“My clients are aging and so are their parents,” Evans says. “Almost all of my over 40-year-old clients have to cope with some kind of caregiving whether it’s an ill spouse, child or parent.”
To avoid paying out of pocket for a loved one’s home health aide, Evans recommends taking advantage of employer sponsored Backup Care Services. Bank of America, for example, has an arrangement with LifeCare.com and Bright Horizons to provide the services to Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees.
“I have personally used it for help with my in-laws during a recent medical crisis,” Evans said.
When assisting a client who has recently become a caregiver, the first thing Evans does is to inquire about an asset to borrow against to fund initial critical short-term financial needs.
“Even care recipients with insurance coverage may find themselves with a short-term cash flow problem while waiting for insurance proceeds to become available,” says Evans.
Other ways to enable financial wellness while caring for a family member include implementing regular automated payments from payroll or from a checking account into a savings account, maintaining a good credit rating and paying bills on time using automatic bill pay.