Redlig Financial Services

A Daily Money Management Case Study

Using Innovation to Solve Real-Life Family Money Management Problems

I was contacted by the daughter of an elderly woman inquiring about my services as a result of a recommendation from a lawyer handling her estate. The woman turned out to be the Assistant Ambassador to Ireland and did not reside in the states. Her mother has Alzheimer's disease and was recently placed into a nursing home because she could no longer care for herself. The daughter’s next concern immediately focused on her finances.

In addition, the mother had two aides and a caregiver tending to her needs on a 24 hour basis. This included preparing her meals, medicines and other critical functions.

The initial scope of my responsibility was to bring her financial affairs in order and maintain them for her for the conceivable future. This required me to go through all of her sources of income, including pension, social security and alimony. I was also responsible for implementing a payroll process, since we realized early on that the aides were being paid in the simplest manner and not as employees, which they legally were.

As part of the review of her affairs, all information was reviewed and entered into our electronic model, leveraging the use of Quicken personal finance software and OFX technology. This serves multiple purposes:

It tells me what the schedule and cycle of each of her bill.
It keeps all of her information electronic
Provides for the ability to automatically update account information using the internet.
Allows for the creation of an accountability mechanism when it comes to reporting on the status of her affairs to her daughter
All bills would be converted to on-line access, where possible to facilitate electronic payment and monitoring.
It standardizes our approach by leveraging common processes for tracking and administering each client’s financial affairs.

Here are some of the challenges we encountered:

Problem #1:

The daughter had no idea that this function was not being performed legally. A formal payroll needed to be implemented.

Solution:

We implemented our Total Payroll Management™ Solution, our own branded payroll process. This included electronic deposit of employees' paycheck and withdrawal of payroll cost, automatic calculation and remittance of all withholding taxes, and calculation of 1099's and W-2's.

Problem #2:

As a result of the distance between mother and daughter, how do we implement an accountability model?

Solution:

Since our accountability model is totally electronic based, we transmit a synopsis of her financial activity to Ireland on a monthly basis, leveraging Quicken^® Personal Finance software.

Both mother and daughter are happy and doing well. The process we have set up has relieved a tremendous burden from her. She has also been a reference on numerous occasions.