This entire last year was spent trying to walk a line between present needs and future considerations. The entire goal of that was to maintain or grow the assets my mother had while she was still able to have all her needs and comforts met. Now that the present situation has changed I need to rewire my brain.
If I can be honest the voice of my father lives in my head, and when I consider liquidating the annuity it screams at me. If we look at the annuity and all the facts surrounding it there isn’t a good argument for keeping it. It pays a years income that is a fraction of the total amount. When my third of the annuity passes to me it will be locked away until I am 73. Sure that would prevent me from reckless spending, but it also isn’t available to me in any good years of my life. And, finally, the death benefit of the annuity is the total amount of the annuity. That last point confuses me about the middle point.
There are ways to maintain balance. The annuity is such an amount that if we were to simple put it in a checking account and use it we wouldn’t be able to spend it all even possible expenses of $10,000 to $12,000 a month for elder care. That being said we can keep it in an investment account and have it grow while we withdrawal a monthly amount to cover all necessary expenses.
It is my mother’s money. I should simply ask her. My father’s voice in my head doesn’t get a say. It is my mother who has a say. I am wasting my time with worry on what my father would think about me liquidating an asset when it is no longer his asset to worry about.
I’m glad I wrote this down this morning. It has freed my mind and given me a new level of peace.
David Huzzard Writes 