Caring for an aging parent and dealing with the responsibility of settling an estate is a task that few people want to think about. Openly discussing the roles and responsibilities of family members now can alleviate a great deal of confusion and frustration later.
My father recently passed away, and now I?m in the process of settling his estate. A few years ago we took the time to establish, and implement, a few strategies that have made the current task a little easier. If you haven?t taken the time yet to organize this process, here are a few ideas that might be helpful.
Consider a family meeting. At least sit down with the individuals who are going to be involved with your health and financial decisions. Begin with deciding and openly discussing each person?s role.
Create a health care power of attorney and a financial power of attorney in case you need it. In my dad?s situation we used both before it was over.
The health care power allows someone to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to. The distance of family members also has to be considered. In my dad?s case this happened fairly quickly after he fell and broke his hip. The financial power allows someone to make financial decisions and pay your bills. One easy thing to provide your children is a list of your health care providers and tax, legal and financial advisers with addresses and phone numbers.
Determine now what type of intervention you want, and when you will want it. Then communicate your wishes to your children. Intervention in your health and finances may come in stages.
With my dad we used partial intervention, and not until the last few months did we have to use total intervention. He retained a sense of independence by paying some of his own bills and spending his own money. He loved tipping people and having cash in his pocket. We watched over the big decisions with health care and finances. Seniors have a huge fear of losing their independence.
As you get older, have someone go with you to doctor?s appointments. It?s good to have another set of ears listening to the advice of your doctor. You might consider having all of your doctor?s information and medications updated and written down. Then give a copy to your children. My sister provided a wallet-sized laminated card to all the siblings so everyone at any given time could answer questions about Dad?s medical information.
If you have to go to a nursing home, you might share with your family where you would like to go. Some care centers have religious affiliations and this may be important to you. If you are looking at a retirement community it might be important if they have all levels of care.
This was a problem when my dad fell. He had been living in assisted care for five years, but to our surprise, when we needed skilled care that unit had closed down a few years earlier. This created the headache of moving to another facility.
If you have a nursing home policy, tell your family where it?s located, and give them the contact information now for their records. If you have an older policy, make sure the insurance company has on file a secondary contact with current information to call if a premium is not paid.
Think about any modifications to your home to provide for a safer environment. Make sure that your family members have keys to gain entrance into your residence. If you carry a cellphone, enter an emergency contact number that a paramedic or health care worker can call if you are unable to communicate. You designate the contact by using ICE (In Case of Emergency) in front of the name.
Explain your income sources to your children. This would be Social Security, pensions and retirement plan distributions. Include documents that show income sources and contact information of past employers or pension administrators. Share a list of bills that you pay, including credit card accounts. These are simple steps that will make life easier for your children if they know what to expect, and who to call if you end up in a nursing home.
Communicate your wishes about your estate and make sure you have a will or a trust.
In my dad?s case he had a living trust, and even though there was more work on the front end, it has made the settlement of his estate fairly simple. Make sure you tell your family where your will or trust documentation is located.
Share with your family your investments and insurance policies and where they are located. You might want to discuss consolidating accounts and institutions. You can still remain diversified, but every institution will require its own set of paperwork and a death certificate. This can become very time consuming for an executor or trustee.
Periodically review and update your beneficiaries on your retirement accounts. It?s not uncommon for a beneficiary?s information to change. You should also have a discussion about tax implications of your beneficiary designations. If you have your living trust as a beneficiary of a retirement account, taxes will need to be paid when the account is distributed.
Consult with a tax adviser to help you develop strategies for distribution of your retirement accounts. In my dad?s case, because of his high medical bills and long-term care expenses we made distributions from his retirement accounts while he was alive. He was in a low tax bracket, and the income was going to be partially offset with deductions from medical expenses.
If you have prepaid funeral arrangements, make sure your family knows the details. Many people also pick out a burial plot, indicate their choice of funeral home, and even plan their own service. The more information you provide, the less stress there is for the family.
Finally, seek out advice and information. Well-meaning parents often tell their kids everything is handled, when it?s not. Having a road map will help your adult children with the complexity of caring for an aging parent and settling an estate.
Article source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111009/BUSINESS/310090034/-1/gallery_array/Guest-columnist-Organize-estate-plans-advance
Source: http://www.readroadestate.com/guest-columnist-organize-estate-plans-in-advance/
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