{"id":144523,"date":"2025-10-25T11:20:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T11:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/144523\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T11:20:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T11:20:07","slug":"im-66-and-recently-retired-but-my-wife-who-is-63-is-now-sick-and-will-need-in-home-care-and-maybe-even-long-term-care-who-can-help-us-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/144523\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m 66 and recently retired. But my wife who is 63 is now sick and will need in-home care and maybe even long-term care. Who can help us now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question: <\/strong>\u201cI am 66 and recently retired. I have a sickly wife who is 63 and will soon be needing some in-home care with possible long-term care on the horizon. What type of financial expertise should I be looking for in an adviser? I want to make sure I find the right individual to help us make sense of our spending and saving at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s essential for you to work with an adviser who has retirement planning expertise. \u201cThey should help structure reliable income from Social Security, pensions and savings while managing IRA and 401(k) withdrawals in a tax-efficient, sustainable way,\u201d says Phillip Battin, president and CEO of Ambassador Wealth Management.<\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, any adviser you work with should have experience with eldercare and long-term care planning. \u201cThis includes in-home care, assisted living and Medicaid strategies. They should understand insurance and asset protection options. Additionally, they should coordinate with an elder law attorney to keep your will, trusts and health directives current, while helping you assess how future care costs may impact your legacy,\u201d says Battin.<\/p>\n

Adds Kristen Ahlenius, certified financial planner and director of education and advice at Your Money Line: \u201cYou\u2019ll want someone with experience in retirement income planning but you also want to find a pro who is well-versed in long-term care, healthcare coordination and estate planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another important, albeit sensitive topic that needs to be addressed is planning for what happens if you pass away before your wife. \u201cWho\u2019s the backup for your wife\u2019s care? How will your assets or benefits transition to support her? A CFP will help you build a care plan, not just a financial plan for that \u2018what if.\u2019 Your case isn\u2019t just about money, it\u2019s about security and planning for multiple scenarios that ensure you feel supported by a plan that can adapt as your life changes,\u201d says Ahlenius.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more than one approach to planning for the costs and services of senior care. \u201cIn addition to financial advisers who specialize in senior care planning like certified financial planners, licensed insurance agents and elder law attorneys, there are also geriatric care managers who can provide an independent care needs assessment, care placement agencies who can help match you to care provider options and home care companies that can sit down with you to review what a daily care plan would entail and the associated costs,\u201d says Chris Orestis, president at Retirement Genius, a company that helps seniors and their families navigate secure retirements.<\/p>\n

But first, seeking out a CFP would be a wise first step. CFPs complete rigorous education requirements, pass exams, perform thousands of hours of work-related experience and are required to uphold a fiduciary duty. This helps eliminate conflicts of interest and ensures that they\u2019re putting your best interests ahead of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven your wife\u2019s health, it could also behoove you to look into Medicaid planning depending on your resources and wishes. If your resources are limited or if the care costs could deplete them quickly, Medicaid could become a necessary piece of the long-term puzzle,\u201d says Ahlenius. <\/p>\n

That said, not all planners work with the ins and outs of asset protection strategies, so you\u2019ll want to ask specifically about that element when vetting potential advisers. An elder law attorney could also be helpful when navigating Medicaid eligibility and planning in addition to drafting key documents like powers of attorney, health care directives, wills or trusts. To find a lawyer, try visiting the The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys site where a directory lets you search by location and specialty.<\/p>\n

When looking for a financial adviser, Battin says, \u201cit\u2019s important to evaluate the character, competence and chemistry you have with them to ensure the probability of a long relationship and wise counsel.\u201d You can use this free tool from our partner SmartAsset to match you with advisers<\/a>, as well as sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.<\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions edited for brevity and clarity. By emailing your questions to The Advicer, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch; they may appear anonymously in other media and platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: \u201cI am 66 and recently retired. I have a sickly wife who is 63 and will soon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[275],"tags":[13782,41565,18,47522,18131,3334,135,475,474,19,41586,3442,41557,17,85377,47521,234,9436,44285,2895,19363,26243],"class_list":{"0":"post-144523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-corporate","9":"tag-corporate-industrial-news","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-financial-investment-services","12":"tag-financial-services","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-health-care","16":"tag-healthcare","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-industrial-news","19":"tag-investing","20":"tag-investing-securities","21":"tag-ireland","22":"tag-long-term-care-costs","23":"tag-mpsmartasset","24":"tag-personal-finance","25":"tag-political","26":"tag-political-general-news","27":"tag-retirement-planning","28":"tag-securities","29":"tag-synd"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115434541824480821","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}