Client Testimonials

M&W - Downsizing

5/19/2020

"As our 80's approached, we began to think even our ranch home we had moved into in 2007 was beginning to be a lot of work. It was on a corner lot, which meant shoveling on two sides and lots of lawn and garden to maintain. I was also getting tired of planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning if truth be told!

After talking with Jane at Coast to Coast and our local doctor, we heard a similar story. "If you are considering moving to Independent Living, do it BEFORE you have any major physical or mental ailment." Since my husband is a professional musician and plays often in places like this, we already had some notion about what these places looked like. We filed away the advice we had gotten but began to make inquiries. If you make the decision when you are fairly healthy, you have the opportunity to make choices; you decide where and when you want to move, you decide what you want to take and what you no longer need or want, you have an opportunity to visit your selected place often and enjoy a meal, or happy hour while meeting some of the residents.

We have since met residents whose family made all the choices, as best they could, and then "dropped off mom or dad". If they arrived from a different state, the confusion was doubled. We compared prices, buy-ins vs. monthly rentals, size and newness of operation (let a place iron out the kinks before jumping in). location is also an important consideration. We finally selected a place, put our names on a waiting list, made several visits which began to give us "ownership", got the measurements of a two bedroom that we wanted and began the "downsize".

Since moving in almost three years ago, we are very pleased. We take part in lots of provided trips to concerts, restaurants, and on scenic drives. We make use of the arts program, exercise classes, and game room activities. I enjoy writing for our monthly newspaper while my husband accompanies the small choir. And dinner in the dining room is also a nice experience which again provides a chance for social interaction. Turns out WE made a good decision."

M&W

CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO ON YOU TUBE ABOUT DOWNSIZING HERE

A&A - Retirement Planning and Long-Term Care

1/3/22

"Jane Bourette and Coast to Coast have been exceptional over the past 12+ years in helping our parents finalize their retirement planning and helping both them and us in navigating through life’s challenges. Early in their relationship, this planning included ensuring the necessary legal estate documents were in-place and developing an investment plan for their retirement accounts that met their income needs and matched their conservative risk profile. It also wisely included planning for long term care should the need ever arise.

When our father faced an unexpected job loss late in his career, Jane helped walk them through the option of a reverse mortgage, allowing our father to retire knowing our parent’s income and home would continue to be secure.  Their retirement established, our parents became active with local fraternal and community groups, tried out new hobbies and interests, travelled to Europe annually, and visited with their children and grandchildren constantly.

Our father would have 10 years of a fulfilling retirement before dying unexpectedly in 2017. With Jane’s assistance, the necessary changes in ownership of their home, investments, and insurance were all handled with relative ease. Investments needing to be changed were done so without tax penalty and our father’s long term care benefits were rolled over and added to our mother’s plan.

Three years later our mother unfortunately faced her own health crisis during the midst of the COVID19 epidemic, leading to hospitalizations and an unknown future. Jane reunited us with the original drafter of the estate documents who confirmed that they remained valid as-written, allowing us to address our mother’s health and financial needs without delay. Jane also provided the name of a private care manager who for months then helped us navigate the myriad issues surrounding our mother’s care. A breakthrough in our mother’s care came from a personal contact of the care manager who was just chosen to lead a memory care facility near our home. After some evaluation, the facility proved to be an excellent fit and our mother was moved there a short while later. We’ve been very pleased with her move as she is now more at ease and calls us twice daily for a video chat. We’ve also been able to see her more often given the short drive and relaxation of visiting restrictions.

With our mother’s care needs resolving, we turned to focus on her Cape house and agreed with Jane’s recommendation to consider selling.  Jane again used her network to provide the name of a recommended agent we could consider. We immediately liked the agent who was able to provide numerous contacts of her own to help us prepare the house for sale. The agent proved excellent throughout the process and we had a swift and easy sale this past spring.

With the house sold we are now working with Jane to plan the next steps of our mother’s estate, confident in her expertise to anticipate and address our needs.  Throughout our relationship Jane has proven to be a keen financial advisor as well as a mentor and educator always ready to help broaden our knowledge."

A&A

Contact us for a recording of an educational workshop on Long Term Care Options