Comments on: Talking About Finances With Your Aging Parents … or Grown Kids

By: finance

finance — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:49:02 +0000

it’s a good thing that some one posted this article those things are not being discussed in almost all household. We only have some discussion about it when someone have passed away. It’s quite good and practical idea. thanks

By: used tires

used tires — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:34:58 +0000

Wow, you’ve hit upon some hard but true issues. It’s something everyone should openly discuss more often to avoid troubles and complications later on.

Till then,

Jean

By: Plan Your Way To Wealth

Plan Your Way To Wealth — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:35:08 +0000

Not only should a Will be obtained, but also a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property. This document allows the person(s) you designate to make financial decisions on your behalf when you are no longer able to do so. If you do not have this in place, then family members must make an application in court to have this Power of Attorney put in place. A lot of time and heartache can be achieved with some advance planning.

By: Tax Guy

Tax Guy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:17:01 +0000

I worked for a number of years as an estate administrator and I can tell you that often parents are secretive about their will and estate plans. We had a case where the deceased did not disclose the estate plan (nor where his assets were) to his family. When we acted as executor we thought we knew where his investment were .. after some digging we found three times more investments he didn’t even tell us about. We were never sure if we ever found it all.

It is important to speak to your parents about their plans!

By: Julie S

Julie S — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:01:28 +0000

I understood that you should not put your will in a safety deposit box because upon your death, the box would be sealed by the bank and no one would be able to access it.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:39:57 +0000

It’s true. We really should have this discussion at any age. Good point about the computer passwords too. What a nightmare. If you died tomorrow, at least one person needs to know where everything is and how to access it.

By: Ms Save Money

Ms Save Money — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:12:27 +0000

I definitely agree with this article. It’s good to be well prepared “just in case.” And this isn’t just for older people either. Young people should do the same as well because you never know what might happen to you.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:06:33 +0000

I have covered all these items (except pre-paid funeral) with my parents and it is strangely comforting after a short while to know that this is looked after. Yes, it is a bit awkward to discuss but get through it.

In turn, it inspired me to do the same thing, in case I die unexpectedly. My Mom knows where all this is, and I give her an annual update.

Good article.

By: Krista

Krista — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:55:07 +0000

Great article. It’s always been like pulling teeth to get the information out of my Dad. Then when I called him to tell him the details of ours (since he’s the executor), he suddenly opened up about theirs. Weirdest thing.

I just wanted to point out though, if you’ve remarried since your last will, you need to do more than just reread it. You need a new one because marriage nullifies preexisting wills.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:19:35 +0000

When I was a financial planner, a colleaugue told me about the “40/70 rule” he recommends to his clients: you need to have the money talk with your parents by the time they are 70 or you are 40 whichever comes first. You need to have the money talk with your kids by the time they are 40 or you are 70 – whichever comes first.

By: PD

PD — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:20:57 +0000

Excellent article giving practical advice for a sometimes difficult topic. I recommend attaching this site and sending it to love ones.

The father of a dear friend of mine died suddenly, about a year ago now. I was recently visiting with her and asked her how her family was coping. She admitted that one of the most frustrating things was accessing her father’s computer which was password protected. He was an extremely organized man who kept all important documents on his computer. Her advice to all family members is to make sure loved ones know where to find your passwords.