News

28 Feb 2025

Who we can help: Supporting older family members

This month we’re looking at later life care, and how to support older family members if they aren’t coping. Have you had a conversation about how you would support parents or grandparents? Equally, no person wants to be a burden to their descendants and sometimes it may be incumbent on the most senior generation to initiate the conversation around what they might want in future – so that things are clear before it’s too late to make plans.

What rating would you give your family out of 10 for preparedness in this area?

If you’re not confident it’s sorted, please get in touch for a free initial chat about your circumstances and potential planning needs::

https://calendly.com/duncan-bw-hoebridgewealth/30min

“Our dad isn’t as up to date as he used to be, and we’re realising what a big responsibility it is to help him”

First of all, every family should ensure that anyone with descendants has a valid will as well as Powers of Attorney in place (both health & well-being and also financial). Dementia is now one of the leading causes of death among older people, and helping a confused or weakened relative will be much harder and potentially more costly, if the right legal foundations are not set up.

Putting in place such powers, even if they’re not to be exercised yet, also presents a crucial opportunity for families to have a proper conversation together. If someone were to fall seriously ill or suffer a notable decline in their well-being, have you discussed with them how they would want to be looked after? Where and how they would like to be cared for, whether they would want to be on life-support (or for how long), and what they would like to happen with their home if this was no longer suited to meet their physical or mental needs? These are not easy conversations, but they can be vital to ensure that no-one is left with the burden of trying to guess what is the right thing to do for someone who can’t properly express themself any more.

Then there’s the financial aspect to consider: a financial plan with sensible cashflow modelling can help to identify what living costs are envisioned, including later life care costs, and how existing incomes and investments can be best structured to support an older person’s needs.

There are a number of different aspects of later life financing to consider, including:

  • annuity income offers that pension providers may send out,
  • the optimal order in which to draw on different ‘wrappers’ such as ISA, Pension, General Investment (especially since the Budget announcement of the inclusion of pensions in a person’s estate from April 2027),
  • structures of home ownership to mitigate risks of a home being sold to fund care costs,
  • in the later days, the options available for an immediate needs annuity to fund later life care with a chunk of capital, and,
  • inheritance tax considerations and desire to leave a legacy for others with any capital clearly in excess of intended expenditure – care must be taken here to avoid “deliberate deprivation” – contact me to discuss this.

The care system itself is a potential minefield, and a good financial planner will have a number of contacts to assist and support families (including those living very distant from older relatives) with the paperwork, level or quality of care, state benefits claimable, affordability, and myriad other considerations to be taking into account.

Changes in well-being and care needs often happen very gradually then suddenly. The best way to soften the impact of such changes is to begin planning ahead and having well-thought through conversations now. An early discussion, while potentially sensitive, is far easier than trying to sort things out when it’s already too late.

Want to discuss this further? Book a free initial chat together.

https://calendly.com/duncan-bw-hoebridgewealth/30min

Please note, The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Wills and Powers of Attorney.

None of the above is financial or investment advice and you should speak to me or someone else professionally qualified to give you advice specifically tailored to your circumstances.

 

Article updated Sep 2025