Most advisors are familiar with the frantic client phone call. Ben Barzideh, a wealth advisor at Piershale Financial Group, in Crystal Lake, Ill., recalled a recent example from a woman whose husband had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

"He would need round-the-clock help," Barzideh recounted.

Besides the emotional turmoil, Barzideh's client was concerned about the expense. Her husband had always handled their finances.

The best laid financial plans are designed to incorporate the unexpected, of course, but when expensive and unpredictable medical emergencies strike, they can nonetheless derail a client's portfolio. What can/should advisors do to help?

"The first thing a good advisor does is simply listen and express compassion for what the client is experiencing," said Barzideh. "Bedside manner isn’t just for doctors."

It's important for clients to understand that the advisor has experience dealing with similar difficult situations, he added. The advisor's calm authority lets the client know that it's going to be all right.

This seasoned, controlled approach should also come into play ahead of the tragedy, said Ken Moraif, a senior advisor at Dallas-based Money Matters. "Making decisions when you are NOT emotional is much easier than when you are emotionally involved in a situation," he noted.

It's easier on families, too. "Families get hit the hardest when no one has discussed what to do in health situations," said Moraif. "Having a clear path of what each family member wants and expects of the other family members makes it easier to confront."

Barzideh might agree. "Taking a practical and proactive approach to potential health-care costs can give someone peace of mind and flexibility … Just showing family members that there are funds in place to help alleviate the financial costs can be a breath of fresh air," he said.

To be sure, insurance can help with medical costs. Barzideh frequently recommends long-term care (LTC) policies. "They can be expensive, but they're not unaffordable for most people," he said. "We've seen many cases in which nursing-home expenses [without LTC coverage] completely wiped out a nest egg, and then put other family members in a tough situation, having to care for the individual."

He was glad he had recommended LTC insurance to the Alzheimer's couple, years earlier, when they were still healthy enough to qualify. When he reminded the woman that she and her husband had coverage, he was "able to calm her down and explain that everything will be OK," said Barzideh. "Just knowing that those costs would be covered gave her a big sense of relief at a very difficult time."

Other types of insurance can make sense as well. "Make sure clients have long-term and short-term disability insurance," said Moraif. "A bad car accident or other life event can change their situation in a heartbeat, [and] a long illness or disability can deplete all financial resources."

Besides insurance, Barzideh suggested keeping "emergency money in savings accounts, to cover the unexpected expenses that may arise." To that end, he said, advisors may need to coach their clients in budgeting principles. "There should be a plan to save and invest for health-care costs," he posited, noting that the average couple will spend some $230,000 for health expenses alone during the retirement years. "Clients need to be made aware of that, and those expenses should be factored into the plan."

Advisors should also connect clients with legal specialists such as an estate planning attorney, if they don't already have one. "There should be the necessary estate planning documents in place," said Barzideh, citing "a will, a trust and papers for incapacity, which outline who can make medical and financial decisions on [the client's] behalf" if and when the client isn't able to.

Indeed, it can take a team to shepherd clients through a health-related crisis. Moraif had a client who could not afford necessary post-surgery medication. Against doctors' recommendations, the client chose to skip the surgery for fear of leaving loved ones destitute. That didn't seem safe or wise, so Moraif marshaled a multi-prong effort.

In the end, the client and his family, said Moraif, "received counsel on how to bargain with the drug companies to obtain the medicine at a more reasonable price, which they could afford."

The surgery proceeded just fine.