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BUSINESS Thursday 19 May 2022

Millennial Money: Learn your parents’ financial plans ASAP

By LAURA MCMULLEN could prompt them to get
of NerdWallet organized. Another option:
My mom died at age 61, Lead with a topical or per-
when I was 31. Seeing her sonal prompt. That’s what
headstone in a field of oth- Mark Schrader, a Char-
ers smacked me with a bru- lotte, North Carolina-based
tal, if obvious fact: Every- certified financial planner,
one, including everyone’s did with his mom. When his
parents, will die. CFP courses covered cer-
I promise I’m not trying to tain planning-related top-
depress you. I want to pre- ics, he would bring up what
pare you, as this loss can he was learning and ask
happen sooner than you’d about her intentions.
expect. And when parents If you’ve learned about
die, it’s often up to their end-of-life planning on
children to manage not your own — say, in an ar-
just grief but also financial ticle — or are making your
tasks. Planning for those to- own arrangements, let your
do’s now could help later, parents know and ask for
when you experience what their point of view.
may be some of your hard- “Make it a planning and
est days. “We surely ought preparation conversation,”
to have some idea of what says Schrader, who’s also a
we’re facing,” says Mela- financial planning strategist
nie Cullen, San Francisco In this April 14, 2016, file photo, a son, at right, holds his mother’s hand as they talk at her nursing at TIAA , a retirement-plan-
Bay Area-based author of home in Adrian, Mich. ning organization. “It’s not
“Get It Together: Organize Associated Press as much about the num-
Your Records So Your Fam- their bills but couldn’t tap we never discussed her fu- death with their kid. bers or ‘how much do you
ily Won’t Have To.” She their money to do so. Then neral. So when I planned it, Your parents have likely at- have in these accounts?’
adds: “On the other side you couldn’t use their mon- I was engulfed in both grief tended more funerals than but ‘what accounts do
of it, our parents need to ey for their funeral, which and guesswork. you and may have man- you have, and how can I
know we’re interested, we could cost thousands of My family spent an enor- aged their own parents’ help if for some reason you
care, we’re there to help.” dollars. mous sum of money on deaths. Consider tapping couldn’t be there?’”
Here’s why, how and what Many caregivers wind up an open-casket service, those experiences to start WHAT SHOULD WE COVER?
to talk about with your par- “digging into their own in part because we didn’t your conversation, sug- Ask if your parents have
ents. money,” says AARP family know what to do and gests Singleton, who’s also a power of attorney for
WHY MUST I DISCUSS THIS caregiving expert Amanda struggled to focus on the an estate-planning attor- finances. This legal docu-
MORBID TOPIC? Singleton. You can’t save decision. I suspect that my ney in St. Petersburg, Flori- ment names someone who
Without documented plans or invest money that’s cov- thrifty, camera-shy mom da . Ask how they handled can make money decisions
for your parents’ end-of-life ering your parents’ expens- would have preferred a their loved ones’ end-of-life on their behalf. Also learn
finances, you may wind up es, she adds. And if you’re simple (and less expensive) care. whether they have similar
scraping for cash. short on cash, you may cremation. Did Grandma have an up- documents for medical
Say you weren’t given ac- take on debt. HOW DO I FRAME THE CON- to-date will and make her care, such as an advanced
cess to your parents’ finan- Beyond this potential finan- VERSATION? financial information easy care directive, health care
cial accounts in the case cial hit, your parents’ plans Broach the subject with for your parents to find? proxy or power of attorney
of incapacitation or death. and wishes are less likely sensitivity and respect. Per- Maybe they can follow her for health care.
What would happen if your to be fulfilled if you don’t sonal finance is an uncom- lead. A living will can be helpful,
parents were too sick to know what they are. fortable topic for many. Or if your parents had to since this document out-
manage their finances? For example, in the months Now your parents must talk sort out messy finances, lines what they might want
You would need to pay when my mom was dying, about both money and recalling that experience for end-of-life care.q