I know the title might catch some attention but no I’m not planning on offing either of my parents lol
A recent post on this sub sparked this worry with my own parents. Neither of them are ‘old’ as they’re both only in their late 50s however my father has been battling cancer for a few years, plus other health concerns. Both his parents passed in their early to late 60s so I’m worried I have less than a decade left with my father, and always the what-if of something happening unexpectedly. I’m also not biologically his son but he’s been my father my entire existence. My parents aren’t married but together over 30 years. Neither have any power of attorney or legal authority of any kind should something happen to the other.
My mother has always done all of their finances, but if something were to happen to her, my dad would have ZERO clue where to even begin. He was the sole provider for the last 25 years, my mom recently finally started working again but making just above minimum wage with limited hours so it wouldn’t be enough to keep up with rent. My father has a union pension when he finally retires, that he could pass to one person for a reduced amount.
Besides the obvious, getting my mom to write down a list of all accounts and share access to the accounts with my dad, would anyone have any tips or just ideas of how I can help my parents prepare should the unfortunate happen? I did finally get my mom using iCloud Keychain (to some extent) but my dad uses Android. Neither are very tech savvy.
I believe my mother has a will but my father does not.
I’ll reply/edit with any new information if requested.
Tips to prepare for losing a parent (CA)
byu/EMERGx inpersonalfinance
Posted by EMERGx
5 Comments
Review the PF Wiki, sections on Estate.
* https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki
sit with him ask questions will,plans etc.
make sureyou talk about your plans after he is gone.
that way he knows you have a plan and will execute it.
you can also use this to kick your self in the but remind yourself i promised my dad i would do this…
Years before my Dad passed away I installed a cloud password manager and sucked in all his passwords from his browser. It really helped a ton when I had to pay and later shut off his utilities vs going thru the death certificate route.
Get a TRUST, put all the things in the trust. Its not expensive. I went thru Will with my Dad and Trust with my Mother-in-Law (she had a Will too). Night and day difference.
I mean if you’re not legally his son, and they’re not legally married, and he doesn’t have beneficiaries set up correctly and/or a will/trust, shi-t is going to go sideways real quick…
Depending on your state, you may check for several free documents: power of attorney, will, etc. I applaud you for taking the lead in this. I tried many times to send docs and have the parents fill the out and notarized.