Today we're joined by Frances Reaves, who shares insights from her work in estate and Medicaid planning, on how to get your parents ready for long term care. Frances explains the importance of preparing for elder care before it's urgently needed, sharing her personal experience with her own parents and husband, who is currently navigating Alzheimer's care. The conversation dives into the realities of elder care, including the challenges of navigating the healthcare system, the high costs of in-home versus facility care, and the value of long-term care insurance. Today we discuss...
- Francis Reaves is an elder law attorney specializing in estate and Medicaid planning.
- She founded a service within her law firm called “Parent Your Parents” to support elder care planning.
- Elder care generally begins around age 65, when Medicare becomes available.
- A major challenge in elder care is systemic apathy and poor communication in facilities.
- In-home care is the gold standard if money is no object, costing $12,000–$15,000 per month.
- Reverse mortgages and long-term care insurance are common strategies to fund elder care.
- Long-term care insurance works similarly to car insurance—ideally unused but crucial.
- The cost of long-term care and facilities can quickly deplete even sizable retirement savings.
- The best age to purchase long-term care insurance is between 55 and 60.
- For-profit facilities are incentivized to keep patients alive, not necessarily to improve their quality of life.
- If you have no one to care for you, plan ahead with long-term care insurance, savings, and legal documents like power of attorney and healthcare proxy.
- People who choose to provide full-time care often risk financial ruin if long-term care plans or savings are not in place.
- There’s potential to arbitrage life expectancy in financial tools like reverse mortgages or life insurance.
- Many elders struggle with losing independence, especially around giving up driving.
- Adult children often become parental figures to their own parents, which can create emotional strain.
- Financial advisors and lawyers play a key role in spotting and preventing elder financial abuse.
- Professionals should watch for signs of undue influence or financial exploitation and speak up if concerned.
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Today's Guest: H. Frances Reaves
Frances was born in Belem, Brazil and spent her youth traveling with her family to Libya, The Philippines, Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Singapore, where she graduated from High School. After receiving her degree from Texas Christian University, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and worked as Director of International Marketing for the Louisiana World Exposition. That once-in-a-lifetime experience encouraged her to move to Miami and persue a law degree from University of Miami. She is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.
In 2014 Frances began working with elders and their children who were facing life-changing decisions with no knowledge of what is available to them. Since that time she began advocating for elders and defending them against exploitation. She is also the managing attorney of her Elder Law Firm which handles, estate planning, Medicaid planning and advocacy. She writes twice monthly columns for the Miami Community News and The Islander News. She has a monthly video blog devoted to Elders. She has interviewed Laurie Jennings, Lois Pope (80+ year old triathalon and biathalon champion) and Emerson Fittipaldi. The Miami Herald has published published select articles. She recently authored, “Bommers Bomming: How to Thrive After Sixty Five*…*And Have Good Sex.
Frances' Online Presence:
Today's Panelists
Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management
Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Advisory Group