Genuine sentiment aside, doing so has proven to be a real challenge for many, especially those in their 40s. Many families are already struggling to save sufficiently for their own retirements. Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Assistance can take many forms and involve different levels of commitment.
Here are three important areas where you can support your parents while working to safeguard your own financial plans.
Encourage your parents to have an up-to-date estate plan. This includes individual wills, trust documents, durable powers of attorney and medical directives. All documents should be properly signed and executed. Ask your parents to provide you with a copy of each document so you can review them together and keep them as a backup copy in case theirs go missing, especially in a time of need.
As a general rule of thumb, estate plan documents should be reviewed for accuracy and completeness every three to five years, particularly as assets or relationships evolve. Additionally, remind your parents to review and update their retirement account beneficiary designations for accounts like IRAs and k s. Many older adults worry about making their financial ends meet each month.
Out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by Medicare or supplemental health insurance can quickly overwhelm many households. For many individuals 65 years or older, one of their primary sources of income is Social Security , and it may not be sufficient to offset expenses. I suggest working with your parents to get a real-time assessment of their household cash flow.
