Who will manage your finances once you are no longer able ?

[Katoslake]

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, watching friends and family try to figure this out.
Some people seem willing, but are not capable. Other people are capable, but not willing.

I ask this question especially in the context of having a spouse who has no real desire or interest in financial self management.

If there is a thread related to this topic, please let me know.

Thanks !

 

[aja8888]

I have no living spouse. My daughter will have to and is capable. Plus, I'll have everything on autopilot or written down for her.

 

[Ronstar]

I recently turned my portfolio over to an FA, so between DW and FA they should be able to handle it

 

[RetiredHappy]

I am much younger than my spouse, so I will manage our stuff. The thought is that my son and I will move in together after my spouse passes, and most likely I will have to move back to California, buy a home and convince him to move in with me or we will keep separate residences. I will have everything on autopilot and teach him what is going on with my portfolio. I expect that I will take months to get him to understand everything and be confident in handling our finances when I am no longer able to, and after I am gone. Generally, we don't buy and sell, but really just spend the dividends and if needed, sell the laggards. With RMD, it's a little trickier as I will have to pick what to sell.

I trust my son with my life so I am not concerned about being bumped off early. He gets most of everything that we have.

But before that, I hope to do alot of travel to places that my son wants to go to. He is very frugal and I can afford for us to travel together, in separate cabins and rooms.

 

[brett]

Exacty the reason why I consoldidated our financial affairs and now deal with an investment advisory firm.

Plus....I have done it quite successfuly for years but no longer want to bother with it any more. I am happy with the results.

 

[Texas Proud]

I moved a lot of my money to Schwab so I have a FA that DW can lean on when I am gone...

I am thinking about moving a bunch to Fidelity and getting a second one so she can listen to both and decide..

I bet she will lean on our DS... he so far seems to be better with money than our DD but I do not talk to him much about money so not really sure anymore... I keep talking to DD as she is still in college so she has to listen to me LOL...

 

[audreyh1]

That’s a good question!

 

[Koolau]

My hope is that I can get DW interested enough in our finances that she'll be able to take over. But, full disclosure, there isn't a lot of management needed. Take RMDs from the 401(k) each year and you're pretty much done. I think she can handle that.

Everything else is pretty much on auto pilot. I have several MFs which don't need much tending or pruning. All IRAs were converted to Roths, long ago (including her IRAs.) So, if she needs money, she can live off her (once my) SS and then do RMDs on time and IF she needs more, it's there waiting. She might not be perfect at it (and neither am I) but she'll get by.

My big thing right now is to see if there are things I can do to shield her from the higher taxes that will come due to no longer being a couple when I pass. Heh, heh, she'll be in demand with our nice stash, I guess. YMMV

 

[skipro33]

My youngest son's wife is a licensed financial planner and we set him up as our durable power of attorney for financial. Our older son has our medical DPA. Between the boys and their wives, they'll take good care of us and our finances.

 

[tulak]

DS and DD.

I keep it simple, they understand the basics, so it should be easy.

 

[FIREd]

I'm still pretty young so my immediate concern is who will manage my finances in case I become temporarily incapacitated. I talked to my step-mother about it. She is both qualified and willing. So I have drawn a durable power of attorney designating her as my person of trust for financial matters.

Looking far into the future, things get a bit complicated. I have no children. My current partner is not showing the kind of ability needed to manage my estate. I do have a niece but she still needs to prove herself when it comes to money management.

Part of my finances are on autopilot - investment income is automatically transferred to my checking account on a regular basis and my bills are paid automatically from that checking account. But the rest needs some managing and monitoring.

 

[Alan]

DW with or without the assistance of DD and DS are quite capable. We also have a POA in place. Finances are fairly simple but taxes are a PITA because of being USCs in a foreign country but we have used a London based dual qualified tax preparer to do our US and UK taxes this past few years so even that should be manageable for them. (DD uses the same tax preparer.)

 

[Midpack]

I have written out instructions, and our passive income (dividends/STCG, interest, Soc Sec & RMDs) is more than enough to meet our/her expenses - so she could be on autopilot. There may never be a need to sell any equity funds in our taxable account. And maximizing income won’t be necessary. She may hire an FA (Vanguard robo) and/or tax preparer, but that’s up to her. We’ve talked about it.

She probably has a better handle on managing health care than I do, so she’ll be OK there.

And she has a BIL and neice who could backstop her.

 

[donheff]

Like Midpack and others, I have extensive written instructions for my spouse, who is a very capable retired attorney who has not been interested in managing the finances. Those same instructions are available to my son and daughter who can help my spouse if needed. They are both trustworthy and will have skin in the game, so to speak, since they will inherit. In fact, we now manage our portfolio balance to match their estimated risk profiles (adjusted to where they will be when they inherit) rather than ours.

Still, even with autopays, and relatively simplified accounts, it is a PITA to properly manage the day-to-day cash flow. Chasing after RMDs, moving dividends from taxable accounts to checking, making sure the cash flow to checking matches outflows. I enjoy all that. But still, it will be a PITA for anyone who doesn't to take the reins.

A couple of posters mentioned that they have turned things over to a financial advisor. Is that the whole nine yards, including making sure the cash flows work, etc.?

