As our parents age, the reality of managing their affairs becomes a responsibility that many of us are unprepared for. The challenges are amplified when conditions like dementia, and cognitive decline more generally, affect our parents. It highlights the importance of organizing essential documents and information in advance. This is where Stronghold comes in - a platform inspired by my family experiences and a deep understanding of the complexities involved in managing an aging parent’s affairs.
The Origin of Stronghold
My journey to founding Stronghold was born out of seeing my mother’s efforts to manage my grandmother's affairs from a distance. This situation opened my eyes to the challenges that many face in similar situations of helping an elderly parent with dementia. It also gave me deeper insights into how our roles within multigenerational families change over time.
Like most people who suffer from dementia, my grandmother’s dementia progressed slowly over the course of years. Over this period of time, my mother’s role evolved through different stages of support. In the early stages, my grandmother didn’t need any or much help at all, but my mother was still there for her primarily for emotional support. This dynamic slowly changed over the years where my grandmother would gradually need more support from my mother, until my grandmother wasn’t able to make decisions for herself.
While I am proud of the way in which my mother cared for my grandmother and honored her wishes, it was never simple. For years my mother had to balance her career and managing her own affairs with her role as my grandmother’s caregiver. Managing another person’s finances, home maintenance, healthcare, insurance, taxes, and care support services is a major responsibility. All of this is stressful enough, but she lacked one source of truth for important information, making matters worse.
The result was additional stress of tracking down information from multiple online accounts, searching through old emails, and chasing professional advisors, such as tax advisors, financial advisors, doctors, and lawyers for what she needed. It’s not just stressful, it’s time consuming and expensive.
To top it all off, my mother found herself in a legal dispute that had nothing to do with the quality of care my grandmother received (which was amazing), and everything to do with documentation (not amazing).
Setting Off on a Journey
Managing an aging parent’s affairs can be a huge burden, especially when you’re juggling your own life and career. At the same time, it’s an honor to take on this important responsibility for someone you love. It was this, combined with my mother’s experiences, that prompted me to learn more and speak to everyone I could about their own experiences.
I spoke with people who lost investments, not to the stock market, but to dementia when essential documents were forgotten and could not be found. I spoke with others who had to get court approval to manage a loved one’s affairs, because they didn’t have a power of attorney in place. I spoke with people who felt secure in their organizational system only to realize that their spouse wouldn’t be able to decipher it in an emergency. I also spoke with countless others who wanted to be better organized, but just didn’t know where to start.
All of this led me to the realization that people are often not prepared for an emergency, even if they want to be, and their important family information is often not as simple or organized as they think. I wanted to build a system specifically designed for families and those with aging parents to organize and safeguard essential documents and information. A system that not only keeps these documents safe but is also simple and guided to help you get organized in an accessible and understandable way.
Stronghold: More Than a Digital Vault
Stronghold is not just a digital vault for important documents; it's a comprehensive solution designed to bring peace of mind in managing the affairs of our families and aging parents. Here’s what makes Stronghold unique:
Simple Dashboard: Our platform offers a simple, user-friendly dashboard that consolidates crucial information. From finance and property to health, insurance, tax, and legal documents, everything is accessible in one place.
Contact List: It’s essential to have access to important contacts in an emergency or when helping a loved one with their finances, health, or any administrative matters. Having this integrated into Stronghold is a big time saver and ensures that you have a complete solution that covers all essential information.
Strong Encryption: We understand that the information you’re entrusting us with is sensitive. Stronghold uses robust encryption methods to ensure that your data is protected against unauthorized access, giving you the assurance that your parents' information is safe and secure. We have an entire page dedicated to our security measures here in our Help Center.
Embedded Guidance: Stronghold is more than a storage system; it's a guide. Our platform contains guidance to help you identify what information and documents are crucial and how to keep them updated. This aspect of Stronghold supports you every step of the way.
Unmatched Customer Support: We pride ourselves on our customer service. Our team is not just technically proficient; they understand the emotional and logistical complexities you might be facing. We’re here to support you, not just through our platform, but with a human touch.
The Vision for Stronghold
My vision for Stronghold is to make the management of essential information for families and aging parents seamless and stress-free. I believe that by providing a secure, easy-to-use platform, we can significantly reduce the burden and stress on those helping or caring for their elderly parents. The peace of mind that comes from knowing everything is organized and accessible can make a world of difference. It will enable families to focus on what matters most, their loved ones.
Join Our Journey
Stronghold is more than just a business; it's a solution for problems that will make a real difference in our customers’ lives. If you're worried about managing your aging parent's affairs or getting your important family information organized, I invite you to sign up for a free Stronghold account. Let's make this journey easier, together.
About the Author: Mischa Kowall is the founder of Stronghold, a secure system to organize and protect essential documents and information for families and aging parents. He is an attorney with 20 years of legal experience at major international law firms and in senior legal positions in finance, healthcare, and technology businesses. He was a founding UK team member at Lemonaid Health (acquired in 2021) that built the Boots Online Doctor, one of the largest telehealth businesses in the UK. He has been admitted to practice law in New York State, England & Wales, and Ontario, Canada. Mischa grew up in the Boston area and played lacrosse at Newton South High School and Boston University.