Sometimes called nursing homes, it’s not until you are faced with helping a person make the transition from independent living that you actually appreciate the complexities and mystery that surrounds what I think is one of the more complex areas of financial planning.

You see when a person makes the decision (or in some cases has it made for them) to move into a facility, the actions they take in that process can have a number of financial impacts.  These depend on the level of care the person needs – whether a bond has to be paid, what daily fees etc will be paid.

This is an area that you really should talk to your financial planner about before embarking on this path.  This is not what I wish to cover today.

One of the hardest things it seems to me is the decision for a person to go into aged care.  What really hit home for me was that after 40 years plus living in the one house, this lady had two days to pack up her memories and make the shift from independent homeowner to aged care facility resident.

Leaving a house of possessions and memories and moving into a bedroom (the facility is new and quite nice, but still after 4o years in your own home….) can be a major shock to the system in itself.

But let’s get back to the 2 days issue.  This decision was really a few years too late.  There have been a lot of family arguments about the family house, who gets what and how it’s done.  Brother is against brother and its all getting messy.

The solution – family communication. This is easier said than done, after all it’s just not right for a child to ask their parents about their financial situation, or is it.

This is a conversation all middle aged children need to have with their parents – who gets what, when the plug gets pulled and at stage of life do we make the move from independent living and on what terms and conditions.  Ignore this conversation at your peril – it’s only a matter of time before you have to act.

Finally go hug your children, tell your parents you forgive them for your childhood (only kidding), life is fleeting and as this lady said to me, those 40 years have gone by so quickly and the decision to move had to be made so fast that they couldn’t say a proper goodbye to all their friends in the area.

Make sure you and yours don’t ever miss the chance to say goodbye.