Welcome to the third installment of the Parent Project series. As your parents age, they may need you to pick up the reins and help out a little -- or a lot. Helping your parents get older with grace and dignity can be fulfilling, but at the same time challenging. The more prepared you are for this challenge the easier it will be.

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What is preparation?

The word preparation means getting ready for an event or undertaking. You prepare for trips, parties, and all kinds of things. When you prepare financially you make financial life more stable, organized, and consistent.

You don’t even know if our parents will need help so why should you prepare for it now? You may not think that you need to prepare to manage your parents’ finances but the more prepared you are the more ready you will be if an unforeseen event happens.

How can you talk to your parents about their finances?

Talking to your parents about finances and estate planning can be uncomfortable. No one wants to sit down and have that big conversation. So instead of having a big uncomfortable conversation try having smaller conversations over time. When you strike up smaller conversations it’s easier to keep the dialogue open. Try opening the door to a smaller conversation the next time you see your parents.

The 3 types of aging parents

Everyone’s parents are different. Some parents don’t want to deal with any of their finances, this type of parent may need you to be a project manager. Others may want a little bit of assistance, if so, then you could take on the role of a coach. And other elderly parents may want you to take a hands-off approach. They may appreciate you feeding them small pieces of information along the way. What kind of parents do you have?

Tips for talking to your parents about their finances

Keep the financial conversation separate from family time
Don’t have too many cooks in the kitchen
Take an inventory of their accounts
Create a net worth statement
Set up online access for all of their accounts
Use a password manager
Get organized and create a diagram
Have digital records
Get introduced to key people

Listen in to hear the details about how to create this dialogue so that you can get prepared to help your parents. Whether they need it or not, being prepared for the financial conversation will give you some peace of mind as your parents get older. Make sure to stick around to hear a first-hand story from retirement coach, Mark Ross and catch up with Lori from Retirement Plan Live.