Managing Your Parents’ Finances

When my mother was sick, I gained a fuzzy idea about the details of handling finances by watching my dad handle the expenses, and ultimately her estate after her death.

However, I know that I have a lot to learn before I’ll need to handle my dad’s finances in any capacity. Many people learn what to do by trial and error, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done.

CNN Money has a good article, Managing your folks’ money: 5 steps:

1. Create a single guide that summarizes all financial information.
2. Get a broad Power of Attorney (POA) document.
3. Close the loopholes by making sure that each financial institution will accept that POA.
4. Get additional proxies for health care.
5. Go slowly. If possible, don’t take over everything all at once.

It makes some great points, especially the fact that you need to contact each institution to find out what their requirements are for acting on someone else’s behalf.

For example, as I found out, even something as simple as adding someone to a safe deposit box access at the bank isn’t all that simple, and everyone with access to the box has to be present at the same time and resign the papers each time there is a change.

Even if you don’t think it’s time to talk to your parents about their finances, remember the 40-70 rule and that illness and accidents can happen, regardless of age and it’s always better to be prepared.

(via Pat at Sometimes I Feel Like a Piece of Bologna)