Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Daily money manager services
Old 07-08-2014, 12:23 PM   #1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,000
Daily money manager services

This is something I'd not seen before: a "Daily Money Manager" service for those who are unable to manage routine financial matters and have no one who can do it for them. An example is...

Quote:
... Jacquelyn Bell, a Rochester, New York-based CPA who wears a second hat as a daily money manager for clients such as the Nurenbergs. Instead of just filing quarterly or annual tax forms, Bell receives her clients' mail, pays their bills, balances their checkbooks and helps them keep to a budget if they are on a fixed income.

For the families of the more than 5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, such hands-on services can be a necessity. "Most of my clients fall into a few categories - no family or children, have children but not local, children are too busy, or elder financial abuse," says Bell.
YOUR MONEY-When your aging parents need a daily money manager | Reuters

Sounds like a viable option for those of you who have no children or close relatives, provided the trust factor can be verified.
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 07-08-2014, 12:26 PM   #2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Utrecht
Posts: 2,650
In Belgium at least there is a social service doing that for families in financial trouble.

Not fun to be in, as it is mandatory and you have to basically beg for money each month.

Then again, it does instill discipline into those who cannot help themselves.
Totoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 12:41 PM   #3
Moderator
rodi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Diego
Posts: 14,138
Interesting concept. Good option for families that are unable or unwilling to help their parents when the time comes.

My husband has been handling his parents finances since he was named legal guardian of them. (His dad has since passed). It's not that onerous once you get everything automated for online bill payment. He's doing this even though he's in a different state than his mom. The most tedious part is putting together the periodic report for the courts showing that the money was spent appropriately. Since his mom hardly spends anything, her savings accts have been going up, despite being on a very limited fixed income.
rodi is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 12:57 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
pb4uski's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,204
I did this for my 94yo great aunt once she was put in a nursing home and unable to take care of such things and have heard of such services. I paid her bills, arranged for her insurance, did her tax returns, liquidated some investments, etc. It was quite time consuming. I'm also doing some similar things for my Mom.

I have thought that it would be a good business should I ever need a job again.

The only potential concern I have is the potential for misdeeds. In both cases, I essentially had "the keys to the kingdom" and had the control to do something. Of course, I didn't, and i guess it helps that I am FI as well so I really have no incentive to do so, but for some of these operators I would have concerns.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
pb4uski is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 03:51 PM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,644
Actually, years ago, small local banks (trust departments)used to do this for their elderly clients. I don't know if they do it anymore.
jebmke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 04:06 PM   #6
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
walkinwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Denver
Posts: 3,499
We've talked about the issues with handling finances as we age. It is heartening to hear of services like this.
walkinwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 04:24 PM   #7
Administrator
MichaelB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,518
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
This is something I'd not seen before: a "Daily Money Manager" service for those who are unable to manage routine financial matters and have no one who can do it for them. An example is...

YOUR MONEY-When your aging parents need a daily money manager | Reuters

Sounds like a viable option for those of you who have no children or close relatives, provided the trust factor can be verified.
Thanks for the link. It does provide a good option for folks with no one to turn to. A search turned up a fee of $50 - $150 per hour. I can see this costing $2k - $3K per year, including record keeping and prepping / mailing reports to someone for audit. A lot, but considering the alternative, something to keep[ in mind.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pb4uski View Post
The only potential concern I have is the potential for misdeeds. In both cases, I essentially had "the keys to the kingdom" and had the control to do something. Of course, I didn't, and i guess it helps that I am FI as well so I really have no incentive to do so, but for some of these operators I would have concerns.
Yes, but I suspect fraud and abuse by family and friends is a much greater threat and very difficult to deal with. This is one of those areas with few good alternatives.
MichaelB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 04:27 PM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,466
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
This is something I'd not seen before: a "Daily Money Manager" service for those who are unable to manage routine financial matters and have no one who can do it for them. An example is...

YOUR MONEY-When your aging parents need a daily money manager | Reuters

Sounds like a viable option for those of you who have no children or close relatives, provided the trust factor can be verified.
If you go that route, make sure the person/entity selected has adequate insurance. A well respected estate manager in Silicon Valley may/has lost her license as her boyfriend who was the Controller in her company, stole $17M from her client's accounts. IIRC, she had only $1M in coverage :face palm:. The reason I'm so interested in her case is that she was a temporary conservator for my father, fortunately, many years prior to the thefts.

She is/was an estate manager for individuals as well as appointed through the courts. When I was the temp conservator for my father until a permanent was appointed, I had to secure a $1M bond…I can't believe that she, who administered $100s of millions, wasn't required to secure adequate coverage.

This, along with the Madoffs of the world, is why DH and I only do business with the likes of the Fidelity/Vanguard/etc, and big banks of the world. Much more protection if something goes wrong.
TrvlBug is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 04:37 PM   #9
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 723
In the Milwaukee area, Aurora Health Care has a non-profit division that provides these kinds of services to the elderly at a very low cost. I would think there are similar providers in other parts of the country as well.

Here's the link to their elder services page:
Aurora Family Service - ElderServices

which takes you to this summary:
ElderServices

Aurora Family Service provides a broad spectrum of personalized care for older adults and their families. Based on the belief that personal dignity and independence are essential for maintaining quality of life as people grow older, Aurora Family Service ElderServices is committed to finding better ways to help older adults remain in their own homes in safety and health, respecting their ability to make their own decisions.
Aurora Family Service ElderServices include:

  • Family Care/Case Management
    Needs assessment, care planning, and access to a range of coordinated services to keep older adults safe and independent. Provided in collaboration with the Milwaukee County Department on Aging.
  • Senior Housing Care Management
    A partnership of care providers bringing valuable services and community resources on-site to senior housing residents. Services include case management, needs assessment, prevention and health promotion, information and referral to other service providers.
  • Daily Money Management/Representative Payee Services
    In-home assistance with financial management tasks to give elderly clients security and peace of mind.
  • HOPE (Homeowners Options Program for the Elderly)
    A collaborative effort to prevent the unnecessary loss of home ownership by older adults and help them access the many financial options available
panacea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 06:32 PM   #10
Moderator
Walt34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,290
Good to know that option is available. First place I'd turn to I guess is an elder law attorney for recommendation/advice. I've wondered what the options are for myself and DW since we don't have kids and one nephew we'd trust enough.

I handled my mother's finances for the last six months of her life. We set up a small checking account with about $500 so she could do her normal activities but if someone stole it the amount wouldn't matter much. I handled all of her other expenses since i was joint on her main checking account for that purpose.

As pb4uski notes it is time consuming. But when I had to handle the estate it was good to know were all the assets were.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
Walt34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2014, 06:46 PM   #11
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,467
This could be something to look into.

I was figuring that by age 85*, I want to have enough regular income directly deposited to my checking account from pension, SS, and an annuity, to cover expenses.

I already have almost all bills automatically deducted from my checking account. And at that age, I would probably be living in a facility with fixed expenses anyway so they could probably take care of just about everything with one automatic deduction.

So, I am thinking that I wouldn't need much more from someone like this. But I'm not THERE yet, so it's hard to be sure.

*Should I be lucky enough to live that long!
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Rolling a 401K and Money management services? xtradoe Young Dreamers 12 02-08-2008 09:36 AM
Transfer Money via E-mail services (spam?) ranchyou FIRE and Money 24 06-05-2006 04:04 PM
investment manager fee oldcrowcall FIRE and Money 4 04-15-2004 06:28 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:13 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.