Kimberly E. O’Leary, professor of law, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. and Marie Were, law lecturer, Te Piringa University of Waikato Faculty of Law, in Hamilton, New Zealand.
With much 2017 discussion on the possible repeal of estate tax, estate planners are being asked by their children, “Daddy and Mommy, in the non-federal estate tax world, what will you do when you grow up?”
The answer is well known to all estate planners. Estate tax planning is only a small facet of what we do day in and day out. We act, more globally, as advisors on all things family: how to properly be a wealthy person, how to provide funds to your children without encouraging lethargy and lack of effort, how to use wealth to instill charitable values, how to avoid bad characters trying to take money away from clients, counseling on marriage and unmarriage (“divorce” is such an ugly word) and overall the steps to lead productive and value-laden lives.
And, to add to the list, Professor Kimberly E. O’Leary and law lecturer Marie Were, in “Cultivating Gardens and Cultivating Generations: Purposeful Living as Standard of Care for Elder Law Attorneys,” do an excellent job expanding on the universe of roles for the estate planner, emphasizing that we need to make sure our elderly clients approach the 18th hole with purpose, dignity and financial protection. Those under age 70 tend to have blinders on as to what it’s like to be elderly. “Ahhh, I can’t wait to be retired and older; I will have no worries about work.” True enough, perhaps, but at 70 and beyond, we’re no longer doing “down and outs” on Sunday football games. Financial matters become a bit more complicated and worrisome. Living arrangements are at the forefront of daily considerations. Spouses often become deceased spouses; friends are fewer; and opportunities are more limited by physical and mental constraints. In a sense, an older individual’s universe becomes a continually decreasing orb.
And, here the estate planner can step in to add a bit of optimism and protection. On the protection side, the planner can make sure there are structures in place such that caregivers and others can’t exercise undue or improper influence over financial matters.
On the optimistic side, we can work with our clients to ensure they have a “purpose” in life.
The authors introduce the topic of representing the elderly with two of the most important aspects for practitioners: (1) what it means to represent the elderly, and (2) the thoughtful way in which planners can add value.
On representing the elderly, the authors note the following universe of areas for a practitioner to focus on: estate planning, of course, independence planning (where the clients will live as their care becomes more relevant), availability of governmental benefits, avoiding both financial and physical abuse situations, health care access, long-term care insurance, pension rights and how to deal with declining faculties.
Then, the authors introduce the most important theme, advancing the happiness of the elderly by making sure they have purpose, or what the authors reference as “Purposeful Living.” They emphasize to the planner: “We need to advocate just as passionately in favor of encouraging and enabling purposeful living.”
A note for all of us, elderly and young, in reference to Purposeful Living research: “Researchers have controlled for other factors, and greater sense of purpose highly correlates with longer life and better quality of life as a factor on its own.”
And, with the possible repeal of the estate tax and a renewed emphasis on how to intelligently leave funds to adult children without discouraging Purposeful Living, this theme is relevant for all clients.
The authors suggest how planners can implement the Purposeful Living concept into their practice. Impliedly, they suggest that planners should have “discussions [with clients] about their goals and opportunities to actually practice behaviors that will give them this sense of purpose.” Planners can do this by making this a discussion and theme in estate-planning meetings and, I suggest, by having resource materials available (the authors cite the Maslow pyramid and Viktor Frankl’s psychological theory referred to as “logotherapy,” which would be two excellent resources for clients).
In addition, a good part of the article is spent reviewing customs overseas on practices that will help the elderly in terms of their living arrangements.
For practitioners who are looking to add value to their practice, beyond estate tax reduction (meaning all of us), the principles and discussions in this article can be quite useful not only for the elderly but also for the young, for the well to do, for the retired and, essentially, for all of us. The theme, incorporating Purposeful Living into our discussions with clients, is one that will be meaningful for all of our clients and is within our skill set.