Myth #7  -  "When it comes to LTC, my advisor(s) know what I need...."

Fact:  If that were true, more than 14% of Americans over age 60 would actually have a plan.  But they don’t. And here’s the brutal reason why only 14% have a Formal LTC Plan.  Most people — and most advisors — avoid planning for Long-Term Care because they confuse money with a plan and they think, “clients can self-fund if they need care.” >>> That’s not a plan. That’s a liquidation strategy in disguise.

• Most advisors never truly address, not out of malice — but because LTC is messy, emotional, hard to model in a spreadsheet, and not tied to AUM fees or portfolio performance.  It just becomes “next year’s conversation”… until it's too late.

• Advisor THINK clients can’t like imagining themselves needing help bathing, dressing, or remembering, and their denial feels easier than planning.

• They assume Medicare covers it.  It doesn’t and clients find this out in a hospital discharge meeting — when it’s too late to plan.

• They think planning = buying insurance.  It doesn’t.  However, planning is answering:

  • Who decides?

  • Who provides care?

  • Where does the money come from first?
    Insurance is just one possible tool — not the plan itself.

• Families assume “we’ll take care of each other"......Until someone tries — and gets overwhelmed, injured, divorced, bankrupt, or emotionally exhausted.

So the myth — “my advisor knows what I need” — is really this:  “We’ve never talked about it, so I’m assuming someone else has it handled.”  

But silence isn’t a plan, hope isn’t a strategy, and when care is needed, families don’t blame Medicare — they blame the advisor who never brought it up.

Bottom Line:  If you're not asking clients:

• Who will provide care first?

• Where will care happen?

• Which asset gets liquidated first?

• How will this affect your spouse or your children?

Then they don’t have a plan!   

Pretending they do is a rejection of Know Your Client, Best Interest, or your fiduciary duty.