Vikki was widowed many years ago and has been a client of Citrus’ from that time, benefitting from the financial support we offer. Vikki did not have any dependents and her estate was not a large value estate. With two small annuities and her state pension, she needed to balance the drawings from her investments to ensure that she had enough money to live on for the rest of her life.
Citrus undertook the development of detailed forward-planning illustrations to show how Vikki’s financial profile might evolve and adapt to understand not just that Vikki could meet expenses but that she would likely be able to meet care costs.
As Vikki’s age progressed, her memory and mental faculties diminished, and Vikki found that she needed more care than was possible at home. She decided to pass Power of Attorney over to two people who she knew she could rely on and, at this point, Citrus was happy to assist Vikki and the new guardians of her estate and future.
With the change in Vikki’s circumstances, Citrus again created illustration of Vikki’s potential needs for income and lump sums to meet her care needs. We assessed the value of Vikki’s home and gave consideration to perhaps letting the property to bring in more income or sell the property and place the profits in an income generating investment or perhaps purchase an annuity.
After evaluating of the cost of looking after Vikki’s property, the balance of income whilst living in care and the necessity to manage the property we concluded, after consultation with Vikki’s Attorneys and keeping Vikki informed, that the best course was to sell the property and place the profits in an investment in order to give Vikki an income and the flexibility to draw lump sums if necessary.
This forward planning has resulted in many years of stability for Vikki and has ensured that she remains in a robust financial position with ad hoc reviews and advice provided as and when needed, as well as a formal annual review.
Citrus continues to work with the client and the attorneys of their Lasting Power of Attorney, and this has proven to be an essential foundation for Vikki’s care as she more recently took a fall and the injury to her shoulder resulted in a severe curtailment of her physical capabilities requiring a move into a care home. Citrus assisted the client and her attorneys in obtaining a full assessment and payout form Vikki’s long term care insurance plan.
Despite the problems Vikki has faced in later life and the difficulties of her financial position, Citrus has strived to ensure Vikki’s later life was a comfortable one.