I’ve Found Out I’m Dying… Now What?
POTENTIAL SITUATION
Tripp and Susan just got some bad news from Tripp’s doctor. He has pancreatic cancer, and, while it is in the relatively early stages, even with the newest and most aggressive treatments, the survival rate is less than 10%. Tripp, a retired Army dentist who continued practicing as a dentist after his retirement from the Army, realizes that it is likely that he will not survive for long. His thoughts have turned to Susan.
Throughout their 30 years of their marriage, Tripp has managed the finances. He has managed everything from their investment portfolio to their monthly bills. Susan has had little or no interest in finances. Tripp provides her with a credit card for her use and bought her the car she wanted, and while she is not particularly frugal, neither is she a spendthrift. Tripp’s income has always covered the bills and anything Susan wants, she buys. Tripp has always considered it his role in their marriage to provide for them and manage “everything financial.” Soon that will end, and Susan will be on her own.
PARAGON’S SOLUTION
Unfortunately, this situation is familiar to us. Several times in any given year, either a client, or someone close to one of our clients, passes away. Frequently individuals who have been recently widowed reach out to us for help in getting their financial affairs in order so they can confidently face what lies ahead.
In this situation, our team would work closely with Tripp and Susan to gradually transfer control of the finances to Susan while Tripp is still able to help. For the first time in her life, Susan realizes that she must oversee their finances. She will work in earnest to understand the nuances of their assets - from online BillPay, to writing checks, to balancing the accounts, even understanding their investments.
Within several months, as Tripp undergoes chemotherapy and several experimental surgeries, Susan will completely takeover paying the monthly bills, and will begin to understand all of their sources of income. Also, Susan understands that once Tripp is gone, she will lose half of Tripp’s pension and her own Social Security benefit would go away (she will, however, retain Tripp’s benefit). Monthly withdrawals from their investments would be necessary, but “stress tests” would show that they are well prepared, and she should have money for the remainder of her natural life.
VALUE TO THE CLIENT
Now Susan is confidently in charge of her own financial future. She is able to focus only on grieving Tripp’s loss and continuing her life without him, as opposed to feeling panicked and lost financially, possibly turning to well-meaning but uninformed family members for advice - or worse - a “friendly” financial advisor who might take advantage of her lack of financial sophistication.
*Please Note: Limitations: The above Case Study is hypothetical-not involving actual Paragon clients. Case Studies illustrate the hypothetical experience of a fictitious client based on a scenario that an actual client might experience. The Case Studies are designed to generally illustrate how we may provide our services to our clients. Keeping in mind that no two clients, situations, or experiences are exactly alike, the Case Studies are not to be construed as an endorsement of Paragon by any of its past or current clients, nor any assurance that Paragon may be able to help any client achieve the same satisfactory results. To the contrary, none of the Case Studies should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results or satisfaction if Paragon is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services.