know, they know the importance of gathering their parents’ financial information, but mom and dad just don’t want to share any of that with them. And I know that that’s a pretty common occurrence. You’re the person who submitted that question. You’re not alone there. A lot of families face that hurdle. So, my encouragement would start with why, not what. So, ask your parents to sit down, leave the spreadsheets at home that day, and just say, “Hey, you know what, Mom and Dad? I’m really worried about both of us. I want to make sure that you’re taken care of and that I don’t end up in trouble trying to help. So, can we look at this together?” So, you want to lead with love and not just logistics. Ask for one thing. You know, maybe it’s, hey, could we just look at last month’s bank statement together over coffee? See if see if they’re willing to share that one piece of information with you rather than asking for all of it at once. And then the last idea that I’ve got here, and Danny, I’m curious if you’ve got anything you want to add to it, but the last idea I’ve got is to bring in a neutral third party because sometimes parents respond better to that person than to their kid. You know, regardless of how old we are, we’re still kids. Asking for that kind of information. No, that’s so true, Patty. And you know that just that having the courage to have that honest conversation, perhaps uncomfortable, is really, you know, a great foundation for, you know, the next phase of our relationships with our parents. And that’s important advice, you know, on a topic that all of us will face. Okay. So, I take care of my parents several days a week and it’s just me. So, if something unexpected happens to me health-wise, who will make the decisions for my health and finances? Well, we see this all too often, and the answer is that it depends on whether you have your own preferences and advanced health direction directives in place. Usually that’s through a healthcare proxy, someone you trust in writing to make medical decisions for you when you can’t speak for yourself. And you can arrange for that kind of a document with an estate planning attorney. And also, with that, it’s usually paired with a living will that specifies your preferences for life sustaining treatments, pain management, and organ donation. That way, you know, when your voice can’t be at the table or around the hospital bed, your wishes are still there memorialized in writing so that your healthcare proxy can act and your providers, your medical providers can honor those. Now to manage your finances, you want to make sure that you have a durable power of attorney in place which can be limited to financial decisions only or they can be broader powers to act on your behalf. Just be mindful of how it’s written and know when it comes into force. Right? So in most cases, we don’t want to have a bunch of hurdles you have to jump through that you have to get, for example, two doctors to sign off for it to come into place. So, you really want this to be someone you trust because in most cases, you know, the most effective, durable power of attorney is in force right now. So, you know, you really want to make sure that you examine that relationship and talk about your preferences with them. Now, without those documents, you could be scrambling for your family, or for you when you recover. And we absolutely have that had that happen with my family when my father was needing care for about 24 hours. We had someone we didn’t know whose name you know we weren’t sure you know who they were. They were communicating with his caregivers during the pandemic, and we had to assert our authority as you know as family members you know by using those documents. So, thank goodness we had them. So, if you don’t have these key planning documents get them in place. make sure your health directives are on file not only with someone in your family and the people who you’re giving this authority to but also with your doctor. You know, in some cases you can even upload them into your health record portal like my chart. But so, if you have these documents, just communicate your wishes. Make sure the people who could be supporting you know your wishes and make sure they have access to them so that they can help you when you need it. And Patty, I think we have time for one final question. Yeah, you got it. And again, Denny, I just want to acknowledge, you know, just remember the mantra of how do you eat the elephant? One bite at a time. I know it can feel so overwhelming. You know, we’re asking the people who are on here as caregivers, you know, to gather financial information, to have these difficult conversations with mom and dad, but it is so worth it if you can have all of that information together. It really is going to reduce a lot of the caregiving strain. All right, so it looks like there’s one more question. , and somebody here is asking about that activities of daily living that their dad has long-term care insurance and they’re wondering when those benefits will kick in. So, let’s walk through that again. So, you may hear this referenced as ADL. That’s just simply the acronym for activities of daily living. And there are six standard ones that insurance companies use. And typically, your family member has to be able to do two out of those six activities of daily living to trigger benefits. So, the first is bathing. So that’s getting in and out of the shower or the tub, washing himself or herself. The next is dressing. So, putting on clothes and shoes, taking off clothes and shoes. The third is eating. So that’s feeding yourself. The thing to be mindful of there is that doesn’t take into account and what was the terminology used Danny for like buying food and it’s those are not activities of daily living but what were those are the IADLs you know more advanced skills so mobility based yeah so for long-term care insurance purposes this is solely focused on can you feed yourself it’s not focused on some of those higher level of you know going to the grocery store or actually cooking the meal these are the basics. Yes, these are the absolute basics. The fourth is toileting. The fifth is transferring. So, getting in and out of getting out of the bed to a chair or from the chair to the bed. And the sixth is continents. So, typically the insurance policy says that if you’re unable to do two of those six activities, then you’re going to qualify for benefits. Of course, you can’t just say, you know, they can’t do that. , there’s going to be likely medical records involved. The insurance company’s likely going to send someone out to do an assessment. So, so there’s hoops to jump through, but in general, that’s how benefits would be claimed. If your parent has a long-term care insurance policy and maybe they’re physically healthy, they can still do all of these six activities of daily living, but they’ve got a severe cognitive impairment, then benefits would likely still be able to pay under that insurance policy. So, I hope that was helpful, again, we so appreciate everyone’s time today and interest in this topic. And we hope that you’re walking away with one practical next step that you can take to reduce the burden and secure your own financial future. Thank you again for your time. If you enjoyed this webinar, visit savantwealth.com/guides and download our complimentary guidebooks, checklists, and other useful financial resources.