Carolyn dedicated her adult life to building a highly-successful online shopping network wherein she started in at the ground floor doing most of the modeling for the products. With her intelligence and diligence she rose to be a top executive and a board member of the company. Her professional life was relentless and rewarding. Carolyn opted not to have children of her own instead opting for cultivating a thriving career. She married late in life and her husband, equally successful, has one adult son from a previous marriage. As Carolyn and her husband worked on their estate planning, Carolyn was challenged with who to name as her power of attorney for health care, Advance Health Care agent, trustee and executor. She knew she wanted to leave everything she had to her niece, a woman she has always loved and protected from a far but did not feel comfortable burdening her niece with the duty and responsibility of taking care of Carolyn and her medical and financial needs come time she needs assistance. Carolyn loves her step-son but he was a grown man when she and his father married and that is not the kind of relationship they have. Carolyn is vibrant, fiercely intelligent and a great advocate for herself and her needs so immediately she does not need to be pressured to assign someone but she knows one day her acuity will change and she must be prepared.

Carolyn is more comfortable with professional contracts than she is personal promises. She is used to hiring and defining other professionals roles and responsibilities and she is more comfortable compensating them for their efforts and expertise than asking a loved one to give these efforts away. Carolyn ultimately decided the best solution to navigating the last chapter of her successful life is to hire a professional personal fiduciary who will be her backup advocate. This professional fiduciary will be given access to all Carolyn’s medical records so that she is updated on Carolyn’s medical conditions as they progress. When the day comes that Carolyn can no longer advocate her health care priorities, her fiduciary will have spent years preparing to step in an make decisions just as Carolyn would. Similarly, Carolyn’s private professional fiduciary is hired to track and monitor all her financial investments, real property and personal belongings so when the day comes Carolyn needs assistance in paying bills, managing her investments and distributing her assets upon her passing, her private professional fiduciary has had ample exposure to Carolyn’s wants, wishes and decision-making skills.

For women (and men) who do not have generational support, retaining a private professional fiduciary alleviates the uncertainty and instability solo agers often feel in their final years. Private professional fiduciaries are licensed, bonded and insured to offer greater security and trust to the client – fiduciary relationship.