As people age, it’s not uncommon for them to have a hard time keeping track of certain areas of our life. While it’s okay and normal for certain things to be let to slide, if your aging parents are having issues managing their money, it’s important that you or another trusted individual steps in to help.
If your parents have reached this point in their life, here are three tips for helping them manage their finances as they age.
Know How And When To Broach The Topic
Within many families, talking about money is often taboo. If this is the type of people your parents are, it can be hard to know when or how to broach the topic of helping them manage their finances.
To assist you with this, Cynthia Ramnarace, a contributor to Care.com, suggests tacking this conversation onto other changes or transitions that are happening in your aging parents’ lives. For example, if your parents are close to retirement age, this could be a good time to ask them about their financial plans for the future. Additionally, if you start to notice things like bills being unpaid, a fear of collection calls, or a big focus on saving money, this could be a sign that you missed the opportune moment to speak about managing finances and should bring up this topic sooner rather than later.
Learn Their Wants And Needs
When you do have the conversation with your aging parents about helping them manage their finances, what can make this much easier for everyone involved is if you have a clear understanding of both their wants and their needs regarding how their money is managed.
According to Barry Bridges, a contributor to The Simple Dollar, some of the questions you should ask your parents regarding money management in the future include figuring out what they’d like for long-term care, insurance, and the management of their assets. Also, if they have certain things they would like to spend their money on before they pass, this is something you should be aware of before you take over their care and management of their finances.
Make It All Legal
Once you’ve been able to finish this conversation with your parents about managing their finances, it’s now time to make all the decisions legal.
To do this, Daniel Kurt, a contributor to Fatherly.com, advises that you and your parents meet with a lawyer to become their durable Power of Attorney. With this distinction and responsibility, you will legally be the person in charge of managing your parents’ finances when they’re no longer able to do this themselves.
If you’re trying to anticipate a time when you will need to help your aging parents manage their finances, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you figure this out.
Leave a Reply