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THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021 Page 15 S y Senior How to Help Your Elderly Sa e a H t H l BY JIM MILLER Senio nior nr Eldl ior Parent with Their Finances Dear Savvy Senior, What tips can you off er on helping an elderly parent with their fi nances? My 84-year-old father is having trouble keeping up with his bills and insurance, and I just found out that he’s been making contributions to a suspicious charity. Reluctant Daughter Dear Reluctant, Many adult children serve as fi nancial helpers to their elderly or ill parents. They provide services like paying bills, handling deposits and investments, fi ling insurance claims, preparing taxes and more. Here are some tips and resources that can help you help your dad. Start with a Conversation Taking on the task of helping an elderly parent with their fi - nances can be a sensitive and diffi cult topic. The fi rst step in helping your dad is to have a respectful talk with him expressing your concerns, as you stated in your question, and offering to help him with his fi - nancial chores. If you have siblings, it can be a good idea to get them involved too. This can help you head off any possible hard feelings, plus, with others involved, your dad will know everyone is concerned. Get Organized If your dad is willing to let you help manage, monitor or take over his fi nancial aff airs your fi rst order of business is to get organized by making a list of his fi nancial accounts and other important information. Your list should include his: Contact list: Names and numbers of key contacts like insurance agents, fi nancial advisor, tax preparer, family attorney, etc. Monthly bills: Phone, cable, water and trash, gas, electric, credit card accounts, etc. Financial accounts: Including bank accounts, brokerage and mutual fund accounts, safe-deposit boxes and any other fi nancial assets he has. Also get usernames and passwords for financial accounts that are set up online. Company benefi ts: Any retirement plans, pensions or health benefi ts from his current or former employer. Insurance policies: Life, home, auto, long-term care, Medicare, etc. Taxes: Copies of your dad’s income tax returns over the past few years. Locate Important Documents This is also the ideal time to fi nd out if your dad has the following essential legal documents: A will; an advance directive that includes a living will and health-care proxy, which allows you or another family member or friend to make medical decisions on his behalf if he becomes incapacitated; and a durable power of attorney, which gives you or a designated person similar legal authority for fi nancial decisions, if needed. If he doesn’t have these important documents prepared, now is the time to do it. And if they are prepared, make sure they’re updated, and you know where they’re located. Simplify Financial Tasks The quickest way to help your dad simplify his monthly fi nancial chores is to set up automatic payments for his utilities and other routine bills and arrange for direct deposit of his income sources. If your dad has savings and investments scattered in many diff erent accounts, you should consider consolidating them. You can also set up your dad’s bank system and investment accounts online, so you can pay bills and monitor his accounts anytime. Set Up Protections To guard against scams and risky fi nancial behaviors, consider getting your dad a True Link Visa Prepaid Card (TrueLinkFinancial.com/card). Designed for older adults with cognitive issues this card would provide your dad access to his money but with restrictions that you set on how funds can be spent. Or check out EverSafe. com, a web-based service that will automatically monitor your dad’s accounts, track suspicious activity and alert you when a problem is detected. Seek Help If you need help or live far away, consider hiring a daily money manager (see AADMM.com) who can come in once or twice a month to pay bills, make deposits, decipher health insurance statements and balance his checkbook. Fees range between $60 and $150 per hour. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

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