Lily Vittayarukskul shares her remarkable journey from working at NASA in her teens to founding a company that innovates with AI to transform long-term care planning. We explore why long-term care remains one of the most misunderstood and underserved areas in wealth management, despite being one of the biggest retirement risks. We break down how long-term care works, who needs it most, the pros and cons of self-funding versus insurance products, and why many families fail to plan until it's too late. We discuss... Lily Vittayarukskul shared her early fascination with aerospace engineering, including work recognized at age 12 and a role at NASA's JPL by 16. A personal long-term care event in her family at age 16 prompted her pivot from aerospace to healthcare. She built technical expertise in genetics and AI at Berkeley before founding a company focused on long-term care solutions. The ideal candidates for long-term care planning are typically 40–60 years old, upper-middle-class individuals with $2–5 million in assets. Many financial professionals avoid long-term care due to its complexity, morbid nature, and time-consuming conversations. Traditional long-term care policies and hybrid/lump-sum products each have advantages depending on individual circumstances and predicted care needs. Self-funding long-term care is an option, but many clients are risk-averse and ultimately prefer a structured insurance plan. Lily's company uses decades of data to predict long-term care events and costs, helping advisors map policies to individual client needs. Long-term care planning is as much about protecting family members and legacy as it is about financial strategy. Conversations about long-term care should start with a professional, involve spouses, and eventually include children or trusted family members. Many clients struggle with the emotional and logistical burdens of caregiving, which can impact their own health and quality of life. The topic is often avoided culturally because it forces acknowledgment of aging, mortality, and potential loss of autonomy. Today's Panelists: Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/transform-long-term-care-lily-vittayarukskul-762
