Planning for the long term is unsettling because growing older is stacked with complexities and risks. Growing older is unfamiliar territory for most. People of all ages can anticipate the challenges of life leading up to and beyond retirement. The value of starting early, before one faces a crisis, will equip adults/clients with knowledge and insight, preparing them more comprehensively to navigate and move forward. This process will equip them to take advantage of more opportunities that life has in store. 

About Our Speaker

Carol Marak got the wake-up call while helping to care for her parents. It raised the question: Who would help to care for her when she grew older? Unlike her parents, Carol was divorced and childless, lived alone in a suburb, and had little savings. She learned through caregiving the massive effort it involved, and that care could someday be needed for her—only she would not have family nearby to step up to the challenge.

From that experience, she wrote, SOLO AND SMART: The Roadmap for a Supportive and Secure Future. Carol founded the Elder Orphan Facebook Group, which launched in 2016. She also mentors and teaches others about the strategies that her book discusses.