Page 4 - El Tejano June 2017

El Tejano Magazine
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Five Steps To Plan For Dealing With Diminished Capacity And Illness

(NAPSI)—Aging can change many things in a person’s legal authority to make fi nancial decisions for you if you
life, including the ability to manage one’s own money. cannot. Th at person is called your agent. A fi nancial pow-
Th at sobering reality is behind the creation of a new er of attorney diff ers from a health care power of attorney,
resource, “Planning for Diminished Capacity and Illness,” which covers only health care decisions.
issued by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission
and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Aft er signing a durable fi nancial power of attorney, you
Th ese organizations off er this key tip for how to prepare can still manage your money and property as long as you
for your fi nancial future: Hope for the best but plan for have the ability to make decisions. Since you’re essentially
the worst. giving fi nancial decision-making authority to your agent,
it’s critical he or she be someone you trust.
Th e Problem
Step 4: Keep things up to date. If something changes
“Diminished fi nancial capacity” generally refers to a (for example, you open a new account), keep your infor-
decline in a person’s ability to mation as current as possible.
manage assets to serve his or Your trusted contact may also
her best interests. When peo- change over time. Keep your
ple of any age lose the capabil- fi nancial professionals informed
ity to manage their fi nances, of changes regarding who has
they may also become more authority to review your account
vulnerable to investment fraud or whom they should contact in
and other forms of fi nancial an emergency.
abuse.
Step 5: Speak up if something
What You Can Do goes wrong. If you ever think
Preparing now can help make things easier for someone is taking advantage of
Th ese fi ve steps can help you you later, should you ever become too ill to man- you or that you’ve been the vic-
prepare. age your own fi nances. tim of a fraud, speak up. Sadly,
sometimes even family mem-
Step 1: Organize your im- bers, fi nancial professionals and
portant fi nancial documents. Store them in a safe, easily other people they think they can trust commit fi nancial
accessible location. Give copies to trusted loved ones or crimes. If this happens to you or your loved one, you’re
let them know where to fi nd them. When it comes to not alone—and the sooner you let someone know about
bank and brokerage statements and account information, it, the better chance there is of putting an end to it.
make a list of your accounts with account numbers. Keep
a separate list of online bank and brokerage passwords Learn More
and PINs, and keep both lists in a safe place. List the
locations of your safe-deposit boxes and their keys. Keep If you have questions or concerns about issues with
your mortgage and credit information, insurance policies, brokerage accounts and investments, call the FINRA
retirement benefi ts and Social Security information easily Securities Helpline for Seniors toll-free at (844) 574-3577.
accessible. You may submit a formal complaint to FINRA about a
fi nancial professional or fi rm at www.fi nra.org/complaint
Step 2: If you work with a fi nancial professional, give that or call (301) 590-6500.
person emergency contact information in case he or she
can’t reach you or suspects something is wrong. Discuss If you have an issue with a consumer fi nancial product
what you would consider to be an emergency and specify (such as a mortgage or credit card), submit a complaint to
when your fi nancial professional may contact someone on the CFPB. Visit www.consumerfi nance.gov/complaint or
your behalf. call (855) 411-2372.

Step 3: Consider creating a durable fi nancial power of To learn more about how to protect your money, visit the
attorney. A fi nancial power of attorney gives someone the FINRA Foundation’s website: www.SaveandInvest.org.
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