Very few adult children know the lay of the land when it comes to the finances of their parents. Understandably so. I mean, finances are very personal so why should parent and child share such delicate information?
Because there shouldn’t be any surprises.
What if one of your parents becomes sick and you become responsible for their finances? Then you find out they are in debt with a bunch of overdue bills. Just because we don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
All of a sudden you may need to fork out a large portion of your savings to pay for their bills. This added expense may mean you stop saving, or even go in to debt yourself to help your parent(s).
Or maybe they don’t have an up to date will.
It may seem rude, but for your sake you need to find out how well they are insured, who their medical and financial power of attorneys are, and how their finances are.
The key for our own retirement planning is as few surprises as possible. Some frank conversations with your parents now can prevent potential future crisis that weren’t expected. We need to start talking before there is an emergency.
We tend to hide behind our problems until we have no choice. Many children don’t know their parents are even in financial trouble. The signs are not always obvious. Talking about these things is the only way, as uncomfortable as that may be.
Your parents are likely to need your assistance, whether that be financial or otherwise. As long as they understand this then they should be willing to share. You may encounter resistance but if you explain the reasons then they should cooperate.
This is an unpleasant conversation for many, but by opening the dialogue you will be thankful. If they are in a good position, then great. If they aren’t, then you can plan ahead of time to prepare. There is nothing worse than thinking your financial plan is heading in one direction to be dealt a devastating blow you didn’t see coming.
The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here