Healthy World, Healthy Nation, Healthy You

Planning for Your Estate and Your Life~ Combining Financial and Advanced Care Planning in Meeting Your Security Goals

Karl  M Ahlswede, MD

Director of Pain and Palliative at Bryn MAwr Hospital, Bryn Mawr, PA and Medical Director for the Pain and Palliative Care Program for Main Line Health System, Bryn Mawr, PA.

Robert J. Sims, CFP®, MSFS, CLU, ChFC.

Bob is currently the Chairman of Sims Financial Services LLC, located in Wayne, Pennsylvania.  The firm’s focus is on developing, implementing, and monitoring personalized financial plans for individuals and businesses.

Background:

karlKarl M Ahlswede, MD is a graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder with a degree in pharmacy and then attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa. He conducts a private practice in Advance Care Planning, a service to individuals who desire full disclosure of their plans for personalized end of life care.

Karl is a former surgeon who made a mid career decision to change his practice and focus on Palliative Care. {Palliative care (from palliare, to cloak) is an area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients. palliative medicine is appropriate for patients in all disease stages, including those undergoing treatment for curable illnesses and those living with chronic diseases, as well as patients who are nearing the end of life.}

Robert J. Sims was one of the early pioneers of financial planning.  He was the Founding President of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the International Association of Financial Planning and has lectured nationally on the subject

Overview:

To many of us, the term “estate planning” conjures up images of extremely wealthy people paying lawyers large amounts of money to set up complex trusts and elaborately complicated wills specifying how their riches should be distributed when they die.

“Not something I need,” you might be thinking. But think again. Estate planning is not just for the wealthy or the elderly. In fact, even if your assets are only worth $25,000, some aspects of estate planning are important for you. If you have a blended family or more substantial assets, an estate plan is critical.

What we discuss with our guests is the role of financial planning and a new approach to end of life care–referred to as ACP-Advanced Care Planning that will ensure that your wishes for how you want to be treated in the event of a serious illness, will be respected.

Our guests are a financial planner and a physician who specializes in Advanced Care Planning. The guests discuss how financial planning works and how ACP can replace advanced directives, thus ensuring that how you want your life to end will encompass both the financial elements and the care you want to receive.

3 Key Points:

  1. Financial planning should include a well thought out plan for how expenses related to a long term and final illness will be considered. Advanced Directives have been typically utilized as part of the planning process
  2. Advanced Care Planning-a process by which a physician works with the individual/couple/family to consider how their wishes will be considered in a serious and/ or terminal illness situation offers a more in depth discussion and review of how the person’s wishes will be carried out and effectively communicated to all members of the healthcare team.
  3. Advanced Care Panning is thought to be a better option to Advanced Directives which are often ignored in clinical decision making.

 

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