Personal Finance Gets More Complex For Aging Parents

Our parents have always been there for us, to help shape, mold, and guide us to become the people that we are today. But we must keep in mind that as we grow and mature, they are aging as well. And as they grow older, they might be facing problems with things that they usually take care of on their own. Like their physical and mental health status, the status of their homes, how they earn a living, and how they take care of themselves day-to-day, etc. And it’s most likely that they might be facing challenges with regards to their personal finances too.

Over time, the ways on how to best manage personal finances change. Processes are automated, terms and conditions are updated, eventually being asked to procure additional requirements, and just how everything works evolve along with time and the development of technology. Now, our aging parents may not be able to get a full grasp of these said changes. They may continue to hold on to the ways on how they are used to doing things. They may have a hard time adjusting and adapting to the said developments. But how they are used to doing things may not be the best path for them to take, especially when it comes to their finances.

What we can do is to be proactive in finding ways to better help them. A few ways on how we can do that would be as follows:

Start a conversation

We must learn how to approach this topic and open it up to them in a way where they will be comfortable to talk about it. In this stage, we must be patient and understanding. Try to learn where they are coming from when it comes to how they handle their finances. Ask them what their goals are and what their plans are for the future. Express how you want it to be easier for them to be able to achieve those goals and plans. And keep in mind that you have to respect whatever their decision will be.

You may even get your family involved so that you can see where everyone stands, avoid misunderstandings, and be able to record everything that is necessary. This is a great way to open up such a big topic like this.

Gather and file their important documents

It is essential to organize important documents pertaining to their finances so that when the time comes where you need to refer to them, they will be easily accessible to you. This would allow you to better protect your aging parents as well as their assets and finances. This stage may require to get access to their financial accounts, so they might be quite defensive with regards to this stage, so you will have to assure them that their documents are safe and will only be used to benefit their well-being.

Important documents typically include:

• Bank accounts and brokerage statements

• Wills

• Insurance policies

• Pension records

• Home mortgage or reverse mortgage

• Car title

• Social Security payments

• Safe deposit boxes

Get professional help

No one said that you have to do these things on your own, especially if you yourself or your family are not experts on this subject. You may get your trusted attorney and financial advisor to give you advice on the best ways to go about achieving your parents’ goals. Get expert advice on how to simplify tasks with regards to managing finances so you can find out where they are having a hard time, and see how you can make it easier for them, like introducing online banking or any other system or tools that will help them track and organize everything better.