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Elder Care
Preparing Financially to Care for Aging Parents
By Teri Brown
No one really expects to have to take care of their parents. Logically, we might understand that caring for our aging parents is a very real possibility, but emotionally and financially, the reality might come as a shock.
"I really wasn't prepared," says Mary Emma Allen from Plymouth, N.H. "I hadn't thought much about having to care for my parents, although my dad was beginning to get me involved in his business affairs."
Allen says her father had begun to sense that something was not right with her mother and decided that Allen needed to understand where their money was and what it was doing. Allen ended up caring for her mother, first in her home and then in a nearby nursing home. Even though her father planned for such an event, he couldn't foresee every expense.
"My dad had planned ahead so that I was able to pay for Mother's care in the nursing home by selling business property and her home," Allen says. "However, this money did run out. Shortly before Mother's death, I had to apply for Medicaid. Mother died before we had to use it."
Allen says that families often don't like to talk about planning for these contingencies. "My dad had always thought that at least one of them might have to live in a nursing home," Allen says. "He didn't, but because of his planning, there was money to care for Mother. Sometimes things were tight because the money was invested in business property and there was a real estate depression in their area at the time."
A recent survey titled "Caregiving in the U.S." conducted by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving asked people what they spend out of pocket on their caregiving. Caregivers reported that they spend an average of $200 per month on their recipient's care. For those providing more hands-on care, the amount is higher, $324.
