Episodes

Are you considering how you and your family will pay for long-term care? If so, we strongly encourage you to learn about Medicaid. To help you get a better understanding of what Medicaid is and how you could benefit from it, Tom West and Arvette Reid enlist in the help of Valerie Geiger. A founding partner of Cucinelli Geiger, PC, Valerie is an elder law attorney whose practice focuses on helping people with special needs, and she is well-versed in Medicaid planning. Today, Valerie shares what y...

Understanding Medicare and how to make it work best for you isn’t easy. That’s why Tom West and Arvette Reid have brought in an expert. Today, Tom and Arvette speak with John Norce, founder of Medicare Portal, to help you get a better grasp on Medicare’s ins and outs. John and his team specialize in helping seniors make informed decisions around their Medicare benefits. In this episode, John shares what you need to know about Medicare. In this episode, you’ll learn: What Medicare parts A, B, C,...

Whether you’re facing a health crisis or the challenges that come with aging, there are several resources that can help ease the burden — and chances are, many of them are in your own community. Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid are joined by guest Mary Lee Anderson to explore the benefits that community services have to offer the senior population and those in need of support. As the executive director of Senior Services of Alexandria, Mary Lee knows how impactful it can be for people to access ...

You might feel stressed out while managing someone else’s money during their time of need. And understandably so. Between navigating unknown financial and healthcare territories to facing pressures from family members, there is a lot to consider and knowing where to start can be just as challenging. Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid share five actionable steps for managing other people’s money, so you can stop worrying and start making decisions that will help you achieve the best possible outcom...

When a health crisis occurs, we all want to thrive. However, there are psychological hurdles that may make us resistant to accepting the help we need in order to achieve our best possible outcomes. Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid discuss common psychological hurdles that keep people from thriving. They explore the deeper meanings behind people’s resistance and share how they help clients overcome those barriers. In this episode, you’ll learn: The deeper meaning behind people’s desires to keep ...

Whether you’re seeking general or specialized advice in the financial world, it’s often difficult to anticipate what you’ll really be getting from these services. In this episode, Tom West and Arvette Reid break down specific examples of actionable items and recommendations they provide to clients who are going through the Life Care Affordability planning process. They also use real-world examples to illustrate different scenarios that clients may experience. In this episode, you’ll learn: Wha...

When it comes to managing the healthcare and financial needs for loved ones with a health diagnosis, there are those who thrive and those who fail to thrive. But what sets apart those who prosper from those who don’t? Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid discuss how they define thriving and failure to thrive in the intersection of healthcare and finances and health diagnoses, and why certain key behaviors set these two groups apart. In this episode, you’ll learn: The difference being proactive vers...

Oftentimes, when families are managing a chronic illness diagnosis like dementia, the conversations they have about money aren’t really about the money. Today, Arvette Reid and Tom West are joined by special guest and Executive Director of Insight Memory Care Center, Christi Clark, to explore how family conversations can be guided to uncover the real fears or hopes behind a family’s financial discussion. In this episode, you will learn: How Christi helps families become more aware and accepting...

In today’s episode, Tom West and Arvette Reid are joined once again by special guest, Lindsey Vajpeyi, the director of education and outreach at Insight Memory Care Center. Following up on their last episode about Insight Memory Care Center’s SHARE program, Lindsey, Arvette, and Tom are back to explore case studies that demonstrate how the SHARE program has made significant and positive changes to families’ experiences with making care decisions for their loved ones. In this episode, you’ll lear...

Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid are joined by special guest, Lindsey Vajpeyi. Lindsey is the director of education and outreach at Insight Memory Care Center, an adult daycare center in Fairfax, Virginia that seeks to educate, care, and support those who are affected by dementia. Insight Memory Care Center fills a unique gap in the market by providing a SHARE program. SHARE offers professional guidance and support to help early-stage individuals and their families make important decisions about...

Tom West and Arvette Reid are back to explore the money-talk taboo. Today, they discuss why professionals in the senior housing and healthcare industry are uncomfortable with talking to their clients about money. Using Arvette’s valuable first-hand experience in the healthcare industry, she and Tom discuss: Reasons why healthcare professionals may have a low comfort level with money-talk The challenges with clients’ lack of understanding around their future healthcare costs How administrators o...

Money is a taboo topic for many people. But when a family has avoided talking about money, they’re likely to experience significant challenges when a loved one requires long-term care. In today’s episode, Tom West and Arvette Reid discuss the importance of talking to your family about money and why it makes a difference in a long-term care situation. They explore: Reasons why people resist money-talk Why it may be harder for those with health needs to discuss their finances How to approach talk...

In part one, you learned about the heart of Lifecare Affordability Planning and how Tom West and Arvette Reid offer support that goes beyond the call of traditional financial planning. Now it’s time to learn more about Tom and Arvette on a more personal level. Part two is all about getting to know your new podcast hosts! In this episode, you’ll learn: What Tom and Arvette do for fun Why unsung caregivers are Tom’s heroes What they would each do with a bottomless amount of money Why Arvette plac...

In this debut episode of the Lifecare Affordability Planning Podcast, you will meet Tom West and Arvette Reid of Signature Estate & Investment Advisors (SEIA). Tom and Arvette explain how they help families navigate the intersections of healthcare, family, psychology, and money in this heartfelt discussion. In this episode, you will learn: About the paths that led Tom and Arvette to work in financial services What gap in traditional financial planning is now being filled by SEIA’s Lifecare Affo...