What 'Succession' and Sumner Redstone can Teach us About Planning Ahead for Senior Care

Former executive chairman of  Viaciom's Sumner Redstone,’s story was a key influence on the HBO hit series Succession, riveting the country with the litigious financial power struggle that has embroiled his family. Though the majority of clients may not have to worry about billions of dollars in assets, disagreements over money can and often do prevent families from making the appropriate choices about care.

Medicare, the primary insurer for 55 million older adults and people with disabilities, does not typically pay for long-term care services including nursing homes and in-home care. The majority of people don't have the financial resources to pay for the staggering costs senior care, but make "too much" to qualify for Medicaid assistance. If you are among the “in-betweeners,” you’ll need to be resourceful because care is expensive.

Baby boomers are turning 65 at an amazing rate of 10,000 per day, and 70% of Americans over that age will need long-term care at some point in their lives. Planning ahead for this type of care is becoming increasingly vital, especially if you would rather age in-place rather than in a nursing home. Because in-home caregivers average $22 per days, many elderly citizens depend on care from family members, and the majority of them are dipping into their own pockets to do so.

See Jody Gastfriend, What 'Succession' and Sumner Redstone can Teach us About Planning Ahead for Senior Care, Forbes, September 27, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.