Chief Family Officer: Valuing the Caregiver

Melinda Gipson | December, 2025

At Clozure, we like to talk a lot about the “Chief Family Officer.” This is the person on whose shoulders falls much of the care and nurturing of family members, in and out of the home. Our CFO is most likely a woman, and, if you’re middle-aged and married, you’re having to juggle your time between work, looking after the kids, AND taking care of aging parents!

Recent AARP says that more than 7 in 10 women in America are caregivers to others, specifically providing unpaid care for an adult child, parent or spouse who is ill, frail, elderly or has a disability. Would you believe the value of that service tops more than $1 Trillion annually? That’s more than all the money spent on Medicare or health care for the elderly!

You plan the meals, the vacations, probably what to save for college, how to budget the shared family expenses and how to care for Mom and Dad when they can’t do it alone. 

So, why not have a plan for what happens to them – and yourself – when you’re no longer here to help? 

Clozure is here for you. We’ve created an “end-of-life” roadmap to help your family cope when Mom or Dad, or even yourself or your spouse, die. We want to help you build the ultimate in contingency plans and, as a key benefit to your family’s sense of security, we know that just thinking it through gives you a firmer foundation for how to live your life going forward. 

Let’s go back to caregiving for just a moment, because we want you to know how important this role is that you provide for your family. 

In Valuing the Invaluable 2026, AARP said, “Family caregivers provide the majority of long-term services and supports in the United States, assisting adults with disabilities and complex health needs with daily tasks of living, complex medical and nursing tasks, and coordination of medical and social services—nearly all without pay.” AARP’s research shows 59 million caregivers of adults provided 49.5 billion hours of care in 2024 at a value of $20.41 per hour, or $1.01 trillion in value. 

Day to day, you don’t think about this. You typically just DO it. But you’re already wondering what will happen after your folks are gone or if something should happen to you or your spouse. We are confident that the few hours you spend building a plan for what SHOULD happen when a loved one dies, while they’re still around to help, will give you the foundation you need to go on.

We can help you start your plan absolutely free. Unlike other apps, Clozure is structured to help you think, and prioritize the things you’ll need. What worries you most? Is it the expense of a funeral? Making sure everyone in the family gets along? Providing clarity with pre-defined health directives? We know even those things you haven’t considered because we’ve lived the experience and helped hundreds of others like you. 

Do you want to spend your time with loved ones helping them tell the stories of their lives and reliving the moments that were most meaningful? Or will you be the one who lets ChatGPT write your obit and “step on it”? 

Memories foster meaning in life; they give you purpose and a hope for the future. They honor your family members for their contributions to your own life, and provide guideposts for your future and that of your kids. Our Legacy Page section guides you through a process of remembering, taking stock, sharing your gratitude and passing on your values for future generations. Our will & trust sections help you determine what you need to preserve wealth, and our foundation planners can even help your passion for service endure in tangible form. 

This is also what “caregiving” looks like, and it can take only minutes a day. If you hit a wall and have questions, we can help with that too – nobody’s situation is exactly the same as another’s so we’re geared to personalize your plan as much as possible. Or, as we like to say, we help you “think outside the box.”

Who else is going to do it? You’re the caregiver.

And, clearly, you’re worth more money.