Another possible source of information about a client’s cognitive capacity is family. If an advisor suspects that a client is impaired, he or she could ask for permission to speak with the client’s spouse or child. Family members are generally good judges about whether someone has been experiencing ongoing difficulty with thinking and memory or whether the client is just having a bad day.

What should advisors do if a client shows signs of Alzheimer’s in either the MCI or dementia stage? Besides addressing the financial matters we will discuss later, we recommend that they respectfully encourage the client to bring the issue up with a doctor.

For those interested in more information about how to distinguish between normal aging and Alzheimer’s, as well as the available treatments, evidence for diet and exercise, and how to plan for the future, there are helpful books written for nonmedical professionals. (One example is Seven Steps To Managing Your Memory by Andrew Budson and Maureen K. O’Connor.)

In a nutshell, current treatments for Alzheimer’s can modestly improve thinking and memory, perhaps reversing symptoms by six to 12 months. New treatments are being developed to slow down the destruction of brain cells, but they are at least several years away. The Mediterranean diet is the only one that has been proved to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease; no other foods, vitamins or supplements have been proved scientifically to be effective. Aerobic exercise has been shown to improve memory in older adults because it causes growth factors to be released from the brain that cause the formation of new brain cells.

The Financial Costs Of Cognitive Decline

In 2017, the total direct costs of care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia was $259 billion, including $131 billion from Medicare, $44 billion from Medicaid, $56 billion paid by people out of pocket and $28 billion from other sources. The relative costs are also impressive. In 2016, it cost Medicare an average of $13,351 per year to care for an individual without dementia and $46,786 to care for an individual of the same age with dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Given the pervasive nature of the disease, it’s not far-fetched to say that, unless there’s a cure, all advisors could face a client suffering from dementia. They will have to be ready to address those issues with the client and offer them counsel.

(In Part 2 of this story, we will cover some key steps to take to help clients prepare in advance for potentially developing a form of cognitive impairment.).           

 

Michael Nathanson, JD, LLM is chairman, chief executive officer, and president of The Colony Group.