Finding your voice, the silent generation

It’s something that many people don’t think about, but what happens if your partner has been the primary person managing the family finances and they pass away or become incapacitated?

Suddenly managing the family finances becomes your responsibility, what do you do?

More and more recently, we have had too many of our clients either lose their partners or have had to make the difficult decision to put their loved ones into permanent care due to illness.  This has resulted in the remaining partner having to learn and do an enormous amount of what may seem like routine tasks. This situation can be very stressful and overwhelming if their partner has managed these tasks in the past. With so much to consider it can be difficult to know where to start, so they often turn to a family member or their financial advisers to help them cope.

This group of people are often referred to as the silent generation, over the years they have been just that “silent”.  In many of these cases, it is women who get left behind to learn and manage the finances, not just pay a bill because it’s come in, but consider what the best option is and ensure it is the best deal. Making decisions on their finances that not only support their position today but into the future.

Deciding to place a partner and loved one into care is an emotional time for everyone. Juggling the aged care system in itself is not easy especially when it’s thrust upon you to find a place for your partner of 40, 50, 60 or more years, let alone consider how you will cope living alone and dealing with a myriad of decisions.

Fortunately for most of our clients, they have an awesome network around them, friends, family, and adult children who can step in, support, and help with these decisions.  However, often adult children in their 30s and 40s need our guidance to do what’s best for their parents.  It’s very common for us to have joint meetings over time to ensure all family members are on the same page and no one is being taken advantage of as elder abuse is a real thing.

Let us help you find your voice.

If you need someone to help with some guidance in any area that we’ve touched on, please reach out to the JBS team. We can be a great sounding board and help make what seems complicated, more straightforward, easier by removing some of the obstacles.

Jenny Brown – CEO and Founder