Money Management And Your Aging Parent (Part 2)

A delicate balance exists when determining if you parents are capable of continuing to manage their finances. Dementia or medical conditions may be a factor. Other times, parents delay paying bills because it feels like a big task, but a continuous pattern of late payments has consequences, including whopping fees or increased interest rates. Obviously, in times of medical crisis, you have no option but to take over. But don't wait until the crisis arrives to make sure you're authorized to do what needs to be done.

While your parent may be able to resume managing finances after recovery, you may find your short-term handling of your parent's finances provides a logical point to continue money management on a long-term basis.

this is a good article to post.
My MIL got herself into 135k debt with nothing to show for it.My husband was reluctant to get involved with her finances because she was able minded and he thought she’d be mad. By the time he did get involved, too late!
Really. Nothing to show for it but crap from tv shopping channels.

Fortunately, we were able to convince my 72 y/o mother to move to a senior retirement community after Dad died so her bills are minimal since they cover utilities and maintenance. She has her own apartment and independence, but has 24 hour nursing care and assisted living services available when she needs it and an emergency pull cord in every room. We were scared to death she was going to fall down the steps to the basement in the old house, she’s not real steady on her feet. She also has a financial advisor that she trusts who budgets her fixed income and he has done well by her. Now the only thing we worry about is her driving...yikes!

My mom is 97 and still is able to do her own finances. She also drives. She just gave up her home to move in with us and she has already gotten active in our community. We just had our 50 wedding anniversary and my mom was here to celebrate with us. (People are shocked when I tell them her age.)

I haven’t begun to think about growing old. It just isn’t in our vocabulary yet. We have thought about over 50 housing, but need the room for our extended family to come for family gatherings, vacations, holidays, etc.

I realize that God has blessed us with good health and joie de vivre. I am aware that it could all change in a second.

This hits really close to home. I kept telling my hubby he needed to check on his mom’s finances, because his deadbeat brother had full access to them, and for a man with no job, he seemed to always have cash on hand. Hubby kept saying his brother wouldn’t do anything unethical. Four years later, the deadbeat had drained every last penny and had mom $75K in debt. He did this while she was in a nursing home, with a degenerative disease, and completely unable to handle any of her own finances. Guess who got to bail mom out? It wasn’t the deadbeat.

Yes, be thankful. My mother has a whole list of ailments and has had 3 back surgeries in the last few years, most of her back is titanium. She is prone to falling and has done so several times in the last 6 months, which really concerns us.

I am having total hip replacement in June and she is insisting on coming to TX to "help" me during recovery and while I appreciate the gesture, if she hurts herself down here, my sister will have a fit. Mom insisted on driving herself down here last year and fell while stretching her legs, broke her wrist and bruised herself up pretty bad. My nephew flew from MO to drive her back home. I hate to treat her like a child...I usually get on to my sister for doing that to her...but I am probably going to have to set some ground rules down for her as far as what she can or cannot do to "help". It ought to be interesting...

We just built and moved into our "retirement home", a single story log cabin in the Hill Country, 5 years ago. I do alot of entertaining as well, I made sure we had two living areas, a family room for the guys and a formal living room for the gals, LOL!

Congrats on your 50 years! May God bless you with many more years of marriage and good health. My hubby has had kidney cancer and a triple heart bypass so far, I thought I was going to lose him both times. It is a really frightening experience, so don't waste a moment you are given.

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