Many parents need help with their finances as they age, but they rarely reach out and ask for help. Still, you should stay vigilant and willing to help them or take control of the situation. Many people ask, How do you know if your parents are struggling with money?
At Marcia L. Campbell CPA, we have helped seniors maintain their dignity and independence while ensuring they are financially secure for decades with premier private professional fiduciary services. Here is how to tell if your parents are struggling financially.
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How Do You Know if Your Parents Are Struggling with Money?
As parents age, there should be an unspoken understanding about when they need you most. From increasing disorganization to risky investments, read on to learn how to detect elderly parents’ financial problems.
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They Are Increasingly More Disorganized
The state of a person’s home is often a mirror for the condition of their mental faculties. When you visit your parents, keep an eye on drawers and closets that have always been orderly but are now overflowing or in disarray.
Are they having trouble washing and putting their clothes away? Are dirty dishes turning into a game of Jenga? Do they have reminder notes everywhere for obligations or daily tasks that seem obvious, like how to access their online banking account or cable TV?
Are your parents going on frequent shopping sprees and falling victim to hard-sell tactics and making excessive or duplicate purchases? All these can be signs of memory loss and it is time to consider taking control of elderly parents’ finances.
“If your parents find it difficult to keep their house organized, this is probably spilling over into their finances and a sign it is time to ask a private fiduciary to start managing elderly parents’ finances before they face severe repercussions. More importantly, this is why you must visit them regularly as they get older. Noticing signs like these require close attention.” – Marcia L. Campbell, a private professional fiduciary in California who specializes in elder care financial services
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Piles of Unpaid Bills or Letters from Debt Collectors
Piles of unpaid bills and letters from debt collectors are also huge red flags for those asking, How do you know if your parents are struggling with money?
If you start noticing bills piling up or, worse, collection notices, this is a huge red flag that it’s time to enlist private fiduciary services to begin taking over elderly parents’ finances. Forgetting or failing to open and respond to these letters can have severe consequences.
Alarm bells should also start going off if your parents are getting bills for accounts they say they didn’t open or for amounts they say they don’t owe. These notices could mean that they have fallen victim to fraud or identity theft, or that they opened an account and forgot.
Donation Requests and Suspicious New Friends
Donation requests and suspicious new friends are also signs to keep in mind for those wondering, How do you know if your parents are struggling with money?
If your parents continuously get donation requests and other kinds of solicitations, or even “thank you” messages from organizations, it could be a sign that your parents are making contributions and entering sweepstakes.
One or two contributions likely won’t hurt, but if they write numerous checks to organizations, this will start to add up. Plus, if they are writing checks without much thought, this makes them incredibly vulnerable to elder financial abuse.
Seniors are also sometimes lonely and more willing to invite strangers into their lives. If they have made suspicious new friends, these individuals may have befriended your parent to take advantage of them.
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Premier Elder Care CPA and Professional Fiduciary Services
So, how do you know if your parents are struggling with money? They will let you know in ways that speak much louder than words. Their pride and sense of dignity will likely prevent them from asking for help. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t need it.
