Many Baby Boomers have parents living into
their 80s and 90s, and often these elderly individuals are in need of support
from family as they have limited resources. They may depend mainly upon Social
Security with Medicare benefits or maybe they are fortunate enough to have some
form of a pension.
In many other instances, one parent has passed
away and has used up a good deal of the couple’s resources for their own care.
The situation becomes more critical if you are the only one left standing to
take care of the parent!
Continued Care Plans
What plans have you made for the continued
care of a parent in the event of your own death?
If you are taking care of a parent, you are
likely familiar with their financial picture and have been paying bills and been
the contact person for the care facility.
You may already be providing some amount of
subsidy for their care and may have concerns about how this impacts your own
retirement financial wellness. A key to being able to continue the level of
care is to have an understanding of both your parent’s finances as well as your
own.
Here are some basic steps to consider taking
to assure that if you were to die before your parent, you would not leave them
at the mercy of the Family Law Courts or force them into a Medicaid facility
that may not be at the same level of care you intended.
Review Your Parent’s Documents
First, review your parent’s estate documents
and be sure that they have a Financial Power of Attorney (POA), Medical POA
(Med Directive), a Living Will (to indicate their wishes concerning end-of-life
care), and that the appropriate successors are listed in these documents in the
event of your death before your parent’s.
Be sure that these documents are up to date so
that you will be able to utilize them with the various financial institutions
and the medical facilities that may be employed for your parent’s care. (Documents
more than five years old may become a practical issue in dealing with
institutions).
If your parent is already in a full care or
memory care facility, check to see if they require a “Do Not Resuscitate,” or
DNR. If Hospice care is necessary, they will require a DNR.
Review Your Own Documents
This may be a good time to also review your
own estate documents. When was the last time you reviewed your Will, Revocable
Trust, POA, Med Dir, and Living Will?
Have they been updated since your parents or
parent entered a care facility? Do you have provisions for their continued care
via your own estate in the event you predecease them?
Look into the Financial Side
Next, it is also time to review your parent’s
and your own financial circumstances in order to gain an understanding of the
amount of resources available to parents and what, if any, financial
responsibilities you may have.
These may not necessarily be legal
responsibilities but may be based more on emotions and your own fears of being
held in a long-term care facility that does not meet the level of what you
would want for yourself.
This situation also creates potential dilemmas
if you have a surviving husband, children, and possibly grandchildren. How will
providing aid to a parent impact the long-term resources for your own family?
In retirement, individuals form new routines,
and many people may not pay as much attention to finances as the income is a
constant and life just seems to flow.
Financial planning is primarily focused on the
goal of getting to retirement, but many plans do not really discuss the
necessary planning when you are in retirement. Retirees tend to go along with
the flow and don’t make changes until an event causes them to do so.
This is reactionary planning and can lead to
unfortunate situations. Retirement is just another stage in the planning
process and not the end of planning. In retirement, simplicity is a great start,
so keep only those accounts you need especially for direct deposits.
Social Security does not recognize a POA, so
make sure you take the time now to deal online with Social Security for your
parent!
Time for a Family Meeting!
How often do you and your spouse review your
overall financial picture? Which spouse is the primary “money manager”? If
something was to happen to that person, would that leave the survivor in a
lurch?
Who should the survivor contact for help? Are
your children aware of what you want in the event of your own incapacity or
death?
These issues are challenging and can cause
anxiety for all concerned. You may not realize it, but your children are
already worried about what will happen to you and are concerned about your
wellbeing, both physical and financial. Would having a family meeting help to
alleviate everyone’s concerns?
This would also be a good time to make sure
the person(s) you want to handle your own estate matters is actually willing
and able to do so.
Having this type of meeting may also reduce
the potential family in-fighting that may occur, especially if you have chosen
someone who may be controversial or has conflicts with other family members.
If you have a blended family, having an open
and honest meeting may provide the clarity needed so that beneficiaries from
both sides do not create battle lines that may cause permanent damage to family
relationships.
The sooner these matters are addressed, the
easier it will be when the time comes to implement your long-term planning and
estate distribution plans. Please seek professional guidance from Elder Law or
Estate Tax Law attorneys for your estate planning requirements.
Disclosure: The information provided in this
article is for informational purposes only and not to be considered legal,
financial or tax advice.
What provisions
have you made for your elderly parents’ care? Have you looked into financial
planning options? What issues have you not thought about? Please share your
thought and concerns below.
