At a Glance The philosophy: Love and Respect for the Elderly If experience is the best teacher, then I have an advanced degree. Elder-Advisor combines my personal and professional lives into a service catering to a quality conscious and demanding clientele. My background as an entrepreneur, founding and managing a critical, highly demanding post-production business, brings one set of skills. My history of financial and estate planning for high net worth clients delivers another benefit to Elder-Advisor. And my personal experience of navigating my parents through adverse health and dramatic times trumps everything else. I seek to serve people that have lived a life full of accomplishments and rare experiences, the uncommon individual who has much wisdom and experience to share. In our time together we can do just that.

As your advocate: Either you work the system or the system works you!
One must know the rules of the game in order to work the system to one’s advantage. Don’t break any rules; but utilize all the rules to one’s advantage. Because the goal does move while we live and play. It is the nature of life. And it is a fact of public and private policy that changes must be adapted to.

In Depth

Philosophy
If only by virtue of having lived so long, dignity is a right each individual has earned. Curious that many people even deny they are in fact old! I believe there is a dignity and respect in this exalted position of life. For the aged have lived, learned and carry a wisdom we can only hope to achieve. In short the aged have lived rich lives that everyone benefits from. We stand on their shoulders.

If older people can be difficult, this is understandable. Besides they have earned it. Few things seem as easy as they once were. They are tough! There is a beauty to the moods and attitudes of the elderly. I greatly admire this.

I would like to see a complete overhaul of America’s attitude towards the aged. They are the most maligned of all demographics. They are a treasure to which we are beholden. Truly their wisdom and strength should be an inspiration to us all, for if each of us is lucky enough, we too shall grow to be old. And just that youth is to be celebrated, so too with the elderly. Old should sound even better than youth, simply because they are our best example of being.

Good Taste
One essential Elder-Advisor trait is a discerning aesthetic culled from a broad educational and cultural background. This allows for the proper interpretation of each my clients’ preferences and refinements. Elder-Advisor builds upon the rare ability to recognize and deliver to any taste without judgment. To possess the unique expertise of understanding what is needed for the comfort, dignity and quality of life of the demanding elder.

About Me
Those who know me say my first Elder-Advisor clients are very lucky, because they get me personally. I take this as a very high compliment. By reading “My Story”, you can see I came to this occupation almost by accident. Through the work I did with my parents, and continue to do, I have come to realize the joy from being amongst the elders of the world. I find special pleasure in comforting and helping them cope with the infirmities that accompany old age.

I never would have guessed my life’s history was guiding me to be exceptionally well suited to the task of advising and assisting Elders, estates and families. It requires an amazing array of disciplines.

It begins with my understanding the fundamental legal, financial and tax aspects from my years of financial and estate planning with The Equitable. I held Series 7 and 22, as well as L&D licenses and won numerous awards. My Parents were medical professionals, my Dad an Orthopedic Surgeon and my Mother a RN. Combined with a few infirmities of my own, for better or worse I have learned a great deal about how our Medical system works and how to navigate. My entrepreneurial success means managing a series of complex projects. The Studio demanding me to prioritize, delegate and collaborate with professionals and experts from diverse fields. To know what you know and more importantly to know what you don’t know and where to quickly find the best answers. To develop and realize a vision means adapting and remaining flexible within a constantly shifting environment while overseeing dozens of tasks. Sound familiar?

Basically I know what to look for and where to find answers. For example, when I analyze a Life Insurance portfolio to see whether excess premiums are needlessly being paid, I check ownership and beneficiary designations to see if they conflict with estate tax laws or the wishes of the insured. I also ascertain how those policies fit within the overall context of the Estate. In areas that I find myself less than expert I ask questions of professionals and will always continue my education with Universities and conferences.

