It may become necessary at some point to help your aging parents or loved ones manage their finances. This can be daunting and stressful. After all, it is enough of a challenge to manage your own finances. The fact is that dealing with the ins and outs of paying bills, depositing checks, overseeing pensions, etc. can be too much for somebody at an advanced age. This article will provide you with some tips to help your parents manage their finances.

The 4 Tips to Help Your Aging Parents Manage Their Finances

  1. Discuss this with your parents. Aging is not easy, neither is losing the independence that is taken for granted. Talk to your parents about how you want and need to help them. Let them lead the way and empower them to still make decisions for themselves. If they are still able to participate, explain that you are there to assist them, not to take this away from them.
  2. Get Organized. Locate and document all accounts, credit cards, loans, stocks, etc. in one place to have easy access. Use a platform you are comfortable with to safely store account numbers and passwords.
  3. Work to become your parents’ power of attorney or guardian if necessary. This legal maneuver will help you communicate with various banks, and other financial institutions on the behalf of your parents.
  4. Be transparent. Document all activities that you do. This is good to remember where you left off with something, as well as being able to show each step that you have worked on.

 Transitioning and legal help

If managing your parent’s finances is a bigger mission than you feel comfortable handling, there are resources in the community that can help. My Personal Bookkeeper has years of experience overseeing challenging tasks. In addition, there are legal services and lawyers who specialize in creating wills and other legal documents that may become necessary.

Managing your parent’s finances can be a challenging job, but it does not have to become an overwhelming burden. Using the tips above and working with community resources can get you set up and create an ongoing and effective way to handle all the tasks. Remember to communicate openly with your parents in order to establish this new system. When these things are done and are more in order, you and your parents will feel better about the future.