As family members get older, they may ask for help with their affairs. With free power of attorney templates, they can even delegate control over their finances to someone else. In this post, we’ll show you how to manage an elderly loved one’s affairs.
Assessing Their Situation
Your first step here should be to see how well your loved one can manage their own affairs. For example, are they lucid? If so, it’s never too early to discuss their affairs – especially if they don’t have a will.
Use this time to check how much help your elderly relative needs. Will you need to change their current care plan? Will they soon need round-the-clock help? Anything like this could affect your relative’s finances and, thus, their affairs.
Preserving Your Relative’s Autonomy
You should always aim to give your loved one as much autonomy as possible; they deserve to have a say in their own care and their finances. You should discuss every decision, minor and major, with them. Always give them a choice – don’t push them towards a particular one.
If you set up any accounts in their name, consider making them join so they can still take out money as they see fit. Review this regularly, and if they start to deteriorate, it might be time to limit their access.
While you can monitor their affairs, don’t micromanage them, or else they could easily become frustrated or even resentful. To our elderly family members, this is often a matter of dignity – let them handle their own finances in full if they’re still capable of it.
Teaching Loved Ones About Scams
Unfortunately, elderly relatives are particularly vulnerable to scams. In 2023 alone, scams took over $3.4 billion from US citizens aged 60 and up, usually by taking advantage of older people’s trust and unfamiliarity with technology.
You must educate your relatives about how to identify common scams. Here are just a few signs they should know about:
- Texts from unknown numbers claiming to be grandchildren
- Messages or calls claiming their account has been compromised
- Anyone asking for their sensitive (i.e., bank) details over the phone
- A fake tech support phone number on an online pop-up
- Threatening messages claiming to be from the government
By helping them avoid these scams, you can make sure their affairs are undamaged.
Setting Up a Power of Attorney
With a power of attorney, your relative can put someone else in control of their finances. If there are any medical crises, a PoA also lets someone else decide on treatment. Any PoA needs to fit the principal’s wishes, even if they can no longer decide for themselves.
With an online template, you can help your loved one create a power of attorney. They can then designate an “agent,” someone they trust to make decisions on their behalf. This could be you but only say yes if you know you can reliably manage their finances.
You (or another agent) should know exactly what your elderly loved one wants. Discuss this with them in detail so you, for example, know their long-term plans for selling any property or assets.
Planning for Emergencies
You should keep a list of your loved one’s emergency contacts and make sure it’s easy to access at any time. Anyone else spending a lot of time with your relative should also have one.
You should also discuss end-of-life preferences, such as if they would ever want to be on life support. Even without a PoA arrangement, this is something you and the family should know.
An advance medical directive could help with any major medical situation by letting your family member’s doctors know which treatments they are and aren’t okay with. Your loved one will also have more control over their own treatment.
Setting Up a Will
If your elderly relative doesn’t have a will, make sure they start writing one soon. Even if there’s no sign of an upcoming health crisis, it’s always good to be prepared. With this in mind, here are some useful tips they should follow
- Use an online template to streamline the whole process.
- Make sure to pick an executor who fights for your interests.
- Choose a backup executor in case the original cannot do it.
- Consider setting up trusts to reduce your taxable estate.
- Designate suitable guardians for minors you currently care for.
- Update the will regularly, especially after a major life change.
- Don’t omit any asset; everything should go to someone.
A last will and testament need at least two witnesses in any US state, and some states, such as Colorado, also require a notary public’s signature to be legally binding.
Final Thoughts
Your elderly relatives might need help to get their affairs together. With the right documents, you can also ensure everyone respects their wishes, letting you preserve their autonomy as much as possible.
