How to talk to your parents about their money

Life Kit

NPR

Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Business, Kids & Family

4.5 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2023

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For many families, there comes a time when it's the kid's turn to take care of their parents. But caretaking is expensive and draining. Make it easier on yourself by talking to your parents ahead of time about their finances, their long-term care plans, and their wishes. In this episode, how to approach your parents, what to ask them, and what to do if they're already experiencing dementia or cognitive decline.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to LifeKit from NPR.
0:06.9	Hey everybody, it's MaryL.
0:11.5	There is this painful, kind of expected, but still shocking reality in life.
0:18.9	When your parents reach a certain age, they may no longer be able to take care of themselves,
0:23.4	physically or financially.
0:26.0	Sometimes that moment comes way sooner than you expect.
0:29.8	Cameron Huddleston's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at age 65.
0:34.4	I was only 35, and we had not had detailed conversations about her finances until she
0:43.4	was experiencing memory loss, and I learned that that's a bad time to have those conversations.
0:48.4	Whether you're stepping in as a full-time caretaker or just helping out around the margins,
0:52.9	you need to know the full financial picture, to pay your parents bills or pay for care.
0:58.0	It's a bad idea to wait until there's an emergency that forces you to have those conversations
1:03.9	because your emotions are going to be all over the place when there's that emergency,
1:11.3	and it's a lot harder to have a rational conversation.
1:15.6	Cameron's a journalist, and her experience led her to write a book called Mom and Dad We Need To Talk.
1:21.6	How to have essential conversations with your parents about their finances.
1:26.2	Cameron has a ton of advice on how to go about this.
1:29.0	Like don't expect to whip out a checklist and get all the answers in one sitting.
1:32.8	I would encourage people not to sit your parents down and grill them for hours.
1:38.2	This doesn't happen in one conversation.
1:40.6	On this episode of LifeKit, Cameron and I talk about what you need to ask your parents
1:44.4	about their finances.
	...

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