Discussing Money With Your Aging Parents

The core of this week’s show is staying informed with your parent’s financial situation. Brian and Bo cover what you need to know and when it makes sense to discuss finances with your parents or children.

It is very important to have everyone in the family on the same page and make sure the parents are expressing their wishes without any pressure to make certain family members are happy. The guys put together a quick checklist of topics to consider when starting your conversations:

• Know the desires of your parents;
• Know the type of healthcare and life-saving measures they desire;
• Know who your parents want to make legal and medical decisions for them, in the event they are unable;
• Know how they want their assets to pass (if not covered in their will);
• Have discussions about intra-family support for aging parents concerning: living arrangements, hospice care, or nursing facilities;
• Beware of elderly abuse, specifically financial abuse. The Center on Elder Abuse has a great FAQ section that highlights the warning signs of financial abuse from caretaker and others that may spend significant amounts of time around your parents.
• Discuss medical insurance options and review Medicare coverage’s as well as long term care insurance where it applies.
  • Brian discussed the “typical” donut hole of coverage where LTC insurance makes sense:
    • <$1,000,000 in assets – Medicare coverage is most likely sufficient.
    • $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 – Is our donut hole, where we think LTC insurance makes the most sense.
    • >$3,000,000 – You have probably won the game and self-insurance could be the best route for coverage.

Be sure that family members that are providing assistance are not jeopardizing their own financial situation to provide care for their parents (this includes you). This week’s show is important for all families that have aging family members, and should be used as a guideline for discussion when having those important conversations.