Monday 19 June 2017

Tips For Avoiding Common Pitfalls Of Elder Care Financial Management CT

By Jason Robinson


If you have senior citizens for parents in Connecticut, you are probably considering how you and your siblings are going to handle the increasing needs your loved ones will have throughout the last years of their lives. If you are going to be the main caregiver, there are certain things you can do to ensure your parent's wants and needs are met with respect and thoughtfulness. This includes the elder care financial management CT advisers suggest.

You may feel uncomfortable asking parents for personal information about their finances and financial resources. It is necessary however, and if it is done with respect and care, any initial discomfort should dissipate fairly quickly. As a caregiver, you need to know what kind of shape your parents finances are in, what assets they have and how they are titled, and whether or not they have long term health care insurance.

You want to do the right thing for your loved ones, and to do that, you need to ask questions. Most parents have strong opinions about their living arrangements and may want to stay in the family home no matter what. Others see the sense of moving to a retirement community or into an assisted living facility. It may not be possible to make all their wishes reality, but at least you will know their preferences.

Unless you are very familiar with estate planning and tax laws, you could benefit from the services of an experienced financial adviser. This individual will know how best to protect your parents' assets and, if necessary, the most efficient way to liquidate them. A professional can advise you on the process of transferring title out of a parent's name in a way that is both legal and ethical.

Finding an experienced lawyer during this time, is also a good idea. This professional can help you make sure wills are current and legally documented. You may need a full or limited power of attorney to enable to you represent your parents on their behalf. Health documents like living wills and health directives must also be put in place if not already handled.

Knowing where legal documents are located will make it much easier for you to help your parents in an emergency. You should have access to their medical records, and to do that, your parents will have to name you on all the appropriate doctor and hospital forms. Many seniors do their banking and other transactions online, and you need a list of all their passwords for your files.

If you have been appointed the primary caregiver for a loved one, you need to consider how your own finances might be impacted. You may have to take time from work or travel in order to attend doctor's appointments and meetings with advisers. It is a good idea to assess the situation in the beginning rather than later on.

Hopefully, your parents will live long, happy, and healthy lives and be able to manage their own affairs until the end. If not, you should take some simple steps to make the transition of responsibility go smoothly. You will all be glad you did.




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