Covid-19 brought unique challenges for multigenerational families

In October 2019, when 31-year-old Kathleen Stupka, her husband and two children moved in with her parents, the plan was to live for six months when she built her dream home in the Dallas-Fourth Worth area of ​​Texas.

Then the coronovirus epidemic hit. Now, it is likely that the length of their stay will be tripled, Stupka said.

Stupka lost her job as a billing manager at a private practice pain management clinic in March, when the coronavirus virus epidemic took off widely across the US. At the same time, her husband, who works in sales , Saw his commission.

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Stupka’s unemployment benefits helped cover some expenses – until an additional $ 600 per week in federal payments authorized under the CAR Act ran out. She said that she has been looking for work for months without any luck. She said that her family survived by living with her parents.

“If we had a hostage now, we would have been in a homeless shelter,” Stupka said.

In addition, her father is vaccinated, and the family is the primary caretaker for Stupka’s 95-year-old grandmother, who lives elsewhere. This is every trip to outdoor racking.

“I think we are putting ourselves in these situations where we are compromising,” Stupka said.

Bahujan families are growing

The coronavirus pandemic has brought economic distress and prompted many relatives to live together. According to a September study, young adults living with their parents have jumped the most since the Great Depression – in February, 47% of young parents aged 18 to 29 and in July, up to 52% Had climbed. From Pew Research Center.

There was already a record number of extended families living together in the US before the epidemic. In 2016, approximately 64 million Americans – 1 in 5 people – lived in a multicultural home, a Pew Research Center analysis of census data has found. According to PU, a multicultural household is defined as a family consisting of two or more generations, or grandparents and children younger than 25 years.

In addition to the Kovid-19, says Pov, increasing diversity in the US has contributed to this trend. Asian and Hispanic families are more likely to be multicultural and their population is growing faster than white people.

For many, living with extended family provides financial support. It has also been a challenge during the epidemic, particularly for those mating with high-risk individuals.

For parents who have adult children, it is important to have a conversation about how home additions affect finances, said James Guarino, certified financial planner and CPA, Baker Newman Noyce in Woburn, Massachusetts, who Two were, were managing directors. His three adult children returned home due to the epidemic.

He said that sometimes parents are happy to bear the expenses of keeping children at home, but families also have the opportunity to work together to reduce the burden.

“It is in everyone’s interest to sit down with a family to discuss how to adequately cover the additional monthly costs associated with the home-family environment.”

Cost sharing can be beneficial for the finances of everyone in a multicultural family. For parents’ retirement, children living with them may mean withdrawing less money than savings, which is less than savings, according to Adam Adam Wojkowski, financial advisor at Smith Surley & Associates in Walpole, Massachusetts.

For example, if children can contribute to expenses, parents between 60 and 72 may consider either a Roth conversion or a minimum distribution required to reduce the amount they have to the minimum distribution required at 72. “Especially if they have a large 401 (k) plan or traditional personal balance in retirement accounts,” Wojtkowski said.

“If they can pay federal tax today at 10% or 12% instead of the higher rate when RMD starts, maybe take a look at it,” families should speak with a financial planner or CPA. Make any changes.

Children living with parents can also use the opportunity to save, especially if they are paying less to stay at home according to Wojkowski.

Tight quarters

To ensure that the epidemic has thrown a curve ball for families living together due to financial gain. A woman, who was asked to remain anonymous because she is an indirect immigrant from Peru, lives in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in South Florida with her husband, brother, mother and daughter.

The woman and her husband have lived with the family for the last three years to help their daughter stay on campus during college. But this year, due to Kovid-19 classes are online, so the daughter moved home and is living in a temporary room in the courtyard of the apartment.

The woman said through a translator, “During this time there is a lot of frustration, especially to see my daughter in discomfort.”

The family’s income has also been affected – during the epidemic the woman and her husband clean their homes and lose half of their customers. He takes as much care to his elderly customers and the woman’s mother, Kovid-19 to 86-years-old, to buy her masks and gloves, maintain social distance, and just go out for work and buy food.

When her daughter attended college, the woman and her husband planned to return to their own space, but were held back until their income was recovered.

“Honestly, we have to work even though we’re sick because we don’t have health insurance, we haven’t paid sick days [and] We are very limited in what we do, ”the woman said.

A village under a roof

Multinational families who are able to plan finance have a unique opportunity to build wealth that can be passed, according to Louis Barajas, CFO and Partner at MGO Wealth Advisors in Irvine, California. This is especially top of mind for Baraja, who works primarily with the Latino community, underlined by the financial industry.

“The lack of education in the home prevents them,” he said. “When you don’t know you don’t know, you just don’t do anything.”

For his clients, Baraj is working on a specific game plan behind clear goals and “why”, focused on saving money for retirement, execution of a down payment at home or college tuition.

A member of CNBC’s Financial Advisory Council, Barajas has personal experience with a majority family – his in-laws have lived under the same roof for over a year.

Diane Olivares, 56, went to help with her mother, Maria, about 15 years ago, when her father got cancer. Around the same time, she also went through a divorce and brought two daughters with her to a home in Montebello, California.

After her father passed away, she did not want to leave her mother alone. Diane said, “We are always with her and she loves him. She loves us.”

A few years later, his brother, 49-year-old Jerry Olivares, left after his divorce with his two children, who spent some time at home. Jerry and Diane work at LAB Business Management with Barrage.

When the epidemic spread, the family hunk to protect Maria, who is 81, and Justin Cano-Cass, 30, Diane’s eldest daughter, who is nine months pregnant and lives at home with her husband is.

Now, only Diane and Jerry work outside the house, such as going to Costco to stock up on groceries. Justin leaves for his doctor’s appointments.

The family also modified the house to protect high-risk members of the family. The 27-year-old Diane’s youngest daughter, Jazmin Cano-Cas, works as a nurse, so the family adds the door to her room that goes outside so she doesn’t have to go home after being shifted to the hospital.

Living together also has financial benefits. The family equally divides the cost of utilities and food and they are able to save on rent. Because he lived at home, Jerry was able to start and run his own restaurant and catering business for a few years and was also able to spend more money on his two teenage children.

“It was a big deal,” he said. “I didn’t have to stress for the stay-at-home money.”

Even though living together during an epidemic means spending more time together, the family is happy for the company. Justin is excited to bring his child home with his multiple generation of assistants.

“The storm is like a rainbow in late 2020,” said Justin, who works at MGO Wealth Advisors. “It is easy to be together.

“It takes a village to raise a child and, fortunately, most of my village is under one roof.”

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