THE COLOR OF MONEY
Financial caretakers help seniors who have no family to turn to

By Michelle Singletary

In several recent columns, I've advised seniors to look within the ranks of their family for people to help manage their money in the event they can't do it themselves.

Or as one reader approaching his senior years wrote: "What do you do if you have no family members or friends who are younger than yourself? I am divorced, with no children and estranged from my only sibling and her children. I have no one to turn to other than friends who are also my age. I am not old yet, but this issue does concern me when I start to think about it. Are there any sort of financial caretakers that you can hire?"

Actually, there are.

You can always hire an accountant, financial adviser or attorney. But they don't come cheap.

However, there is a growing and reasonably priced industry of financial caregivers who specialize in helping seniors manage their day-to-day personal finances.

If you need this kind of help, there are two organizations you should contact — the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM) and American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM). NAPGCM is a nonprofit organization that provides referrals to licensed professionals, primarily social workers and nurses, who work with families in need of assistance with caregiving. About 20 percent of geriatric care managers also provide daily money management services, according to Linda Fodrini-Johnson, a certified geriatric care manager and NAPGCM board member.

Also for an hourly fee, daily money managers affiliated with the AADMM will help you organize and keep track of your financial and medical paperwork or make calls to your creditors. On average, the cost is between $25 and $60 per hour.

Liz Crystal, an AADMM member based in Green Brook, N.J., charges $50 a visit and can do everything from helping people pay bills to explaining to seniors what's in their investment portfolio.

Lee Keene, also an AADMM member and daily money manager out of Charlotte, N.C., said he got into the business after a caregiver stole $40,000 from his elderly parents.

Keene said he works with Alzheimer's patients, bedridden individuals and seniors who have trouble seeing or writing. He charges $25 an hour with a two-hour minimum.

The AADMM and NAPGCM point out that the profession of daily money management is not regulated by any state or federal organization. So don't hire anyone without doing some homework and asking lots of questions.

Look, if you don't have anybody else to help, the cost of a daily money manager seems reasonable to me.