An 80-year old gentleman was diagnosed with dementia at the same time that his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. When McRae & Associates got involved, his wife had passed away about 6 months before, and the client was still able to take care of himself, but was not in a safe place financially. So the court determined that he needed a guardian and a conservator. As a result, Teri was appointed to take on both responsibilities.
The goal for the first two years was to keep the client safe and functioning at home as long as possible, because he wanted to be able to stay in his home. Due in part to the client’s opposition to involving a guardian in his personal life, Teri conducted most of her fiduciary and guardian work in the background, without the client knowing that she acted in this role. Friends or in-home caregivers would look in on him, collect his mail, and deliver it to Teri so that she could pay his bills.
Over the course of two years, the client’s medical situation declined such that his needs increased to almost full-time care – as much as he would allow. McRae & Associates brought in additional caregivers to meet the need, and continued to work behind the scenes to make sure that the client continued to receive all the support and care he needed, while managing his finances.
Eventually, the client was no longer able to stay home alone, which meant that McRae & Associates had to consider assisted living. So McRae & Associates went through the process of finding and placing their client in a suitable facility. The first placement did not work out, so McRae & Associates then moved him into a second facility, where he’s now been for 3 – 4 years ongoing.
Throughout the course of this client engagement, Teri worked to maintain his finances, pay his bills, and continues to manage those efforts. Some of the client’s assets were sold in accordance with his Estate plan to pay for care. In this capacity, Teri has worked to auction off items to clean out his former home, has taken care of personal assets that the client no longer needs, and has sold some property to help generate funds as required.
Teri has been this client’s guardian and conservator for 6 years now and she continues to handle his Estate and other care needs. Teri continues to determine the best way to generate funds while protecting and honoring the client’s wishes and Estate plan.