Estate Planning and Parental Care
When you create an estate plan, most people take children into consideration. However, parental care is a serious issue, and many elderly people rely on adult children to help them maintain a dignified existence.
Start by asking your parents if they will have sufficient funds to live in their own home when they retire. Because the cost of a maintaining a home will use up at least one social security check, your parents may need to rely on you if they don’t have any additional retirement funds.
Work with your estate planner to assign some portion of your estate to your parents. Of course, if your have a spouse and children, dividing the estate between generations could cause serious conflict before or after your untimely passing.
Your estate attorney will be able to help you build a portfolio of life insurance and financial contingency plans to ensure that everyone in your family has financial resources. For example, you could create a plan that would pay-off the mortgage on both your home and your parent’s home if you passed away.
If you have (or will have) a single, elderly parent, you should assume he or she will eventually need your help. Once a single parent develops a chronic illness, you will be called upon to help. Work with your lawyer now so these financial eventualities are addressed before they become an impossible burden.