 

[frayne]

At 73, I realize that the day may come unexpectedly when future planning becomes critical. My wife has no interest in our financial affairs, but I do have a bright 45-year-old son whom I brief every January on our finances. I've structured things so that our sweep account, with maturing CDs, can cover the next ten years without needing to adjust the IRA portfolio. Fortunately, we also have other accounts that can sustain us for over a decade without requiring significant changes.

This is a complex area, and I maintain a healthy skepticism of financial advisors, so I'm hesitant to leave everything in their hands. Another option I'm always considering is setting up a trust, particularly for the two grandkids. It's a dynamic situation, and you never know what tomorrow may bring.

 

[Jerry1]

As a few have said, I’ve simplified our portfolio so a caveman could manage our investments. The challenge, that not many have acknowledged is the day to day cash flow. Currently, DW, ex-bookkeeper, takes care of all our cash flow. She has most of the bills on auto pay. She verifies all the bills like matching our medical bills to our EOB’s. She records everything we spend except minor petty cash transactions in Quicken.

We have two DD’s that we trust, one of which we both agree is more suited to handling our finances if (when) needed. That daughter is also married to someone who we believe is very good with their finances and between the two of them I think we would be in good hands. The weak link at this point is when do DW and I sit down with both DD’s and their husbands to discuss this. Of course the big hurdle is divulging our number. I’m more comfortable with sharing that information with DD#2 than I am with DD#1. Mainly because DD#2’s portfolio is closer to ours while DD#1’s is more of a paycheck to paycheck situation.

For now, this thread has sparked me to talk to DW and have her better document exactly what she does, including accounts, passwords, etc. I’m sure I could take over if she couldn’t handle it but I’d be challenged by the mechanics of making sure all the bills got paid. I don’t pay attention to that any more but the old days of seeing a bill come in the mail and writing a check are long gone. Some are on auto pay while some she releases when the bill comes. Some are run through our credit care while others run through our credit union account.

And, she won’t like it, but if I’m the one handling it, the detail she enters into Quicken isn’t going to be kept up. But, being an accountant myself, I’m sure I’ll do a proper reconciliation of the checking account as long as I’m able.

 

[street]

My hope is son and his wife. Both very responsible and professional careers one being an attorney.

 

[MarieIG]

DH will have monthly income on auto pilot, an IRA "fun money" account for splurges, and our sons will help him managing investments. He has actually improved with finances since we have retired, my major concern would be someone taking advantage of him.

 

[REWahoo]

Our oldest who lives nearby and is a CPA. I've left instructions and had some discussions with her a while back but this thread is a reminder that I need to sit down with her and go over things in more detail.

 

[big-papa]

I have the IPS I use to manage our finances, but I created a much simpler one for my wife that she can use and can pick up at any time. We've reviewed it multiple times now and she understands it. The act of making withdrawals for living expenses is straightforward for her with her version. It's now time for a quarterly withdrawal and she and I will sit down and go through the mechanics of selling and transferring and have her actually do it herself. We'll continue to do this going forward so that she understands it.

Backup plan for this is for our daughter to pick it up on our behalf.

Some things will be outsourced such as hiring a CPA for the tax portion of things. I also include a trusted advisor that she can lean on as a second set of eyes, an instructor, or somebody who can help her complete a few items I have pending if I'm gone or incapable beforehand.

Cheers.

 

[audreyh1]

Unlike many folks posting here we have no children to take over so things get complicated. DH can certainly handle things if necessary but seeing as he’s older than I, I don’t see how that helps much.

 

[Mark1]

Unlike many folks posting here we have no children to take over so things get complicated. DH can certainly handle things if necessary but seeing as he’s older than I, I don’t see how that helps much.

No kids is where we are as well. Once we're in our 80's, I'm fine with not squeezing out every penny of yields from our portfolio so having all our money in money market would be fine with me. I'm more worried about myself or DW being ripped off by some unscrupulous individuals, then who is going to "manage" our portfolio.

 

[Koolau]

I forgot to mention that I am putting together a "book" which will tell DW where everything is and how to access it or who to call with phone numbers and URLs, etc.

I'll probably include some financial "philosophy" as well and include things like where to look for IRMAA and other limits (thanks Gumby!)

 

[timbervest]

I forgot to mention that I am putting together a "book" which will tell DW where everything is and how to access it or who to call with phone numbers and URLs, etc.

I'll probably include some financial "philosophy" as well and include things like where to look for IRMAA and other limits (thanks Gumby!)

Ah yes - we call it the "Death Book" -- all the information, who to contact (financial, legal, etc.) plus where all the accounts and documents are. Step by step "what to do in the event of . . . ". Update and review it twice a year with DW. DS is executor and responsible and knows where to access it. He and DD have DPAs. Investments on autopilot (three fund strategy with rebalance when outside 5% deviation from AA) and enough SS, pension, and dividend income to meet expenses for a year without having to do anything. My mind is at ease.

 

[pacergal]

We currently have a FA, who would be able to assist either spouse or I, or our kids when we are both gone.
We also have two books in our safe, one with financial info, one with wills/advanced directives/etc.
Our DD and DS will be available to help as we age.