Are your parents having trouble keeping track of financial documents or remembering to pay bills? Is writing checks or going to the bank becoming a challenge? As your parents age, their finances become unmanageable, but this is no excuse to neglect them. In these situations, people enlist elder care financial services like daily money managers for seniors to take care of their day-to-day finances and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
At Marcia L. Campbell, we have managed seniors’ finances for decades to help them maintain their independence and financial security. Learn what daily money managers are.
Related Article: What Are the Elder Care Financial Service Options in California?
What Are Daily Money Managers for Seniors?
Daily money managers are professionals who provide personal bookkeeping services for the elderly when they can no longer handle certain aspects of money management, enabling them to live independently and maintain their dignity.
These professionals take over a senior’s daily financial responsibilities to help them maintain total control and accuracy of their financial needs. Daily money management for seniors ensures nothing slips through the cracks, which becomes a significant concern with age.
Daily money managers for seniors can help with paying bills for elderly parents, balancing checkbooks, tax preparation, understanding medical bills, healthcare advocacy, and negotiating with creditors.
Typically, should a senior need them to act in any other fiduciary capacity, they can also assist in that area as well. A huge benefit of working with a professional is that they have a legal obligation to always act in the best interest of your parents.
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What Do Daily Money Managers for Seniors Do?
As parents get older, children are often who first try taking over elderly parents’ finances. And if you have found yourself in this position, you have likely discovered that it is nearly impossible to balance this considerable responsibility with work and family commitments.
In these situations, people turn to elder care accounting services for managing elderly parents’ finances because failing to stay on top of day-to-day financial responsibilities can have severe repercussions. Services daily money managers (DMMs) offer include:
- Paying bills
- Maintaining financial records
- Budgeting
- Balancing checkbooks
- Negotiating with creditors
- Preparing checks for clients to sign
- Gathering documents for tax returns
- Acting as a liaison between your senior loved one and insurance brokers, attorneys, and healthcare providers
- Tracking insurance claims
- Organizing and safeguarding documents
- Preparing and delivering bank deposits
- Managing daily income and expenses
- Deciphering medical bills
- Reviewing bank statements
- Preparing plans to reduce debt
- Protecting seniors from potential financial abuse or fraud
“One of the biggest benefits of hiring these professionals is that they offer relief for the seniors’ family members, too, because they are often the ones who have attempted taking control of elderly parents’ finances, which puts a strain on their own personal and family life as well as their relationship with their parents.” – Marcia L. Campbell, CPA for Seniors
Now, many DMMs have limitations. They are technically not financial professionals and cannot prepare tax returns.
At Marcia L. Campbell, we also help with estate planning and accept responsibility to act as a power-of-attorney, trustee, executor, or conservator if needed.
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A Case Study of Daily Money Managers for Seniors
To illustrate the value of hiring daily money managers for seniors, let’s look at an example. Imagine a man, James, is elderly and lives alone. His wife, who used to manage the insurance, bills, shopping, budgeting, and recordkeeping passed away a year ago.
James has three children, but they are all too busy with work and personal obligations to effectively manage his finances. They all work, as do all their spouses, and they have children of their own to care for.
When people are caught between these two responsibilities, we call them the Sandwich Generation because they’re sandwiched between the younger and older generations.
Still, they are noticing collection notices and unopened bills piling up when they visit James. When determining how to manage elderly parents’ finances, they decide to enlist the help of daily money management services. Marcia elaborated on this complex dynamic.
“Oftentimes, pride makes it difficult for seniors to ask for financial help because they don’t want to burden you and they want to hold onto their dignity, but these clues signal that they are scrambling to keep up with who gets what and when. Daily money managers make it possible for them to get help while they continue living independently and keep their dignity intact.” – Marcia L. Campbell
This individual comes in and manages James’ income and daily expenses, catches up on bill payments for him, balances his checkbook, prepares and makes bank deposits for him, and prepares his tax information.
On top of that, the DMM visits James a few times a month to have a conversation about recent financial activity and future plans while ensuring they don’t fall victim to scams, which makes James feel like he has a friend just down the road who is willing to help.
If this situation sounds even remotely similar, daily money managers can ensure your senior loved one’s finances are squared away for everybody’s peace of mind.
Is the Writing on the Wall That You Need Daily Money Managers for Seniors? We Can Help!
If your parents are at a point where managing their finances is a liability, enlisting help as soon as possible is of the utmost importance, and daily money management services can be like an answered prayer. At Marcia L. Campbell CPA, we offer daily money management services and so much more to relieve this pressure on seniors and their loved ones so your parents can make the most of their retirement.
Visit our Contact Us page and fill out a contact form to schedule a consultation to help your parents manage their finances, maintain their independence, and provide peace of mind.
