Managing your older parents' affairs

I made a checklist of estate planning items for my parents and I am sharing it with you. This helped me track lots of items which needed care as my parents were well in their 70s. Use it with care, add to it, and go over it once a year. 1. Do they each have the following documents: a) Power of Attorney for Healtcare or Advance Directive? b) Power of Attorney for Asset Management? Who is named as the agent? Where do they keep the originals? 2. Do they have a Financial Notebook? If not, create a paper ledger for them to list all of their assets. I bought a ledger from Staples and set it up for them to use. One of my sisters keeps the notebook and updates it with them every six months. 3. What are their monthly mortgage, insurance, and other expenses? Automate payment of all of these. Create a Google Spreadsheet and track these expenses with them. 4. Do they have a Medicare Supplement policy? If not, call their insurance agent and arrange this. 5. Do they have an Accountant? Who is it? Name, Address and Tel. Number. 6. What is their monthly income amount and its source? Put this information on the Financial Ledgers. When one parent dies, will the income be sufficient for the survivor? 7. Do they have a Long Term Care plan for when and if they can no longer live on their own? What can they afford in terms of in-home and out-of-home care and housing? 8. Have they done any estate planning? Name, address and Tel. Number of their attorney. When was the last time they reviewed the plan? 9. Where do they keep the originals of their wills and trust documents? 10. Have they done any financial planning? If yes, name, address, and telephone number of their financial advisor. 11. Do they have an irrevocable insurance trust? Who is the trustee? How are the premiums being paid? What insurance policy funded this trust? Name, Address and Tel. Number of Trustee., and policy information including, Name, Address and Policy Number for the insurance company. Were tax returns filed for this type of trust? 12. Do they have a private banker? If yes, Name, Address, and telephone number of their private banker. 13. What can be done to ease collaboration among myself and my siblings regarding my parents' affairs? Mina N. Sirkin is a Family Wealth Lawyer in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Sirkin is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. Los Angeles Probate Attorney. [email protected]. http://www.SirkinLaw.com. Copyright 2008 Mina Sirkin.