Thomas (aged 84) and his wife Florence (aged 85) live in their unencumbered home in the Sydney Hills District. Thomas has just fully retired and closed his business which he had been operating part time.
Florence recently had a fall and Thomas has also found it difficult to come inside and up the stairs from the garage. As a result of this they have decided they want to install a lift in their home. They have done research and the cost is likely to be around $70,000 to $80,000.00.
Their car is over 15 years old, so they are considering replacing it. Thomas has a credit card with a balance of around $15,000. He would like to use funds from the Reverse Mortgage to pay this balance off. As they use it for a lot of transactions, they do not want to close the credit card.
Then they want to have a credit line available for one off contingent events or discretionary spending such as travel. Having funds available will also mean they can pay for aged care assistance in the home if they need it in future.
They have 7 children who are all financially independent. If necessary the property could be sold to pay for aged care if needed, but the children are also committed to helping their parents stay at home for as long as possible. The funds are not for regular expenses but for one off expense including discretionary spending (such as the adding of the elevator.)
(Names, locations, amounts, & other personal details have been changed to protect the client’s identity.)