Wells Fargo Elder Services Program Extends Service to Chicago

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced the expansion into Chicago of its Wells Fargo Private Bank Elder Services program, which offers a comprehensive set of financial, personal and life management services to help clients maintain their independence and quality of life.

The program combines wealth management and estate services with life management assistance to help seniors with everything from loss of a spouse to mobility and health challenges.

"By helping with everything from paying bills or finding home help to managing commercial real estate and monitoring health issues, our specialists take a holistic and proactive approach to working with clients as they navigate the complexities of life management and aging,” said Keith Klovee-Smith, national manager of Wells Fargo Elder Services. "Seniors often live far from relatives, and even when they’re close by, relatives may find personal and financial management challenging. This all-encompassing service can put everyone’s mind at ease.”

Unique Benefits of Elder Services

Elder Services specialists serve as the key coordinator for their client’s financial and life management needs. Staff members work closely with that client’s outside attorney, accountant, insurance specialist, and healthcare company to coordinate a complete offering of financial and life management services from estate settlement and investment monitoring to processing healthcare expenses and buying groceries.

The Elder Services relationship team also works with the client to establish a schedule for regular check-ins to address their changing needs. Aging adults are often targets for physical, emotional and financial abuse, making the team’s regular check-in calls and visits a significant benefit to clients, according to Allison Getz, who will lead the Elder Services program in Chicago. "We provide an extra set of eyes and ears to protect our clients from abusive situations.”

The program benefits clients’ children, offering continuous, in-person support and keeping distant family updated according to the client’s wishes. Wells Fargo also helps clients and family members resolve sensitive issues, such as giving up drivers’ licenses, moving into retirement homes, or planning funerals.

Chip Flannagan, head of Wells Fargo Private Bank in Chicago, said client interest was a primary factor in introducing Elder Services there. "Clients do not want someone to take over their lives, but they do require a different type of help as they age,” Flannagan said. "Our integrated service can address these changing requirements, helping to achieve peace of mind to our clients and their families.”

Flannagan said Elder Services’ partnerships with health and service organizations give the program a structure that is unmatched in Chicago. "We’re committed to providing exceptional service at every stage of our clients’ lives. Traditional trust groups, financial institutions, and law firms are not structured to support the depth and variety of services we offer,” he said.

Allison Getz joined Wells Fargo Private Bank as an Elder Services Trust Specialist in September. Getz is well known to professionals who serve the aging population in the greater Chicago area. She founded Chicagoland Caregivers, a non-medical care giving company based in Chicago, and ran the company for over six years until it was purchased by a national care management company in 2007. Before that she was an executive for 15 years in the technology industry. Getz is the Vice President of Chicago Continuity of Care, and is a member of the American Society of Aging and the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. She has a B.A. from the University of Michigan; an MBA from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and is currently pursuing a Masters in Gerontology.

Launched in 1999, Wells Fargo Private Bank’s Elder Services program has locations in 15 states nationwide. The Elder Services program has been recognized with an Honorable Distinction for outstanding contributions by the American Society on Aging, and has been featured in The Economist.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $622 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest possible credit rating from both Moody’s Investors Service, "Aaa,” and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, "AAA” (10/08).

Wells Fargo Wealth Management Group offers a full range of financial services and products to help individuals and families build, manage, preserve and transfer their wealth. Wells Fargo Private Bank and Private Client Services provide teams of experienced local professionals who advise clients on complex financial issues, and provide them with investment management, private banking, trust and estate, insurance and brokerage services provided through Wells Fargo Investments, LLC. Wells Fargo Wealth Management Group oversees more than $247 billion in assets (9/08).

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Wells Fargo Private Bank provides financial products and services through various banking and brokerage affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company including Wells Fargo Investments, LLC (member SIPC). Wells Fargo does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your professional tax and legal advisors to determine how this information may apply to your own situation.

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