Financial advisors interested in separating themselves from their colleagues should focus their attention on long-term care for their clients.

In her seminar at the Million Dollar Roundtable annual meeting in Toronto on Monday, Karen Henderson, Toronto-based founder and CEO of the Long Term Care Planning Network, focused on the role the financial planner should play in the aging population.

“Differentiate yourself, I guarantee if you don’t, the person behind your or beside you, will,” said Henderson, addressing a large crowd at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Henderson encouraged advisors to be proactive with their clients when dealing with the prospect of long-term care by employing financial gerontology, which applies social gerontology to financial services. “It looks at the boomer demographic and the relationship between health, wealth and aging,” she says.

Henderson outlined how an advisor can interact with their client in the long-term care planning process, which she feels can help avert the tearing apart of families, as can happen when dealing with the emotional and financial burden of caring for an elderly parent over an extended period of time.

“Reasonable people that believe the chronic illness statistics also believe the worst will happen to someone else. However, they can comprehend consequences of illness on people they love. Risk doesn’t sell care planning, Consequences sell care planning,” Henderson emphasizes.

Living benefits are integral to Henderson’s vision of long-term care planning. To her, living benefits are not necessarily about the person being ensured, but actually about protecting and supporting the family.

Once an advisor has a plan in place with a client and/or the client’s family, Henderson says that it is vital to revisit the plan at least once a year. “Revaluate the plan, communicate it and adjust it based on events such as births and deaths.”

Henderson used the example of her struggles with the long-term care of her father. He had a 14-year battle with a multitude of ailments common to the elderly, most notably Alzheimer’s disease.

“Alzheimer’s is a booming epidemic which no country in the world is prepared for. It is not a one or two year disease (before death). It is one of the costliest diseases in the world,” she says.

Henderson ended her discussion by reiterating how integral a financial advisor is in planning for a client’s long-term care.

“The question people fear most is who would take care of me if I got sick? Do not let your client fear this question, you are the logical people, the trusted advisor,” she concludes.