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How can you help your parents or older relatives when they need help with financial issues? You first need to be able to identify that a problem exists. Accepting help with finances is a step that seniors may be reluctant to discuss, so we hope these steps will make it easier on your family to begin the next stage of your lives.
The warning signs that your parent or other older relative needs help may be subtle. Unfortunately, it is very likely that someone close to you will need help with what seems like simple tasks as they age. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that 1 in 3 seniors will die with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Seniors with early dementia are easy targets for phishing schemes, tax scams, and outright theft. Protecting your parents’ life savings and retirement goes hand-in-hand with protecting their dignity.
To decide whether your relatives need help, you can check out the list of the 10 Signs of Alzheimer’s. As well, some red flags may be specifically financial, such as:
Be especially alert for these signs if your relative:
A family therapist or even your relative’s physician can help you start the discussion with your relatives if you are not sure where to start. Once you have, you can start to take these steps into protecting your parents: