Military Officer - June 2007 - (Page 46)

financialforum Group Effort No doubt about it: Financial planning is a team sport. Coach Phil Dyer, CFP, explains who the most-valuable players are and how their expertise can help keep your assets secure. M Your Financial Team at Work ■ Many servicemembers aren’t likely to qualify for Medicaid or other types of public aid, but some survivors might. An elder law attorney can help figure out who’s eligible and what the best option for care is. This is just one way a financial team can help determine your specific needs and how best to meet them. any people work a lifetime planting a robust ﬁnancial garden only to see it wither away during their golden years. Long term care costs, changing laws, improper investments, and well-meaning (and sometimes not-so-well meaning) family members can eat away at your life savings. For ﬁnancial peace of mind, put together a winning asset preservation and transfer team. Here are some key players you should recruit. Estate planning attorney: Many wealth preservation and transfer strategies require legal documents. From the basics (such as wills) to more advanced strategies (such as credit-shelter trusts), a competent estate planning attorney is a key team player. Many basic planning documents can be obtained at no charge through installation legal ofﬁces, but a private practice estate planning attorney usually is necessary for more complex situations. Elder law attorney: Medicaid/Medicare planning, nursing home law, and key protection and end-of-life issues are elder law attorneys’ specialties. They can be helpful if an older adult is being pressured to make ﬁnancial or legal moves that he or she is uncomfortable with and can assist younger family members if the older adult’s mental or physical competence is questionable. Financial planner: A trusted ﬁnancial advisor can help structure assets to meet both short-term needs and long-term goals. They can act as a “ﬁnancial quarterback” by helping craft a comprehensive plan and coordinating the efforts of other ﬁanancial team members. They also can be key in guarding against improper product sales, which often target older consumers with misleading sales pitches that promise much but deliver little. Long term care insurance specialist: If your asset preservation and transfer plan calls for long term care insurance (LTCI), consider consulting a specialist. Many companies that entered the LTCI business in the past two decades have sold out to other companies, stopped writing new business, or increased their rates. LTCI changes rapidly, and having someone who represents multiple product lines and can customize a solution for your situation can be beneﬁcial. Your family: Include your family in the process. Those with a power or responsibility under your estate plan (executor/personal representative, trustee, or attorney-in-fact) should know their role in advance! And organize your records in a way that someone other than you can understand (for help, see MOAA’s Help Your Survivors Now booklet). Communicating the basics of your plan to your family is important for proper plan execution. Don’t let life catch you by surprise — put your asset preservation and transfer plan in place today. MO — Former Army Capt. Phil Dyer, CFP®, is deputy director for ﬁnancial education, Beneﬁts Information. To ﬁnd a ﬁnancial planner near you, contact the Garrett Planning Network at (866) MOAA-GPN (662-2476) or www.moaa .org/garrett, or visit www.moaa.org/ﬁnancial center for other resources. PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN 46 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2007 http://www.moaa.org/garrett http://www.moaa.org/garrett http://www.moaa.org/financialcenter http://www.moaa.org/financialcenter

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - June 2007

Military Officer - June 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Getting the Best Care Stand By Me Promise for PTSD Cover Story: Heavy Duty Unified Medical Command Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2007

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