The Value of Planning Ahead

ChooseHome members: Bill and Sonya Morrison

Sonya Morrison just got done running the New York Marathon — for the fourth time. Her husband, Bill, who has run it five times, joined her the first three times but now prefers cycling and swimming along with golf. The Morrisons recently returned from a weekend trip in the Adirondacks where they went skiing.

Sonya is also an artist who paints often in the cozy studio space inside their three-story Colonial Williamsburg home that dates back to 1928.

The former triathletes don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon, and as 63-year-olds, they don’t have any major health concerns. But as a career financial planner, Bill understands how important it is to be proactive preparing for the future. That’s why he and Sonya selected to be part of Riverside’s ChooseHome membership-based program designed for healthy, active, older adults who want to ensure that they can age in the way – and the place – they choose.

“I know how long term care insurance works,” Bill said. “When someone is sick in your home, you really don’t feel like going through the hoops of filing an insurance claim. ChooseHome is integrated with coordination. You meet your personal services coordinator when you are healthy. If something were to happen, they take care of everything.”

“Long-term care planning is very important for everyone”, Bill said. “Long-term Care policies work well in providing funds for your care. Choose Home also provides funds for care with the added benefit of your Care Coordinator. As you start to access care, the insurance company will require you to go through a claims process to qualify for benefits. With ChooseHome, you establish a relationship with your personal representative while you are healthy. So, when you need care they are right there with you, and the process goes more smoothly. That’s is what attracted us to ChooseHome”.

Bill and Sonya are parents to two adult children: Casey, a physical therapist in Virginia Beach, and Addy, an Emmy Award-winning producer of movie trailers in Manhattan.

“We want them to visit us to visit us — not to get us to the bathroom!” Bill said.

Bill and Sonya don’t anticipate needing help with ChooseHome for years, decades perhaps. Sonya’s healthy gene pool includes her father, 89, who raises hogs and trains dogs on 5 acres in Deltaville. Neither of the Morrisons wants to leave their home for a residential facility if either becomes seriously ill.

“What I like about ChooseHome is the money will be provided should you need someone to come to your home instead of going to a home,” Sonya said. “I don’t want to go to a home. I want someone to come to my home if I ever need that.”

Bill urges his own clients not to wait until their health deteriorates when considering long term care insurance. “You should have coverage for the possibility that your kids will have to come take care of you,” he said. “When I see kids that have someone who is disabled or needs care, the biggest breath they let out is when I inform them that coverage is already in place.”

Knowing they’ll never be a financial or health burden for their daughters is a relief, the Morrisons say. Rather than worrying about the future, they can enjoy the present that includes anticipating Casey’s upcoming wedding, trips to New York City to see Addy and time together playing their favorite new sport, pickleball.