Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Helpful tips for securing your family’s financial future
If you’re age 50 to 55 and are starting to think about mapping out your future from a financial and estate planning perspective, now is an ideal time to begin taking action if you want to get ahead of the game.
If you’ve missed that window of opportunity and are now eyeing retirement, it’s not too late, but you’ll be approaching some important life decisions with a greater sense of urgency.
Dorko Wealth and Estate Planning in Wyomissing, Berks County, covers all the bases needed to secure someone’s future. Jeffrey Dorko handles estates and estate planning, while his wife, Cheryl, and their son Samuel are financial advisors. The Dorkos have been advising families for a combined 55 years.
If you’re curious about the best strategy to begin getting your ducks in a row, Cheryl Dorko suggested starting with the basics.
“The biggest thing even before finances is to see Jeff or another attorney to get an estate plan,” she said, adding you will need to appoint a power of attorney who would ideally be your spouse or child.
The next step would be to consider securing your financial assets with the help of a financial advisor like Cheryl, who handles clients with investment and noninvestment assets over $1 million, or Samuel, who handles clients with over $100,000 in assets.
“It’s really good to have the lawyer and the financial advisor working back and forth so they’re on the same page,” she said.
At Dorko Wealth and Estate Planning, their financial advice is centered on goal-based planning.
“Many are worried about running out of money,” she said. “The goal-based planning can help alleviate any anxiety centered on outliving their money.”
Dorko shared some of the most important things to consider when navigating your future.
Plan before you think it’s time to plan
Dorko typically works with people who are ready to get serious about their financial situation.
“That’s who I help the most, those who come to me when they’re retiring,” she said. “That’s when they decide to get serious.”
However, according to Dorko, it’s better to take a proactive approach.
“If you can do it at age 50 or 55 you can have a much more successful plan if you start early enough,” she said.
Take someone with you
If you are 70 and over, according to Dorko, it’s ideal to take a spouse or other loved one with you to your financial planning consultation or meeting.
“Whether a spouse or an adult child they might want to have someone with them before they think it’s necessary,” she said.
Dorko said it can give your family and loved ones the confidence that you are not making decisions that might not be in your best interest, and that they can trust that the advisor is recommending what is in your best interest.
They can also serve as a support system from an emotional perspective..
“A lot of people with finances decide things based on emotion,” she said. “Money is a real trigger, and it can help to have someone with them.”
Plan for eventualities
An aspect of legal planning that Dorko finds clients often don’t realize are different eventualities that she said should be considered with proper planning. This is taking into consideration all of the things that could happen and considering ways in which you can be prepared.
“One of those things is longterm care,” Dorko said. “So often people come in and they say, ‘Well I’m not going into a facility,’ but that’s not realistic.”
According to Dorko, everyone has a good chance of needing assistance with either nursing home care or assisted living.
“Many don’t even want to think about it,” she said. “Many say they will wait until they get sick, but that doesn’t work because you no longer qualify for insurance because of health issues.”
Instead, the best time to get long-term care insurance is well before you might need it.
“If someone is aged 50 and very healthy then that would be the ideal time,” she said. “Many want to get it when it’s too late.”
If you’re wondering why you should bother paying for all of those years of extra insurance, Dorko makes a convincing point.
“When we run the numbers we can see if you’re starting at age 50 the numbers are lower and in the end you’re spending less,” she said.
Beyond the numbers
Many families have been with the Dorkos’ firm for over 25 years and coaching, and counseling them is part of the job.
“You get invested,” she said. “When there is a retirement, or a parent is going into a nursing home, or a loved one dies, we are the first person they call and say, ‘What do I do?’”
While Dorko is used to dealing with such situations, many of her clients are experiencing lifechanging events such as these for the first time.
“We want to be there to answer their questions and let them know exactly what’s going to happen,” she said. “This is an emotional time and with our experience and guidance we can ease their mind in navigating these challenges.”