#24 - Ideas to Help Elderly Parents Today
Reluctant Executor News
It's great to plan ahead, but what can you do to help your elderly parents today? Think about how they helped you as a child, watching out for you and teaching you new things. If your parents are still in good health, you're lucky, and you can prioritize non-health care related discussions. And maybe teach them something that you've learned.
Below are two topics to try to bring up with your elderly parents.
LinkedIn post from June 19, 2024
Your parents' aversion to technology could be costing them over $5,000 per year.
As we age, a lot of us stick with technology that we are comfortable with. New tech might be confusing, complicated, or we might just not trust it.
Your parents may feel that way about online banking.
Moving money from a large, traditional bank to one with only online access can be scary.
Yet these online accounts offer much higher interest rates.
If they put their fears aside, they could earn 500 times more on their money.
The average savings account balance for 65-74 year olds is $100,249. The APY for large, traditional banks is 0.01% APY.
That yields about $10.
For the whole year.
If they moved that money to a high yield, online account, they could earn over 5.00% APY, or over $5,000 per year.
What seems like a no-brainer to some is extremely tough for others, especially across generations.
What is the most difficult thing that you've tried to get your parents to do, knowing there is a large benefit that they are missing out on?
Click here to comment or like this post on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn post from July 18, 2024
Choosing your executor is easy, right? Just pick your closest family.
But is there more to this decision?
Most of us choose our spouse or an adult child, but you can pick anyone.
An uncle, sister, cousin, neighbor, roommate…
The most important thing to do before choosing your executor?
Talk to them.
Make sure they are open to doing this job.
And not just because you asked.
They could end up spending 18 months working to close your estate.
They may have to deal with family fighting.
They may have to track down information that you didn't share with them.
They might not live close to you when needed.
Make sure you both understand what this role involves.
Then choose the best person that you feel is capable, as long as they feel the same way.
Click here to comment or like this post on LinkedIn.
Estate Map
Any discussion with your elderly parents is time well spent, especially when you look back on it years from now. Having conversations about easier topics helps open the door to harder ones. Get a sense of what is easy to talk about, and what isn't. And when you're ready, try capturing some of the critical information in an Estate Map.
Reluctant Executor's Estate Map template is a free resource that can help you document your parent's important information. You can download an Estate Map template to get started, or contact me at Bill@ReluctantExecutor.com for one-on-one guidance.