Estate Planning for Multigenerational Caregivers
More than 12% of American parents who are caring for children under the age of 18 also provide unpaid care to aging adults. All told, these multigenerational caregivers provide more than two and a half hours of unpaid care a day, on average, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
This number will only increase as life expectancy continues to crawl upward over time, and as professional care becomes more costly. This means that estate planning that addresses the needs of all three generations–the minor children, the caregiving generation, and the aging generation–is all that more critical.
The caregiver generation is often spread thin, stressed out, and expends a lot of emotional and financial resources to care for two generations of needs. If something were to befall that person, it would impact the minor children and the aging adults significantly and simultaneously. Having a comprehensive estate plan that addresses the needs of both generations is imperative. Our default procedures are not designed to address the responsibilities of a multigenerational caregiver.
Similarly, the aging generation ought to address that someone provided unpaid care for their needs. Oftentimes, the aging generation’s estate plan–if they even have one–simply leaves any remaining assets at death to their children, in equal shares. It typically is not amended to provide for an offset for any expenses used on their behalf, or to create an unequal distribution to account for the caregiving provided by one adult child but not from another. Frequently, the caregiving adult child assumes that their caregiving will be recognized by their siblings. Sadly, that isn’t always the case. These arrangements need to be documented to avoid any unnecessary resent, or worse, any unnecessary litigation.
There is a lot riding on the shoulders of multigenerational caregivers in a family. Any crisis will upend all of the responsibilities they must meet, and dramatically disrupt the care being provided to the other two generations. A comprehensive estate plan is imperative for the caregiving generation, as to avoid any disruption in care to the aging generation and the minor children, as well as an estate plan for the aging generation to document the care being provided to them.