Everybody eventually gets older and passes on. When your parents reach a point where they need to consider their end-of-life plans, it can be a stressful and emotional thing for everybody to deal with. However, you can help make things easier for them. By taking on some of the burdens of handling their care and finances, you’ll find that the whole process goes much smoother. Here are some tips to help you.
Communicate Clearly
Only 37% of Americans have advanced directives in place to guide their end-of-life care in an emergency. Ideally, you’ll know your parents’ wishes before they actually need to be implemented. In order to fulfill their wants and needs, you need to know about them. Make a point of communicating with your parents and getting all the information you need. Death and money are very sensitive topics, but opening up to each other about what needs to happen allows you to put plans into place as soon as possible. Plus, by starting ahead, you have opportunities to save money, meaning you can put extra money toward other things your parents need.
Evaluate Their Insurance Options
Your parents will need to have health insurance that covers any treatments and healthcare that they need. While saving money is important, so is getting quality care. Make sure that you evaluate your parents’ current insurance and see if there are any ways to improve it. If they have Medicare, make sure you know the rules of their plan. Original Medicare will only require them to pay 20% of their medical bills, regardless of the amount. Meanwhile, the Medicare Advantage Plan will put a cap on their spending amount. If you know this information, you can use it to help with saving money on medical costs.
Help Set Up Their Will
Your parents should inform you about what they want to be done with their property after their deaths. Take some time to work with a lawyer and set up a will. 77% of Americans think that estate planning is important regardless of how wealthy you are, so if your family has not created a will or an estate plan, now is the time. Work with an estate lawyer to make sure everything is done properly. Once their plans are officially put in their wills, your parents can focus on living the rest of their lives, rather than worrying about what will happen when they’re gone.
Understand End of Life Care Options
There are several different options when it comes to end-of-life care. Depending on your parent’s health, they might utilize one or more of them. Make sure you understand how things like palliative care and hospice work. While they might seem to be the same thing, they have different requirements. If you know exactly which one your parents need, you can find the right provider and get it set up quickly. Plus, this will keep you from having to fight insurance companies who might disagree on the type of care needed.
If you’re helping your parent with their end-of-life care and finances, you need to be sure that you’re doing things properly. Saving money is important since you’ll want to have enough available to support them. But at the same time, you need to make sure that they get the medical care that they need. Take your time learning about the different responsibilities and options. Then, talk honestly with your parents about what they want to do. If you work together, you’ll be able to get them what they need. Then, you can all focus on enjoying the time you have together rather than stressing about how you’ll take care of them.
