Your Financial Future: When family members can no longer manage their affairs
On the news, all of us have seen the battle between Britney Spears and her father over her conservatorship.
Spears was a mega pop star with an estate valued at over $60 million. Unfortunately, a divorce, erratic behavior and mental health issues led some to question her ability to handle herself.
A judge awarded control of many of her financial and health issues to her father. This has been in effect for a number of years. Recently, Spears hired an attorney and is fighting to have the conservatorship dissolved. This has led to the #FreeBritney movement and created a lot of publicity because of her star status.
This relates to issues that many families have to face as parents age. Often a difficult discussion is required when a person蘑菇视频 driving ability starts to erode. When you have been driving for 50 years or more, that is your freedom. Most people do not like to give that up even though it may become unsafe for them or others. Many families will have to hold this difficult talk at some point in a parent蘑菇视频 life.
Many people start to get confused about things that happen in daily life such as paying bills. Some bills get paid twice while other go unpaid. It can be a delicate balance for a child or other responsible care taker to handle the situation smoothly. Many people think they do not need this extra help.
In most families, there is one person who primarily handles the finances. Even if they did an outstanding job their whole life time, there may come a time when they are not able to do so at the same level of excellence as before. It is very important that there is a plan for the surviving spouse who was not the family financial manager.
People do not plan to fail, they fail to plan.
Powers of attorney are a common way to deal with some legal incapacity. This is when someone gives another individual the ability to make decisions on their behalf when they do not have the capacity to do so on their own. This may be temporary such as during an operation, or longer term such as a time of diminished capacity from illness or aging. The person holding the power must make decisions in the best interest of the grantee, and powers end upon death.
We often hear about guardianship for younger children. This is the legal control if something were to happen to the parents. Usually as the children age, they become able to control their own rights. Sometimes as with the case of a special needs child, support will need to continue for a much longer period of time. There are special needs trusts and other legal remedies to deal with these issues.
There are also spend thrift trusts to deal with leaving money to beneficiaries that cannot control spending or who have drug addiction issues. These are vehicles that control how frequently and what amounts of money are distributed to the beneficiary.
There are many different financial issues that many families must deal with. Please be sure and review your options and realize your family situation is probably happening to many other families. You are not alone.
Your Financial Future is written by certified financial planner Gary W. Boatman, MBA and CFP, who also wrote the book, 鈥淵our Financial Compass: Safe Passage Through The Turbulent Waters of Taxes, Income Planning and Market Volatility.鈥� If there is an area that you would like to see discussed in the column, send your suggestions to gary@BoatmanWealthManagement.com.