Wealthy people may create estate planning challenges with the quest for a longer life.
Forbes recently discussed some of the challenges of an increasing life span, especially where money is no problem, in “Estate Planning For The Ultra-Wealthy When Living To 120 Or Beyond.”
Medical advances and new personalized medical care plans, such as concierge care, make it so that those with sufficient means can make it far more likely than ever that they will live much longer than their peers.
This could mean that in the near future, it will be common for the ultra-wealthy to live for 100 years and even decades longer, in some cases. This will have some benefits, but it also comes with some unique estate planning challenges.
The biggest issue is that it is common for people to retain control of their own assets until they pass away. That can become a problem the longer people live. Scientists still do not have a cure for dementia and the longer people live, the more likely they are to suffer from it.
A long life of carefully managing money could easily be undone. Younger family members might also start to grow impatient waiting to take control and cause problems.
The ultra-wealthy may want to take a fresh look at estate planning, including who receives financial control and at what point.
Reference: Forbes (Jan. 18, 2017) “Estate Planning For The Ultra-Wealthy When Living To 120 Or Beyond.”
