Increasingly wealthy people are paying for medical services that could potentially help them live for over a century. That creates estate planning challenges that did not exist for previous generations of the ultra-wealthy.
No one can guarantee that they will live a longer than normal life, no matter how much money they have to spend on their health care. However, medical advances and new personalized medical care plans, such as concierge care, make it so that those with enough 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.
Forbes recently discussed some of the challenges in "Estate Planning For The Ultra-Wealthy When Living To 120 Or Beyond."
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 who plan to live long lives, might want to consider an estate plan that gives control to someone else before they pass away. At what age should that be done and under what circumstances, are matters these families should discuss.
Reference: Forbes (Jan. 18, 2017) "Estate Planning For The Ultra-Wealthy When Living To 120 Or Beyond."
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