Your parents can be a source of endless wisdom, but a time eventually comes for a difficult conversation about money management. As we age, we need more help, especially when it comes to finances. But many ask the same question: How do you talk to an aging parent about finances? Fortunately, we can help.
At Marcia L. Campbell CPA, we have helped seniors maintain their dignity and independence while ensuring they are financially secure for decades with premier elder accounting services. Learn how to have this conversation in the first installment of this series.
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How Do You Talk to an Aging Parent About Finances?
Talking about parents’ finances is never easy. From preparing for the conversation to the tone you should take, read on to learn how to talk to your parent about their finances.
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Prepare for the Conversation
How do you talk to an aging parent about finances? It starts with preparation. When planning to discuss elderly parents’ financial problems, preparation is key. Make sure you have all the information you can find and a list of issues to talk about. Consider talking points that you need to address, like:
- A will and estate plan
- Life insurance
- Long-term care insurance
- Their awareness of scams
- Assisted Living
- Help with credit cards, bills, or other expenses
We also recommend taking an inventory of assets and ensuring you know where all important documents are. If you don’t know where anything is, add it to the list of topics you want to discuss. Documents to locate include
- Marriage certificates
- Property titles
- Birth certificates
- Health and supplemental insurance documents
- Their wills
- Information about investments
- Trust documents
- Powers of attorney
- Life insurance and any other policies
- Financial account information
- Information about prescriptions and medications
- Tax returns
- The location of safe deposit boxes
- Banking records
Once you have prepared a list and collected everything, sit down with your parents. Choose the right time, ideally when you and them will be calm and there’s no family drama. It might require several attempts to get your parents to open up.
Also, be up-front and let them know the plan so it doesn’t feel like an ambush. If other family members will help with managing the elderly parents’ finances, ensure that you include them in the discussion, and don’t leave either parent in the dark.
Sending a written invitation could minimize the initial emotional response they have. Also, prepare a list of important names and contact information of key people, like their:
- Financial advisors
- Life insurance agents
- Attorneys
- Doctors
- Executors of their wills
- CPAs
“Preparation is so important for this conversation because, in our experience, many elderly people resist the notion of help and see it as a sign of weakness or forfeiting independence. When you talk to them, you want to have clear, irrefutable talking points but remember to be kind. If you think this conversation is hard for you to have with them, it’s twice as hard on them.” – Marcia L. Campbell, one of California’s leading elder care accountants.
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California’s Leading Elder Care CPA
So, how do you talk to an aging parent about finances? With tact, openness, and respect. While navigating the complex emotions of this conversation can be difficult, enlisting premier elder care financial services, like Marcia L. Campbell, CPA, can help lift the weight off your shoulders so you can focus on your relationship with your parents.
