Financial advisors can do a few things to make this difficult situation easier and add additional value to their most vulnerable clients:

Discuss and document a process for bringing in a trusted contact. Discuss the circumstances under which you will inform their secondary contact. Suggest a meeting with the client and their secondary contact early in the financial planning process to ensure they have a good grasp on the overall financial process and under what circumstance they may be asked to get involved. Reassure your client's family that you've protected them from hurting themselves financially.
Document every phone call and interaction with the client or the family. Documentation is critical to protect your practice and also to protect the client. If your client calls and asks the same question of three different people at your firm, document every conversation, so collectively, you can see the signs that that may point to dementia.
Build connections and resources so you can refer clients to other experts. If you're an advisor serving an aging clientele, consider creating a list of resources to give to the client and their family. It's helpful to be able to refer the client to medical professionals, elder law attorneys and social service professionals in your network for additional support and guidance. While you can protect the client financially, they need significant assistance from other professionals to protect their safety in other aspects of their lives.
Help the client clearly see how this might affect their financial future. Trained advisors should be able to project how much the client can expect to invest in facility or respite care without negatively impacting a surviving spouse or the client's goals.

Good advisors care about their clients' lives, and watching somebody struggle with dementia is painful. In these cases, the most important thing you can do is clearly and rationally explain the impact of every financial decision throughout this difficult and emotional time.

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4 ways insurance & financial advisors can support clients with dementia

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