{"id":13253,"date":"2018-02-02T07:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=13253"},"modified":"2018-02-01T14:14:04","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T20:14:04","slug":"talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health<\/h1>\n

A lot of people find it hard to talk about money. Conversations about how someone\u2019s doing financially are hard enough in the best of times, but talking about financial health with an aging parent can be especially tricky. For many years, they were the one teaching you about finances. Now you recognize that they\u2019re approaching an age where they\u2019ll probably need help managing their money.\"How<\/p>\n

It\u2019s uncomfortable to bring up, but addressing money concerns with your aging parents is an important talk for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling with figuring out how to approach the issue with your loved one, here are a few tips to make it easier.<\/p>\n

Bringing Up\u00a0Financial Health with a Senior Loved One<\/h2>\n

The short answer here is: before you have to.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, there\u2019s not really a right time \u2013 it\u2019s just a matter of getting it done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Andy Smith CFP\u00ae and Co-Host of the Financial Engines Investing Sense<\/a> show says it\u2019s best to see it as a series of talks rather than one big, serious conversation. \u201cPeople need to think of it as a process. You can have little bits of a conversation all along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finances aren\u2019t the kind of thing you deal with once and you\u2019re done with, and you\u2019ll likely want to tackle different issues with your loved one at different times.<\/p>\n

According to Smith, \u201cthe first conversation\u2019s always going to be the toughest because you think that you\u2019re going to be upsetting people and putting them on edge and that\u2019s not the case. You\u2019re talking to family and family\u2019s going to know you have their best interests at heart.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you\u2019ve been putting off \u201cthe talk\u201d because you\u2019re imagining a dramatic discussion and are worried about upsetting your parent, then reframe how you\u2019re thinking about it. It doesn\u2019t have to be that way and it probably won\u2019t be that bad. Make a point to bring it up sooner rather than later and get that first discussion out of the way so you can clear the path for the steps you\u2019ll need to take down the line.<\/p>\n

Ways to Make Conversations About Financial Health Go Smoothly<\/h2>\n

You don\u2019t have to start with the big stuff. Begin by asking some simple questions about their investments or spending habits. If they have a financial advisor, ask if you can join them the next time they have an appointment. Gaining an understanding of their financial situation now will make it a lot easier to take a more active role down the line if they start to have a greater need.<\/p>\n

Smith suggests that one of the best things you can do to keep conversations about your loved one\u2019s finances amicable is to position yourself as a \u201cfinancial speed bump\u201d \u2013 you\u2019re not telling your parents what they can and can\u2019t do with their own money, you\u2019re offering to help slow things down before they make a big financial decision to consider if it\u2019s the best move.<\/p>\n

Eventually \u2013 hopefully after a number of smaller conversations about finances \u2013 you\u2019ll need to get into some of the bigger questions like how you\u2019ll handle the finances as a family if your loved one loses the ability to do so themselves. Make sure to have that conversation at a time when everyone involved can join. That way you can make sure everyone\u2019s on the same page and no one feels left out. But try to find a time to do it that\u2019s not in the middle of a holiday so it\u2019s not distracting from quality time you\u2019d rather be spending on something else.<\/p>\n

There are some\u00a0important things you should cover in your conversations with your senior\u00a0parent about their financial health:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Gain an idea of what their financial situation is now and what their hopes are for the future.<\/li>\n
  2. Have a conversation about the different investments and income sources they depend on for the moment.<\/li>\n
  3. Understand their typical budgeting and spending habits. Then shift to asking about what they want to be able to do and afford in the years to come.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If they\u2019re not yet working with a financial advisor, that\u2019s a step worth taking together. Make sure you find a fiduciary to work with, they\u2019re required by law to make decisions that are in your best interest \u2013 not all investment advisors are.\u00a0Smith recommends working together to create a plan that is goal based and that you\u2019ll regularly revisit and update throughout the year. That way you\u2019ll always have something to go back to in your future conversations to keep things clear.<\/p>\n

    At some point, you\u2019ll also want to talk about providing power of attorney to a family member. If the day comes when your parent can no longer make financial decisions on their own, you want to be prepared with a clear plan for who should take over and make sure they have the legal means to do so.<\/p>\n

    Smith\u2019s final word of advice is \u201cdon\u2019t feel like you have to do anything alone.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    If this all feels daunting and hard to face, it will be easier if you let someone else in. If you have siblings to work through the process with, then have these discussions and make plans together. If not, turn to your spouse to ask for help.<\/p>\n

    Even if everyone involved in these discussions handles things well and they never get contentious or difficult \u2013\u00a0it’s a reminder to all involved of potential difficulties to come as your parent ages. That\u2019s hard to face and you\u2019ll all bear it better with the support of loved ones.<\/p>\n

    Talking to your senior parent sooner rather than later about finances and the future could save you a lot of confusion and difficulty down the line.<\/p>\n

    Go ahead and pick a time to address it with them now. You\u2019ll both be better off for it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health A lot of people find it hard to talk about money. Conversations about how someone\u2019s doing financially are hard enough in the best of times, but talking about financial health with an aging parent can be especially tricky. For many years, they were the one teaching you about finances. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2199,"featured_media":13264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,162],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-families-caregivers","8":"category-retirement-planning"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Addressing financial health with senior parents is one of the most important\u00a0conversations for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling, read our tips.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Addressing financial health with senior parents is one of the most important\u00a0conversations for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling, read our tips.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-02T13:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-01T20:14:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristen Hicks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristen Hicks\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/\",\"name\":\"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-02T13:00:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-01T20:14:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/155f7689ce014c42c1db768ba81e1ce6\"},\"description\":\"Addressing financial health with senior parents is one of the most important\u00a0conversations for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling, read our tips.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"description\":\"Empowering Families in their Search for Care\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/155f7689ce014c42c1db768ba81e1ce6\",\"name\":\"Kristen Hicks\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef8a7379a7f4f39d7810b58ef0a0f?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef8a7379a7f4f39d7810b58ef0a0f?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Kristen Hicks\"},\"description\":\"Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/kristenh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health","description":"Addressing financial health with senior parents is one of the most important\u00a0conversations for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling, read our tips.","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health","og_description":"Addressing financial health with senior parents is one of the most important\u00a0conversations for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling, read our tips.","og_site_name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","article_published_time":"2018-02-02T13:00:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-02-01T20:14:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kristen Hicks","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kristen Hicks","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/","url":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/","name":"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-02T13:00:01+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-01T20:14:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/155f7689ce014c42c1db768ba81e1ce6"},"description":"Addressing financial health with senior parents is one of the most important\u00a0conversations for families to have. If you\u2019re struggling, read our tips.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2018\/02\/how-to-talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.prod.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/talk-to-a-senior-parent-about-their-financial-health\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Talk to a Senior Parent About Their Financial Health"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/","name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","description":"Empowering Families in their Search for Care","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/155f7689ce014c42c1db768ba81e1ce6","name":"Kristen Hicks","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.65.39\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef8a7379a7f4f39d7810b58ef0a0f?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef8a7379a7f4f39d7810b58ef0a0f?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Kristen Hicks"},"description":"Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.","url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/kristenh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13253"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13265,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13253\/revisions\/13265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}