Steve Vernon & Naomi Karp: Proactively Addressing Cognitive Decline

In this episode, The Annuity Man, Steve Vernon and Naomi Karp discuss: 

• Safeguarding from financial exploitation 
• The Money Path: six steps to protect yourself 
• Things to consider when getting multiple advocates
• Easing someone else into planning for cognitive decline

Key Takeaways: 

• Financial exploitation is something you need to safeguard your future self against because as you age, it’s only natural that you’d be more vulnerable to making mistakes. Keep in mind that 5% of financial exploitation is done by someone a person knows and trusts. 
• First, choose a trusted financial advocate. Second, organize your financial information. Third, start a conversation with your advocate. Fourth, explain your situation, goals, values and expectations. Fifth, officially appoint your advocate under a power of attorney. Sixth, acknowledge the signs in advance. 
• When choosing multiple advocates for your finances, set it up so that decisions won’t require the sign-off of multiple people. You can also set up an accountability system to make sure your advocates are doing it right. There needs to be communication in order to avoid conflict. 
• Getting your parents to agree to planning for cognitive decline might require that you give them a gentle nudge through asking questions. Remember that asking questions is far more engaging than direct statements. 

"You get to your late 70’s - 90’s, let’s just be frank, you’re quite not as sharp as you used to be. It is the case that you are more vulnerable to making mistakes or being exploited by unscrupulous relatives or friends. The best time to plan for that is when you still have all your wits intact and to put safeguards in place later to be triggered when you might need them." —  Steve Vernon

"You wanna be proactive now because if you get to a point where you are - already having cognitive challenges whether it be mild cognitive impairment or dementia, not only won’t you really be able to think through these things in the best possible way but legally you won’t even be able to put someone in place. You can’t make a power of attorney if you don’t have full capacity to understand what it means to make a power of attorney." —  Naomi Karp

Connect with Steve Vernon:

Website: https://restoflife.com/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svernon/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevevernon1  

Books: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Vernon/e/B000APH5FS%3F  

Connect with Naomi Karp:

Website: https://thinkingaheadroadmap.org/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-karp-728355b/ 

Connect with The Annuity Man: 

Website: http://theannuityman.com/ 

Email: [email protected] 

Book: Owner’s Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g 

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