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A staggering 70% of families struggle passing on wealth due to insufficient planning, amplified by longer lifespans impacting multiple generations. Among the critical yet often overlooked aspects in this planning is healthcare expenses. How are families addressing this, and what expertise do wealth advisors bring to the table?
Overlooked in this planning are healthcare expenses, which are 12% to 25% of household income, especially burdensome for seniors. Family office advisors should integrate healthcare planning to reduce financial risks for their clients.
Yet, how adept are family offices and wealth advisors at estimating and budgeting healthcare costs? While many financial advisors’s are experts in legal and tax matters, health care often lacks specialized attention. Wealth advisors frequently underestimate costs, especially for mental health or substance-abuse treatment, health insurance, and care for those who are aging, leading to expense spikes. Bridging this gap requires wealth advisors to collaborate with healthcare specialists.
Healthcare advisors possess specialized knowledge in managing health-related financial risks. They collaborate with financial advisors to develop comprehensive strategies that account for and even model healthcare expenses, ensuring the preservation and growth of generational wealth. They act as a “consigliere” to not only coordinate care among primary care physicians, specialists, mental health providers, nutritionists, and life coaches but also with other advisors employing a holistic approach – just as a family office coordinates input from tax attorneys, bankers, accountants, and others.
As families seek to secure their financial legacies, it's clear that a comprehensive approach – one that incorporates healthcare planning – is essential. This inclusive strategy safeguards not just financial capital but also the well-being of future generations.
We offer consultative and advisory services in 50-hour retainers for family offices and 12-hour retainers for individuals and families. To learn more, contact us at [email protected] or (646) 883-9717.
John Samuels is founder and CEO of Better Health Advisors, an independent healthcare advisory practice based out of New York City. John served as a senior healthcare leader in New York City’s top hospitals for over 20 years. He uses his extensive healthcare experience and wide network of medical professionals to achieve the best possible care for clients nationwide. He was recently honored by Forbes as one of the Next 1000 entrepreneurs and business leaders who are changing how businesses are run.
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