Senior Citizens need Retirement Planning with help from their Children

I’ve seen many seniors who need assistance from their children and don’t receive it for one reason or another. Most often the intentions of the children (who are sometimes senior citizens too) are well intentioned. Out of respect and tradition, the offspring often feel that they should back off with their opinions and that intruding into the life of the parent is out of place.

Financial matters need attention since it is a certainty that the parent is likely to pass away and there will be inheritance matters that need attention.

If these details are not dealt with, the estate will be rocky indeed for the benefactors. In the event you accept the position of administrator of a Will, you should step up and insist that the Will deal with the estate in a manner which will work for you.

Some examples are:

Checking and bank accounts need attention. Set up joint accounts with rights to survivor. It is simple enough to fill out a form at the bank that would make the administrator the owner of the account upon the death of the parent. An account can be set up with no rights to the offspring until the death of the parent.

If you do nothing now....

Imagine that you are the administrator of the estate and your last parent has passed away. The mortgage payment is due. Utilities, cable, hospital, medical bills, funeral, etc. are due and you have no access to the money in the accounts. You’ll need to work from your own pocket and $20 thousand or so may not be handy. You will quickly discover that inattention to this matter is painful. You will discover that you must now enter the probate process and that it will cost several thousand dollars in lawyer fees to get access to the accounts. It will be lengthy too. Meanwhile you decide you want to sell the home. Yep, you can’t do that either until the courts decide that little issue. Time works against you as the bills pile up everyday.

Be Smart--Plan Ahead....

Imagine that you attended to the estate affairs before your parent passed away. You would have access to all the monies in the accounts. Imagine that you insisted that you jointly own the home with rights to survivor. Imagine that you did the same with the vehicle. If you did these things, you will not need probate. Nope—no lawyers either. Instead of watching the equity in the estate drift away with the probate process, you can begin selling the house and begin distributing monies to the beneficiaries. Time works with you in this scenario.

I was fortunate when my parents passed away. My dad sensed he was near death and took care of nearly all the details that could have cropped up. I did need to go through probate in order to sell the trailer, so I can speak from experience about the pain the probate process will create.

You should get involved with that Will now....

Merely allowing the parent to draw up a Will and then having no input could be a disaster. You should either make up the Will yourself (if you feel competent) (read books on the subject) or go with them to a lawyer to get it drawn up appropriately.

Don’t feel that the Will can’t be updated as you become aware of various entanglements that could pop up. I’d recommend placing the Will on your computer so that minor changes can be made. You won’t need a lawyer to do that either. Perhaps you had a lawyer do the original Will so you do know that it meets the laws of your state. Simply insert or delete the provisions required, and take it to get it notarized, usually at a public government office.

You are in Firmly in Charge....

In the final analysis the entanglements are really up to you. If you are an administrator and you allowed the cards fall where they may, you will spend a year or two untangling everything and may end up with little from the estate. Every estate is unique, so the intricacies of all the things you can do cannot be covered in a small article like this. It will be up to you to become knowledgeable now and then do what is in your best interest.

One thing you can do now is to read "Lean against the Wind" as that will show you some of the terrifying things that can happen to the parent and the siblings if plans are not made before the death of the parent.

Shysters may pounce upon your parent before death too. In the story, "Lean against the Wind," the parent is fleeced before his death. Everything in the story is based upon a multi-billion dollar scam that is going on right now. Read it for your own well being and then get started with securing your future.

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"Lean against the Wind" is the first five part installment of “Seeds from Heaven.”

Read more about “Lean against the Wind” an eBook now available worldwide.

Purchase Lean against the Wind at Amazon.com.

Critcal Reviews of Fantasy books by Jenny (including Lean against the Wind & Watchdogg)

"Lean against the Wind" review by Linda Kolhagen

"Lean against the Wind" and "Up the Down Staircase"

Your parents Will could be a disaster for you!