Personally, I enjoy the finer things in life; I have a high appreciation for quality in all things. The ordinary is rarely acceptable. Life is too short for marginal or mass produced tastes. I would rather have a few fine things than many of lesser quality. I always enjoy the search for the exceptional and in sharing what I find great. Food, music, cooking, wine, film and reading are my favorite indoor activities. I can linger over a meal and conversation for hours. Skiing, travel, sailing, hiking, scuba diving, swimming are my favorite outdoor pleasures. I find thrills in pursuits with an edge, spectator sports have never really interested me.

My interests have grown naturally from my background. My parents were both medical professionals and classical musicians. They encouraged us children to play instruments. So I have a broad appreciation and understanding for all styles music. I studied composition and arranging in Boston. My Mother is also painter so I know something about art. A defining moment of early adult life was Semester at Sea, basically college on a ship going around the world. This opened my eyes not only to the world but also to realize the privileges of being born in America. Inherent benefits should never be taken for granted. From that I pursued a degree in Political Science with an emphasis on International Relations at USC and finally graduating with a BA from University of San Francisco.

After graduation in 1984 I wanted to make money. And so I first worked for a boutique investment bank and then the large financial firm, The Equitable. There I did well enough to graduate in the National Top 10 of my four year training class. It was with The Equitable that I came to understand Financial and Estate Planning. I earned several licenses and awards. I was successful and achieved outstanding recognition.

But in 1990 my passion for music prevailed, specifically composing soundtracks for television and film. And so I set about learning the new technologies of electronic music and the recording studio. Things were going rather well. By 1993 I was in LA working on Feature film soundtracks. Little did I know my studio’s backwater San Francisco neighborhood would become the epicenter of the Digital Revolution. I worked on some of the first interactive CD-ROMs and games and then came the Internet, hardly a household term at the time. Over the next few years my studio became an even more exciting place. With clients such as Microsoft Research, we were constantly climbing the next mountain of innovation and loving it. In 1999 a New York company bought my studio and moved to me to New York to be a Director in the Broadband Division.

Then in 2000 due to a persistent back problem, my doctor recommended swimming. I asked him, “Lagoons of the South Pacific?” He replied that would be an excellent choice. And so I rented a house in the Cook Islands, on an island named Aitutaki, and went to work on by back problem and writing a few screenplays.

With my back in fine shape, in 2001 I returned to New York. On a visit west I found my parents’ previously sturdy health to be in steep decline. So I decided to move back to San Francisco to help them. Little did I know it was to be a two year endeavor, and a joy to find a closeness and love that never before existed between us.

My Mother has Parkinson’s disease and my Father is afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. The onset of these conditions meant they could no longer live or act independently. I dedicated myself to successfully reorganizing my Parents’ lives in order to help them meet the challenges of advanced age. They needed meaningful, diverse and trustworthy assistance and relocation. It was a full-time job.

In the process of situating them I facilitated an extensive overhaul of a sophisticated Estate. I interfaced with dozens of friends, professionals and personnel touching upon every aspect of an Elder person’s life. Through my pro-active efforts to research and implement programs, I succeeded in substantially increasing their respective quality of life. Leveraging my history in financial management, I increased their income, substantially decreased income taxes, repositioned some debt and was instrumental in preserving a significant percentage of their hard earned net worth.

But the greatest reward of our journey was the pride and character instilled in us as a Family.
Indeed assisting is a noble endeavor. Today both are safe and sound.

Currently I handle the affairs of my parents and their estate. Thankfully my diverse background in finance and business along with the strong moral compass my parents gave me long ago, this all has given me the necessary tools to conceive of Elder-Advisor. For my Parents’ interests are my interests: Dignity, comfort, peace of mind in health, safety and financial security. I am the responsible party.

I am in charge of the oversight and management of my entire Parents’ legal, medical, financial, property management issues and provide important moral support. Theirs is a reasonably diversified estate that requires a diverse array of skills and knowledge. This in turn has demanded that I update past skills, continuously adapt and learn new disciplines in order to evaluate and act in their best interests. I can also do this for you and your family.

My patient temperament is combined with a deep respect and personal curiosity for those fortunate enough to live long, full, interesting lives.