Credit Professional 2018 Spring_2018_magazine | Page 13

Planning for Diminished
Capacity and Illness
by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
“Diminished financial capacity”
is a term used to describe a
decline in a person’s ability to
manage money and financial
assets to serve his or her
best interests, including the
inability to understand
the consequences of
investment decisions.
While the inability to manage
one’s money is clearly a
problem in itself, when people
of any age lose the capability to
manage their finances, they
may also become more
vulnerable to investment
fraud and other forms of
financial abuse.
Preparing for your own
financial future: Hope for
the best, but plan for
the worst
Losing the ability to manage
your finances may be
something you’d rather not
think about. We often think
about our financial capabilities,
like our ability to drive, as an
important measure of our
independence. But planning
ahead may help you stay in
control of your finances, even
if diminished financial capacity
becomes a serious problem.
Taking the steps listed below
now may help avoid or
minimize problems for you and
your family.
Organize your
important documents
Organize and store important
documents in a safe, easily
accessible location. That way,
they are readily available in an
emergency. Give copies to
trusted loved ones or let them
know where to find the
documents. Typically, the
following documents will be
most relevant to your finances:

Bank and brokerage
statements and account
information. Make a list of
your accounts with account
numbers. Keep a separate
list of online bank and
brokerage passwords and
PINs and keep the lists in
a safe place. In addition,
make a list of the locations
of your safe-deposit boxes,
including where the keys to
the safe-deposit boxes are
located. Also, keep your
recent bank and brokerage
statements available, as
well as information about
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The Credit Professional
12
Spring 2018