For the second time in a year, I have received a call from a client stating that
they want to liquidate all of their accounts and move the assets to long term annuities. This does not happen often – in 32 year in business, you come to expect to lose a client or two, but these cases were different. Both clients are married and in their late 70’s or early 80’s, one member in each couple has been diagnosed with dementia. Each couple has more than one child listed as their contingent beneficiaries. Here is where it becomes messy.
In each case, a child that sees themselves as not being as lucky or successful as their siblings steps in to take over. These children, all adults, have convinced their parent that they can no longer make sound decisions for themselves and must allow them to take over. In each case, the movement of the assets have been to a place that offers less liquidity, more expense, and most important to this child, sole contingent beneficiary status.
The couples in these cases had listed all of their children as equal contingent beneficiary on their account; now all of the other siblings have been cut out and may not even know this. Confidentiality and fiduciary responsibilities only allow me to do little or nothing to notify the other siblings. It breaks my heart to see this happen more and more.
Families need to have open communications frequently to make sure that everyone is on the same page. These are the things that tear families apart forever.

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