In the article Lifestyle Changes Bring Increased Risk to Older Clients, Part 1, there is a scenario about a couple in their nineties with no children. Each had named the other as Attorney for Property, and neither had signed a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. Their financial advisor learned that he was the emergency contact when a hospital social worker telephoned him about a discharge plan already being deployed.
An unplanned hospital discharge is an unscheduled transition, and the type that many of our clients experience. On the other hand, if the discharge is planned and scheduled, most families can cope with the transition. Across the Greater Toronto Area this month, households are moving teenagers into residence: they have built lists, called the school, confirmed the move-in date, and budgeted the cost. Yet, the same households frequently hold many unresolved questions about a parent living alone and have no list at all. Why is it that we plan well for moving our teenagers as part of life transitions, and yet have no plan for an elderly parent who needs lifestyle support?
Dealing with an unscheduled transition for an elderly person can be a complex undertaking. Previously discussed scenarios and a well written Power of Attorney can help if there is diminished capacity.
A Power of Attorney for Property may name a corporation; a Power of Attorney for Personal Care must name an individual. Where no individual is named, and the client is incapable, the decision moves to the substitute decision-maker hierarchy under the Health Care Consent Act, 1996. This does not always help a client if they have no children and no family. It’s even more complex if their partner or spouse is in similar decline.
A client can have a good financially oriented estate plan, but there needs to be an accompanying lifestyle plan as the client ages. People assume that a Will and Powers of Attorney are sufficient documents to plan for the future. In our experience, those documents are only part of a holistic estate plan that will take you throughout your later chapters in life.
Considering this, let’s look again at transition planning. What is a transition for an elderly person? Why is a plan required? What does one contain, what are the considerations, and how do you get plans started for different types of transitions?For a primer on transition planning, we recommend you read these four blogs in order.
- Coping with Change for Teens and Silver Agers in Transition. Transition is change management, and successful change management follows a methodology. The same eight steps apply whether you are moving into retirement living or moving into a university residence.
- Lifestyle Changes Bring Increased Risk to Older Clients, Part 1. We revisit the couple in their 90s and look at the risks inherent in lifestyle transitions and how managing the situation is usually outside a financial advisor’s scope.
- Lifestyle Changes Bring Increased Risk to Older Clients and Advisors, Part 2. This article looks at the four components of a care and lifestyle plan: professional assessment; developing care criteria for the client and any caregiving spouse; identified gaps in housing, safety, nutrition, and hygiene; and recommended costed options.
- Families Struggling with Hospital Discharges. When someone is being discharged from the hospital, there are a set of established quality standards for transitions from hospital to home. Unfortunately, these standards are often not met. Read this article to learn more about what to ask and how to ask about the transition and the patient’s needs.
A concrete and effective transition plan cannot be thought through and written in two days. It’s best developed over time and guided by a client’s needs and wants. Discussing a couple of scenarios also helps with planning
