It is important for estate and financial planning strategies to include a plan for if forms of mental disability develop, such as Alzheimer’s. This was the topic of a recent symposium earlier this month, held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, entitled Financial Planning in the Shadow of Dementia. In addition to having plans in place, such as financial power of attorney, it is also important that estate planners know the early signs of mental disability. Early warning signs often include confusion or difficulty with understanding financial concepts and difficulty computing basic mathematical calculations. One message of the symposium, stressed the importance of planners noticing changes in a client’s ability to understand financial concepts, and of having someone designated as the point of contact for the client who is familiar to the planner before the signs begin to develop.
See Richard Eisenberg, When Alzheimer’s Strikes: Losing Your Money Mind, Forbes, Oct. 8, 2014.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
