The Origin of Financial Caretakers

In 2005, I invited an old friend and former boss to Christmas dinner. It was the start of a remarkable six years of helping him cope with the problems of aging.

Gene was my first boss after graduate school. I worked for his advertising and pr agency for six years and then as an associate with one of his clients for another four years. After Gene retired, we kept in touch over the years with occasional lunches, Christmas cards and notes. I knew his long-time friend Sara had died in June of 2005 and that he was alone, resulting in the holiday invitation. What I did not know was that as I was driving Gene home in the snow, he would ask me to stop at a convenience store to pick up some milk. When I helped him into the house and put the milk and extra food from the holiday meal in his refrigerator, I discovered it was virtually empty. Unable to drive in the December snows, he was running out of food with no one he was willing to ask for help.

When I returned the next day with groceries, it was also with questions. Gene was a proud man. He had run a successful advertising business for more than 30 years, fought in World War II with the U.S. Navy,  traveled the world including one of the early tourist visits to China, and outlived two wonderful women.  With no children, no immediate family in the area and the steady loss of friends as they moved to the coasts or died, however, he had become increasingly solitary and isolated.

While he was coping to the best of his abilities, his home was dusty and cluttered, his sheets were filthy, dishes in the cabinets were soiled and he was living on frozen meals and cans of soup.  His doctor had retired and he had not clicked with the replacement; thus no health checks for over a year. He was taking a myriad of medications for different issues, becoming increasingly depressed and unable to cope with bills and notices.

On the bright side…Gene had money. Without his careful saving over the years, the next step would have been a nursing home. Instead, I was able to put a support system in place that allowed Gene to live the remainder of his life with dignity, in his own home in clean surroundings with good food. Each week, we would go out to lunch to get him out of the house and to talk over how life was going and of days of happier times and some not so happy. I learned more about the difficulties of the Navy in WWII than I had ever imagined. When Gene died in 2011, it was in the home where he wanted to spend his last days, looked after by a genuinely kind caretakers from his personal assistants to his cleaning lady and two college students who spent the nights at his house in the event of a problem. 

Gene assigned me Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney, allowing me to managing his finances and to help with medical decisions. I worked closely with his attorney and financial consultant to assure that his assets were safeguarded and his wishes respected.  Thanks to the Medical Power of Attorney, it was possible to get him out of the hospital and into nursing care when he came down with a urinary tract infection. I was also able to help him set up a new physician relationship and assure that his care was appropriate. 

I learned a tremendous amount in those six years, some of it the hard way, but a lot by working with Gene to solve his problems. When the anniversary of Gene’s death rolled around in 2012, I decided it was time to put that knowledge to use for other seniors and created Financial Caretakers Associates.

The financial is nothing new. I have worked in financial marketing for more than 30 years, including writing and publishing financial planning and advice newsletters for investment advisors throughout the U.S.  Many of the financial safeguards Gene and I put in place for him were a direct result of advice I had offered others over the years. My experience in the investment area helped with understanding retirement plan withdrawal requirements, investment options, tax preparation basics, Social Security and Medicare requirements. 

At the core our services come down to answering the questions…

• Are the client’s bills paid on time and their finances in good order?
•  Is the house safe and clean?
• Is the individual eating properly?
• Are medical needs being addressed?
•  Is there a system in place that will allow the individual to call for help if needed?
•  Is there a system in place to prevent the individual from being taken advantage of financially?
• Are the properly legal documents in place in the event of an emergency?