Case Study 2: Relocating to Care for Aging Parents

In this fictional case study, we walk you through a financial plan for a couple retiring later this year. Curtis and Carli are planning to retire later this year, but realize they need to make some changes. Carli’s aging parents need more care from them. Can they afford to buy a larger house? They don’t want to take on debt before retirement but aren’t sure what else to do.

Listen to our conversation as advisors in episode 66 of Behind the Designs, or keep reading below!

Breakdown of the Case Study

Meet Curtis & Carli

At 54 and 54, Curtis and Carli were within just 1–2 years of a long-planned retirement. For years, they had envisioned a traditional retirement: staying in their family home, a relaxed lifestyle, traveling occasionally to spend time with grandchildren.

But as their retirement date approached, life nudged them in a new direction. They began to feel a deeper pull toward caring for their aging parents—and being physically closer to their grandkids. That meant one big change: selling their current home and buying a larger one closer to family.

This change in heart didn’t mean they were abandoning their retirement dreams. Instead, they wanted to update the plan to reflect their evolving priorities. Their updated goals included:

• Purchasing a new, larger home before retirement—without taking on new debt
• Maximizing the value of Curtis’s remaining stock compensation during his final working years
• Avoiding tax pitfalls that could come from early withdrawals
• Keeping retirement flexible and work optional so Curtis could leave when the time felt right

The Challenges

Curtis and Carli were well-positioned financially. They were debt-free, had significant retirement savings, and had spent several years building a strong plan. But pivoting to buy a more expensive home just before retirement introduced some real challenges:

• How to stay debt-free with a new home purchase, before their current house sold
• How to fund the gap without pulling from retirement accounts and triggering taxes or penalties
• Whether intra-family lending from their aging parents would be feasible or advisable
• How to manage gift and estate tax implications tied to a temporary loan
• How to preserve investment assets intended to support their retirement

Curtis, in particular, was unsure if this would delay his ability to retire — or force him to work longer than he wanted.

Our Approach

Phase 1: Organization

Because we’d already been working closely with Curtis and Carli in the years leading up to retirement, we were able to move quickly and confidently. No catching up. No stress. Just thoughtful adjustments based on their new goal. The first step was understanding how their priorities had shifted and what that meant for their financial picture.

• We reviewed their full financial Blueprint — a visual map of every piece of financial data they have: 401(k)s, assets, insurance, executive compensation, estate plans and their current home equity.
• We clarified their goals: staying debt-free, supporting their parents, being near grandchildren, and keeping Curtis’s work optional.
• We revisited their retirement timeline and cash flow plan, now incorporating the possibility of a new, larger home purchase.

Phase 2: Strategy

With their goals clearly defined, we modeled a couple strategies to help them reach their new goals. With each strategy, we can show them the trade offs and implications for the rest of their plan. Curtis and Carli are able to genuinely consider their options. They have confidence that they could shift strategies, and still retire on their terms.

• We evaluated funding options for the new home, including:
  • Bridge loans
  • Drawing from investments
  • A short-term intra-family loan from their parents
• We modeled the tax impact of each scenario, with special attention to avoiding early withdrawals from retirement accounts.
• We assessed gift tax and estate planning considerations for the family loan option.
• We re-tested their retirement projections to ensure Curtis could still retire at any time — without needing to delay or reduce lifestyle spending.

Phase 3: Implementation

With all the information laid out, Curtis and Carli were able to decide intentionally. Ultimately, the cleanest solution was a short-term private loan from Carli’s parents, to be repaid within weeks after their home sale closed. This allowed them to move into their new home and wait to sell their current home until after Curtis retires.

As their team of advisors, we helped them:

• Draft a formal promissory note
• Set an IRS-compliant interest rate
• Document the transfer properly to avoid any gift-tax issues
• Build repayment into their home-sale timeline
• Rebalanced their portfolio to ensure they have the cash they needed on hand

But most importantly, we protected their investment portfolio. Rather than liquidating accounts and triggering capital gains or penalties, they kept their investments in place—preserving their long-term income strategy.

The Result

Thanks to proactive planning, they avoided last-minute scrambling and made a big life change with clarity, not stress.

• Curtis and Carli purchased their new home — debt-free — before retiring.
• Their investments remain intact to fund a long retirement, with no tax hits.
• Curtis still has full flexibility: he’s staying at work for one final project, with retirement fully optional by year-end.
• They avoided any accidental gift or tax issues, thanks to proactive planning around the family loan.

Because they had already built a strong relationship with our team, Curtis and Carli were able to make this big life shift quickly — with confidence. There was no need to “start from scratch” just because their vision evolved. They now live closer to their grandkids, with space to host family dinners and care for their aging parents in the years to come. Their plan didn’t just survive the change — it flexed to accommodate what matters most.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Financial Design Studio client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or certain level of results or satisfaction if Financial Design Studio is engaged to provide investment advisory services.

Are You Considering How to Care for Aging Parents?

Here are some additional resources to help you dive deeper:

• Ep. 24 How to Manage Your Aging Parents Finances
• Ep. 28 Organizing Your Possessions (Or Your Parents!)
• Ep. 53 Healthcare Options for Aging Parents

But if you’re tired of searching the internet for answers and hoping you get retirement right, what’s stopping you from taking the next step towards financial confidence? Our team specializes in using executive compensation to build tax efficient retirement plans.

Schedule your free zoom consultation with our advisors by clicking “get started.” Let’s build a plan that’s designed for your life, together.

Bonus: Retirement Planning Guide