Expert Column
Suzanne Wolfson, MBA, CFP 
Financial Planner for Retirement
Suzanne Wolfson, CFP® is the founder of For Retired Only™, a fee-based financial planning...read more
Articles In This Column
- Advice for Seniors: Managing the Financial Market Turmoil & Economic Crisis
- Seniors: When is it Time to "Let Go" of Control?
- The Real Cost of Reverse Mortgages
- Fund Unexpected Elder Care Costs with Your Personal Resources
- Paying for Senior Care with the Inheritance
- Lessons I Learned after My Father’s Death
- Thinking of Selling Your House? Read this First!
- How Much Can You Save with Advance Planning?
- How to Pay for Long-term Care without Breaking the Bank
- What’s in Your Parent’s Wallet? (And What That Means for You)
- Financial Planning for the Elderly: Assisting Clients & Their Caregivers
- Financial Planning for the Elderly: a Personal Perspective
Financial Planning for Retirement
Advice for Seniors: Managing the Financial Market Turmoil & Economic Crisis
I have recently been reminded of the wisdom that only comes with time. My senior clients have once again shown incredible resiliency in handling the severe crash of the financial markets as well as the significant recession now on our doorstep. Their years of experience bring invaluable perception that helps them face losses of gains and their fears of dealing with an uncertain future. It always amazes me when I get calls from clients who say, “I merely want...Read entire article » Related Articles
Seniors: When is it Time to "Let Go" of Control?
There comes a point for many aging seniors when they must defer control to a person they trust to make their decisions for them. While it may seem a long ways away, the ideal time to designate that person is while you’re still competent and able. What’s more, it is crucial to specify, via documentation, the person (or people) you choose to make decisions for you regarding legal matters, financial matters and more. For health-related decisions, an advanced health...Read entire article » Related Articles
The Real Cost of Reverse Mortgages
Chances are, you’ve heard of reverse mortgages. But do you really know how they work? There are many professionals on both sides of the fence. One side will try to sell you on the upsides of reverse mortgages, and the other will warn you of the downsides. Let me tell you this, objectively: reverse mortgages can be a good solution for a certain type of consumer, but they are complicated. Understand how they work before you decide on this...Read entire article » Related Articles
Fund Unexpected Elder Care Costs with Your Personal Resources
When shifting circumstances bring unexpected elder care costs, they also bring the urgency of having to make short and long-term financial decisions. It is at this point that one must confront the reality of the exorbitant costs of care for the chronically ill and elderly. In 2007, the annual cost of long-term care in the US averaged $77,000. While many people are woefully unprepared to handle these high costs, many others have serious misconceptions about the real costs of...Read entire article » Related Articles
Paying for Senior Care with the Inheritance
As a financial planner for the elderly, one of the issues that I am frequently confronted with is the spending down of the inheritance to pay for the high cost of eldercare. All too often, when an aging person’s health and care needs require important difficult financial changes to be made, the adult children’s sense of financial bequest and expectation misdirects their decisions and actions, negatively impacting the quality of care received by their elderly parent. Many elderly people...Read entire article » 
