• You should also make sure your clients have all their legal documents in order. They need a durable financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, wills, maybe trusts, and advanced directives / living wills. You should also ask them about the last time they updated these documents … for themselves and for all their beneficiaries. And you should ask these questions every three to five years. As I tell my clients, things change and people change. They get divorced. They die. Maybe there are people in your will who you just don’ t like anymore. Whatever the situation, you must check to see what has changed so that any plan your client does create can be implemented the way they want.

Estate law has been around since ancient times and was shaped by things such as the Magna Carta. Elder law is about 40 years old.

Get breaking news, insights, and events directly in your inbox from the most influential publication among advisors. your clients is different. They have different needs, different amounts of money, and different ideas about where they want their money to go. Even though most people want to stay in their homes when they get older, you would be surprised at the number of people who also don’ t want to burden their adult children and are seriously considering communities that would offer them long-term care as an asset. That, too, is a financial decision with elder law implications.

• Make the long-term care conversation a family conversation. You likely have clients in their 40s and 50s, perhaps even younger, who are already being asked to help with caregiving. I’ ve experienced that myself, when my 92-year-old grandmother came to live with me( and when my family had a 2-year-old toddler). We all had to make adjustments( including the family Labrador retriever). You should ask your own clients if caregiving for a loved one is something they’ re currently doing. Perhaps your client has quit her job to take care of her mother. Perhaps your client takes his dad to doctor appointments and gets the prescriptions. Are they losing time from work? Are they seeing a loss of IRA savings, Social Security contributions, benefits or even income at work because their caregiving has required them to work only part time? Has someone in their family had a diagnosis that may affect them in the future? Are they concerned about their own health and how it will affect their ability to give care?

By making this a family conversation, you may also open the door to new clients among their family members, people who appreciate your concern about their entire situation.

• If it isn’ t obvious by now, I’ d also suggest that you make friends with an elder lawyer or two. Interview them. Find someone you can work with for the benefit of your clients. Maybe get your own documents in order. This isn’ t just for retirees. Anyone can have a crisis tomorrow, and preparation and planning are key.

The estate tax situation has likely made some people feel relief, and that they have no worries. Perhaps your clients are also resting easier knowing that the higher exemptions won’ t expire and that they have little to worry about. If that’ s the case, maybe you should revisit that conversation— and use those tax law changes to open a new talk about long-term care. Someday, they will thank you for it.

CATHY SIKORSKI, Esq., is an elder attorney, speaker and author. Her latest book is 12 Conversations: How to Talk to Almost Anyone about Long-Term Care Planning. She has been a caregiver for eight people.

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SEPTEMBER 2025 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 33