Help Elderly Parents From a Distance
If you don't live close enough to mom and dad to help them with daily money tasks, there are professionals who can.
Regular readers of the Kip Tips column know that I've written a lot about helping parents with their finances because I have had to help my mother, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, with hers. In the March issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, I write in detail about how to manage your parents' money when they no longer can.
What do you do, though, if you're three states away from Mom or Dad and can't be there every day to help?
Children who don't live near their parents and can't be there to monitor the mail or take over the bills may be able to hire a geriatric-care manager or daily money manager. Check the Web sites of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers and American Association of Daily Money Managers to locate one of these professionals.
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The adult-protective-services office where your parents live should have a list of nonprofit organizations that offer these services at little or no cost. Make sure the organization is bonded and insured (ask for proof), and speak with others who have used its services.
For more about helping your parents with their finances, see all my columns on the topic:
-- What You Should Know About Your Parents' Finances
-- 7 Signs Your Parents May Need Help With Money Tasks
-- How to Talk About Money With Your Parents
-- Protect Your Parents From Scams
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Award-winning journalist, speaker, family finance expert, and author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk.
Cameron Huddleston wrote the daily "Kip Tips" column for Kiplinger.com. She joined Kiplinger in 2001 after graduating from American University with an MA in economic journalism.
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