Financial planner to make mom's money last

Can anyone recommend a great, not too expensive, financial planner to help a soon-to-be senior make a plan for her nest egg? My almost 60 year old mother is selling the family house to downsize. She has no retirement account and works part-time with no extra for savings, so the house is her retirement. We would like it to last for the next several decades (her mother is still going strong in her mid-80s, and her grandmother lived past 100). We would like someone experienced with working with independent senior women, who can help her make a budget and set realistic expectations about what she can afford long-term. She currently lives quite a bit above her means (with the help of various family members who are sick of being treated like bank accounts) and although she seems to know that this can't continue, she can't figure out how to adjust her lifestyle accordingly. Prefer someone near Walnut Creek or Berkeley, but will travel for the right person. Thanks! Need to make mom's money last

Elderly mom unable to manage finances- help!

My father died recently and was the financial planner/investor in the family. My mother has been left with the good fortune of having more than enough funds for herself but is totally ignorant and unable to manage her money. She is naive and seems to think that my brother can manage the assets even though he has NO experience (and no money of his own). She is also extremely cheap and doesn't appear to want to hire professionals to do so. My brother has the unfortunate combination of naivete and arrogance about his ability to do so- not a good combination. I am not good at money management but at least I recognize this and want to get professionals involved. My mother is overwhelmed and because she is cheap, she is surrendering herself to my brother's offer to manage the assets (stock portfolio)- help! Any advice about how to approach my mother? Any recommendations for a good financial adviser? Please no self-solicitations! troubled and anxious about $

Use Vanguard. Vanguard is one of the largest and most respected fund companies, and most importantly, it is owned by its investors....this allows it to provide some of the least expensive mutual funds available. Vanguard focuses on very efficient, inexpensive index investments (i.e, just buying the whole market, bypassing expensive security-picking, which generally winds up underperforming the broad market anyway) but they have many excellent actively managed funds as well.

If I've already lost you...never fear. One of the most appealing options is simply to use one of Vanguard's ''All in One Funds''. These funds are each designed to be appropriate for a specific investor class; for example, your mom could use the ''Retirement'' portfolio...the most conservative. It includes about 65% in broad bond index investments, 30% in global stocks, and 5% in cash. And get this...expenses are 0.18% Yes, you read that right...less than one fifth of one percent! Compare that to an advisor who could easily charge you five times as much. The all in one fund automatically rebalances...so if stocks go up, for example, Vanguard trims them back and adds the proceeds to the bonds and cash...this ensures that you ''buy low, sell high'' without you having to do a thing. Your mom can literally buy this one fund, never make another investment decision the rest of her life, and be assured of outperforming the vast majority of all active funds, investment advisors, etc...mostly because of the ultra low fees.

As to your brother...that's another matter. Ideally he shouldn't touch the money of course, but perhaps as a concession to family harmony, if he throws a fit, your mom could give him 5% of her portfolio to manage, with clear instructions on her risk tolerance, etc. If he turns out to be the next Warren Buffett, well your mom can rethink things.

If you have further questions, I'd be happy to answer in an entirely un-self-promotional way. Good luck. h

Elderly mother needs help managing her finances

My elder mother-in-law has recently expressed anxiety about managing her finances and is ready for some help in this area. I'm not sure exactly what kind of service would be best for her and would welcome advice in that area as well as recommendations of specific people. She has plenty of money that she and her husband put into a trust before he died a few years ago. Most of the money is in CDs and treasury bonds. Since he handled most of their finances, her knowledge about where things are seems a little shaky, and she has little knowledge about how things are doing. My husband has looked at some documents that indicate she is letting CDs expire and rollover without any real management. She is also concerned that there could be some accounts that may be sitting dormant, which we know can be a problem. She would like someone who can look at the trust, help inventory the assets, and perhaps provide some help in managing the assets. I'm not sure if that person would need to be an attorney (the one who did the trust has since retired) or just a financial management professional. My MIL is pleasant and cooperative but can be a little confused at times (ask the same question two different ways, and you're likely to get two different answers), so someone who patient and experienced dealing with seniors would be essential. She's a worrier, so alleviating her anxiety is a significant part of this equation. Thanks for your help. cindy

I highly recommend that you talk with any advisor you are considering working with and ask a lot of questions about the recommendations you get - especially with the ''shaky knowledge'' of your MIL - to make sure she is not being taken advantage of.

You can call or write to California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform - www.canhr.org or Family Caregiver Alliance - www.caregiver.org -for local referrals. As a geriatric specialist I know these two agencies to be premier in the area of referral and family caregiver/elder issues. Monica

Help for parents sorting out finances for long-term care

My elderly parents live independently in Berkeley. They want to stay in their longtime home but it is becoming difficult. I am looking for a reasonably priced professional to help the family sort out their finances to see what they can afford in terms of in-home care or assisted living, whether we should refinance the mortgage or sell the house, and how to consolidate their investments, file taxes and plan for long-term care, estate planning, etc. It seems like a mix between a financial planner, an accountant and a lawyer familiar with real estate and estate planning matters. Is there such a person in the East Bay?

Aging mother falling victim to financial predators

My 87-year old mother lives alone in what was the family home. She's generally competent and alert, though both her memory and her common sense are waivering. She did a very good job as money manager for the family, the result of which is that she now has a fair amount left over. She has increasingly been agreeing to sales presentations for mortgages, energy-efficient windows, ''lifetime'' exterior painting, etc. She thinks that she's doing this for the ''free stuff'' (she has 4 George Foreman grills stacked in a closet), but she is quite vulnerable to the cleverness of financial predators and their advance guard, telemarketers. Last year, she re-financed her house 3 times, forfeiting $60k in pre-payment penalties and closing costs and winding up with a 7.5% rate, when she's well qualified for much better. The situation is becoming alarming and we're beginning to think that we're going to have to do something proactively. We'd welcome thoughts on how to limit the damage she can do herself. For many reasons, we can't consider conservatorship. Thanks for your help. ''Do Not Call'' fan

http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2007/01/parentstalk.html
http://money.cnn.com/1999/11/24/life/q_parents/

My parents want to retire, need help making a plan

My parents are getting ready to retire, and are trying to figure out exactly when to stop working, when to begin drawing down their state and private pension(s) and social security, how to diversify their stock holdings in their 401K, and what the tax implications for all that will be...... and they are asking me what to do and there is NO WAY I am going to try and guess at what would be right for them. So I am trying to help them find a financial planner. We are interested in a **FEE BASED** rather than commission based financial advisor that has the Certified Financial Planner designation, that really specializes in retirement planning, evaluating various pension options, social security issues, and tax implications, etc. Any ideas??? People to call?? Thanks in advance for your help!