The Open-Faced Sandwich Generation

If you need proof that grandparents are the foundation of a family, look at any holiday gathering. The people who attend do so because they have a connection to the oldest members of the family. In multigenerational households, heritage languages survive as grandparents speak them and watch content streaming channels in them, so the family’s ancestral language fills the house. In ideal circumstances, estate planning lawyers help grandparents continue to act as an anchor for their families, by helping them stay financially independent of their children as they age; no estate planning lawyer can turn a client of modest means into a multimillionaire, but you can preserve your financial independence by buying long-term care insurance and making practical choices about housing. For some grandparents, though, even thinking about this sounds like high class worries. Few situations are more stressful than trying to support yourself and your minor grandchildren on your retirement income alone. Estate planning attorneys are not just for people who can afford to spoil their grandchildren, though. If you need help finding as much financial stability as you can while you are the primary caregiver for your grandchildren, contact a Tampa estate planning lawyer.

When Your Retirement Income Supports You and Your Grandchildren

Much ink has been spilled about the challenges faced by the “sandwich generation,” middle-aged people who are a source of support and care both for their children and for their elderly parents. Even before the Internet, magazines with a target audience of working mothers gave their readers encouragement and consolation as they attempted superhuman feats of time management and fielded complaints from every generation of their families, about matters great and small.

Members of the sandwich generation at least have increasing balances on their 401(k) accounts, or at least, the most fortunate of them do. Grandparents who are the primary source of support for their grandchildren face an even bigger challenge; call them the open-faced sandwich generation.

Seniors are often the ones to step up when their children are unable to support their grandchildren, financially and otherwise. If all you have to do is take an early withdrawal from your retirement account so your grandchildren and their parents don’t get evicted from their home, or if all you have to do is be the matriarch of a multigenerational household that runs mostly on your income and savings, consider yourself lucky. Many grandparents are alone with their minor children; money is as tight for them as it is for young parents, but unlike young parents, elderly grandparents don’t have all the time in the world ahead of them. Some of them are raising their grandchildren on Social Security income alone; if they are in a formal fostering arrangement, they may also get public benefits in their capacity as foster parents.

Contact David Toback About Estate Planning for Grandparents Who Stepped Up

A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you if you are the main caregiver for your grandchildren.  Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.

Source:

msn.com/en-us/health/other/i-m-raising-my-4-year-old-granddaughter-on-my-own-in-my-60s-i-expect-to-work-until-i-die/ar-AA1WvrWL?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=699536a1ff8b4b6b9100cd37553d87ee&ei=45