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There is this painful, kind of expected, but still shocking reality in life.

When your parents reach a certain age, they may no longer be able to take care of themselves, physically or financially.

Sometimes that moment comes way sooner than you expect.

Cameron Huddleston's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at age 65.

I was only 35, and we had not had detailed conversations about her finances until she was experiencing memory loss, and I learned that that's a bad time to have those conversations. Whether you're stepping in as a full-time caretaker or just helping out around the margins,

you need to know the full financial picture to pay your parents' bills or pay for care.

It's a bad idea to wait until there's an emergency that forces you to have those conversations

because your emotions are going to be all over the place when there's that emergency.

And it's a lot harder to have a rational conversation.

Cameron's a journalist, and her experience led her to write a book called Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk,

how to have essential conversations with your parents about their finances.

Cameron has a ton of advice on how to go about this.

Like, don't expect to whip out a checklist and get all the answers in one sitting.

...