Finances
Paying the Bills | Review Finances | Collect Legal Documents | Plan & Research | Community Resources | Insurance | Professional Advice

All Finances Tips

Paying bills.

Check your mom's mail to make sure she is opening and paying her bills. Be on the lookout for past-due notices. If she needs help, arrange to review her financial situation with an accountant and talk about how to best handle her finances.

Let your mom do as much as she is capable of. This may result in cooperative bill-paying sessions where she writes the checks and you do the record keeping.

Establish a joint account and keep the checkbook.

If necessary, open a separate account with a limited amount of money in it for your mom. She can use that account to write checks for gifts or small items, but she won't lose her life savings to a bogus charity or con game.

Review the finances.

Find all your parent’s checkbooks and savings account books. Many older people have accounts at several banks.

Review all the investment and retirement accounts, stock certificates, Social Security benefits and payments.

Find all the insurance policies—life, long-term, medical, etc.

Determine who will manage your parent’s finances.

Collect all legal documents.

The will. If there isn't one and your parent is still competent, have one drawn up.

Durable power of attorney for finances. This is a simple way to arrange for someone to make financial decisions for your mom should she become unable to do so herself.

Advance Directives. The two basic types of advance directives are Living Wills & Medical Powers of Attorney. These documents let your mom give instructions about the medical care she wants to receive in the event that she becomes unable to speak for herself due to serious illness or incapacity.

• A living will provides specific instructions.
• A medical power of attorney names a person to make decisions on your behalf.

Plan and Research.

Talk with your siblings and your mom about her finances.

• Can she afford to pay for day to day expenses?
• Will your siblings chip in to help defray costs?
• Will you have to quit your job or reduce your hours to care for your mom? Can you afford to do this?

Write down your mom's current and potential needs. Will she need nursing home care, or can she be cared for at home?

Research care facilities, noting the cost and services they provide.

Review community and government resources.

Look at the eligibility rules for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security disability income, veterans benefits.

Are there community programs your parent can use?

Have you researched low-cost or free assistance services?

Consider long-term care insurance.

Long-term care insurance is not for everyone. But, if your mom and dad are still eligible, it may be worth checking into.

Get professional advice.

Include your mom in any investment decisions or changes.

Talk with a financial planner and an attorney. Some attorneys specialize in eldercare law.

You may also need the services of a geriatric care manager.