You spend so much time thinking about, creating, and managing your own estate plan that it’s easy to overlook the importance of discussing this with your elderly parents.
As your parents age, they often forget about estate planning. And for this reason, they’re more likely to overlook something of importance or make a mistake.
Fortunately, with the right approach, you can step in to ensure that your elderly parents have a comprehensive estate plan that suits their life stage, personal wants and needs, and financial circumstances.
Note: as you discuss estate planning with your parents, don’t push too hard. You don’t want to give the impression that you’re only asking because you want something from them.
Here are some of the many questions you can ask your elderly parents about their estate plan:
- Are you comfortable with your current estate plan?
- When was the last time you reviewed your estate plan?
- Do you need any assistance in reviewing your estate plan for potential changes?
- Have you given any thought to long-term care planning? Have you tackled this in your estate plan?
- Do you receive Medicaid benefits? Is now the time to apply?
- Has anything changed, in regards to your finances, that calls for you to review and modify your estate plan?
- Is your estate plan being kept in a safe place?
These are just a few of the many questions you can ask your elderly parents about their estate plan and related details. As you discuss these questions and subsequent answers, other topics may come to light that are worth touching on.
The overall goal of this conversation is to ensure that your parents have an estate plan and are comfortable with every aspect of it. Should you see any areas of concern, you can point them out and provide guidance.
It’s often best to consult with an estate planning attorney, so if your parents need assistance don’t hesitate to contact us.
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