3 Critical Parent Care Steps: What to do Before They Need Your Help
Millions of Baby Boomers are now busy caring for an aging parent – sometimes for decades. Here are 3 critical steps to take now to insure you’re prepared for caring for your parents.
Before Your Parents Are In Need
1. Talk to your parent(s) about their wishes – this includes 
medical directives, living wills and residency. Most people avoid these conversations but discussing these details is critical to implementing plans that will be workable within the family, maximize finances and avoid family squabbles.
2. Call a family meeting to discuss parental care. Not every family member has the resources to have a disabled parent move in. Others simply aren’t willing to lift a finger. Better to know who you can count on and how they will contribute. Hashing out the details without your parents around is often best as buried hurts and wounds can arise when discussing parents. Doing this well in advance also gives brother and sisters time to rethink opinions and adjust to compromises.
- For help on holding a family meeting, check out Family Caregiver Alliance.
- 9 Mistakes Adult Siblings Make When Parents Are Aging, Sick and Dying.
3. Encourage parents to create a “need to know” book. Many parents prefer to not share all their financial details until it’s necessary so putting together a guide is critical. And make certain that the book/file is safely stored and someone trusted knows where it is kept. You can also open a safety deposit box at your local bank were at least two people are required to sign in for access.
- 54-page guide from Wells Fargo Bank on financial conversations with adult children.
- Aging Parents: During Emergencies, Details Count at the Mayo Clinic web site.
- Help Your Aging Parents – free forms from Boomer Books.
The title of the advice web site above – Talk Early – Talk Often – is great advice. Western cultures often ignore talking about death and dying which can be a critical mistake for you and your love ones.
