Communicate
Working with a client who has dementia can be difficult because he or she may not remember conversations and may have trouble communicating with you. Again, it’s time to innovate, as your usual strategies may no longer be effective. A few new communication tips make it much easier: It is helpful, for instance, if you avoid open-ended questions, use proper names for people and places, and simply repeat yourself if your client does not understand you at first.
We also make it a common practice in our firm to send a brief summary after a conversation or meeting. This can help clients remember what was discussed and decided and can also save you from repeating yourself later. Additionally, active listening skills are very helpful for working with all clients, whether they have cognitive impairment or not.
Update Policies: Advocate Designation and Privacy
A person in the early stages of dementia can make really expensive financial mistakes. Yet most financial firms focus solely on protecting client privacy, often at the expense of financial security. Thankfully, there are some best practices to help you achieve a balance between both.
• Ask clients to sign an advocate designation form so you have permission to reach out to someone if it is necessary to protect the client. Consider including this form in your new account paperwork.
• Should you have a concern, discuss it with your client first before reaching out to anyone else.
• Many firms have updated their privacy policy to provide some flexibility for a professional to reach out to a family member or attorney-in-fact if it would be in the best interest of the client.
• Fidelity is promoting “EverSafe,” an account-monitoring service to help clients and their families watch out for fraud or financial abuse.
• If you suspect fraud or abuse, most states allow financial professionals to report it to adult protective services without it being a breach of privacy. Some states are considering making financial professionals mandatory reporters, similar to doctors, social workers and care providers.
Encourage Family Communication
In your role as a family’s financial advisor, you may want to implement another innovation: Encourage your clients to talk with their families about how they would like to be helped as needed with care and finances, and whether their long-term-care plans are in place. I find that clients who talk about values and care preferences with their family feel a greater sense of independence and avoid a lot of family disagreement when help is needed. Turn to Tim Prosch’s guidebook The Other Talk as a helpful tool for greasing that wheel.
Service and care for seniors will continue to improve, and I am optimistic that financial care will be no exception to this rule. As financial professionals on the frontlines of helping aging clients address the risks associated with cognitive decline, it is our opportunity as well as our obligation to ensure that future innovations don’t pass us by. The best way to make that happen is to continue to explore best practices of our own, as well as to share them generously with other firms as we network among ourselves. If you already have a good idea I haven’t covered, please let me know and I’ll be happy to pass it on!