Navigating Caregiving & Grief Part 1: Preparing for Care, Preparing for Grief
Live Online Event | Wednesday, September 30 at 12:00-1:00 PM PT | 3:00-4:00 PM ET
Join us for the first of a two-part series of live conversations featuring Lisa Mayfield of Aging Wisdom, thanatologist Michelle Desmond, and Brighton Jones Lead Advisor Mary Bierds, CFP®, sponsored by Brighton Jones Women’s Wealth.
Caregiving for an aging loved one is rarely just a logistical or financial challenge. It touches relationships, identity, family dynamics, and grief, which often begins long before any loss actually happens. Most of us are never given the vocabulary or the tools to even start these challenging conversations.
We’re bringing together three people who understand this terrain from very different angles: an aging life care expert, a thanatologist, and a Brighton Jones advisor who has lived through it herself.
In Part One of this two-part series, we'll share practical guidance on the financial, legal, and care decisions worth putting in place early, along with strategies for having those conversations with the people you love.
What we'll explore together:
- What to plan for, and when: The financial, legal, and care decisions worth putting in place early, from powers of attorney to care options, and how planning ahead creates more choices later.
- Why these conversations feel so difficult: The often-invisible role grief plays in why families put off planning, and how naming it out loud is often what finally makes room to move forward.
- What “prepared” really means: What documents and plans can cover, and why the real work of being prepared often has less to do with paperwork and more to do with how a family shows up for each other.
The goal isn't certainty. It's confidence for the conversations still ahead.
Our Panelists
Lisa Mayfield, MA, LMHC, GMHS, CMC — Founder & Principal, Aging Wisdom
Lisa founded Aging Wisdom, a Seattle-based Aging Life Care™ company, in 2003. A licensed mental health counselor, geriatric mental health specialist, and certified care manager, she brings over two decades of experience helping individuals and families navigate Alzheimer's, dementia, and other unexpected health and cognitive changes. She's also a trained mediator who helps families find common ground when they don't agree on the best path forward for a loved one.
Michelle Desmond, MBA, MS — Thanatologist & Founder, On Grief and Death LLC
Michelle left a successful career as a corporate executive to become a death and grief expert after experiencing significant personal loss earlier in life than most. She holds a Master of Science in Thanatology—the study of death, dying, and bereavement—and now teaches, guides, and consults on the modern experience of grief through her practice, On Grief and Death LLC, and as an adjunct professor at Marian University.
Mary Bierds, CFP® — Lead Advisor, Brighton Jones (Moderator)
Mary moderates this conversation from two vantage points: as a Brighton Jones Lead Advisor who helps clients plan for life's biggest transitions, and as someone who recently navigated the loss of both of her parents and the caregiving decisions that came before it. She brings a firsthand understanding of just how much these moments ask of a family, emotionally and financially.
Continuing the Conversation
Planning ahead helps, but for many of us, caregiving arrives before we feel ready, and there's no roadmap for what happens next.
Join us again for Navigating Caregiving & Loss Part 2: Caregiving in Real Time, where we'll talk about what it's actually like once you're in it: the common, often unexpected situations families find themselves navigating; the quiet, unrecognized grief that comes with caregiving long before any loss occurs; and how caregivers can hold onto their own well-being while showing up for someone else.
Brighton Jones Women's Wealth is a platform for the conversations financial planning often glosses over: career transitions, life transitions, and all the decisions in between. It's not about different financial advice; it's about advice built around the full scope of a woman's life, not just her portfolio. Through original insights, personalized service, and our Women Living a Richer Life (WLRL) community, we strive to empower, educate, and connect financially confident women.
The information contained in this document is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as individualized advice. For individualized advice, please consult with your adviser.
Copyright © 2026 Brighton Jones
All rights reserved.
Testimonials were provided by current clients of Brighton Jones. The clients were not compensated, and no material conflicts of interest exist that would impact any of these testimonials. Client testimonials are not representative of the experiences of all Brighton Jones clients and do not provide guarantee of future performance or similar services.
Brighton Jones LLC (“Brighton Jones”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser located in Seattle, Washington. Brighton Jones and its representatives are in compliance with the current filing requirements imposed upon SEC registered investment advisers by those states in which Brighton Jones maintains clients. Brighton Jones may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements.