When it comes to finances it’s imperative that you talk to your elderly parents about their money. As they age, they start to lose the ability to make financial decisions. Meaning, they oftentimes start to lose the ability to keep track of their income versus expenses. This means that it’s important to get things organized and in order now.
You also need to remember that as your parent’s age, their medical expenses will probably skyrocket too. If they aren’t ready for the expenses, it can be disastrous.
How do you get the ball rolling?
It’s not easy discussing finances and most people don’t know how to approach the subject. It’s all about breaking the ice and the best way to do that is to make sure you approach the topic during a non-hectic, calm time. For example if your family is getting ready for a wedding, this wouldn’t be the best time to broach the subject of finances.
Maybe you could schedule a family meeting and make it an appointment with a financial advisor. You need to remain calm and patient and explain to your parents the importance of getting their finances in order. More than likely they will open up to the idea of it..
What’s the most important issue?
Probably the most important thing you need to talk to your parents about is long-term care. Uncontrolled medical expenses have been one of the main causes for bankruptcy filings! Don’t get caught up in believing the myth that their health insurance will cover long-term care. More than likely it will not. When it comes to standard health coverage it won’t help with assisted living centers or in-home nurse visits, etc. These expenses will have to be financed someway if your parents don’t have additional coverage.
As you can probably see by now, this is why planning ahead of time is so critical. Remember, no company is going to insure you right on the eve of your parents moving into a nursing home. This just means they are definitely going to have to pay for it.
Keep in mind the insurance companies are out to make some money too. This is done by paying only a small percentage of claims to their clients. So the less chance of that happening, the more likely your parents are of getting accepted. What does that mean? Simply put, it means that if your parents already have declining health the chances of them getting insurance at all decreases significantly.
You could consider paying it for them. Of course this may be something hard for your parents to accept. One thing elderly people don’t like is feeling like their self-sufficiency is being taken away from them and by you buying this for them it could make them feel less self-sufficient. Of course, if they can’t afford it then it may be necessary that you just go ahead and purchase it for them. Know that waiting to buy Long Term Care Insurance Can Be Very Expensive.
As mentioned above, oftentimes the elderly lose track of their income and expenses. So what can you do to get your parents on track and organized so that you don’t have to check in every day or every other day?
The easiest and quickest solution is to teach them about direct deposits and auto payments. Not only will it be easier for them, it will make your life a heck of a lot easier too!
Make sure to check in regularly
While you probably don’t have the time to check in every other day, it’s important that you are checking in on a regular basis. Make sure they know that their finances are under control. Respect their wants and wishes when it comes to the type of contact (home visits, phone calls, etc) you do.
Spending time addressing your parents financial and insurance needs now, will prevent confusion and stress in the coming years.
This post was sponsored by Genworth, All opinions expressed are my own
Andrea is the Chief Chick of Smart Money Chicks. After filing BK twice (once because she panicked, second time because the pro messed the first time up), she realized that it all could have been avoided if she understood more about how her Finances worked and the options available. At that point, she wanted to help as many as she could never make the same mistakes again. Our Promise is that all the content you read on here is created or edited by Andrea