3 Actionable Tips for Helping Aging Parents
What are the most effective strategies for assisting aging parents? For many adults whose mothers and fathers are well past retirement age, offering assistance without appearing to intrude into their personal private lives is a challenge. Luckily, most older adults understand that their grown children want to help, and they nearly always appreciate and accept the offer. In addition to converting life insurance policies into cash, working people also assist parents just by staying in touch. Consider the following ideas if you have a mom, dad, or both who could use companionship, a place to live, or financial assistance.
Sell Unwanted Life Policy to Cover Costs
The beauty of selling an unnecessary or unwanted life insurance policy is that either you or your parents can use the strategy for building up financial resources. Families who are smart about the pros and cons of insurance coverage can gain a lot by reviewing all their policies and deciding which ones they want to keep, and which ones no longer serve a purpose. The reasons vary, but most who cash in their policies do so because they need the money more than they need the coverage.
For older adults whose children are well into middle age, the idea of putting a life policy up for sale makes perfect sense. This is particularly true when the face value of the coverage exceeds $100,000. The smartest way to proceed is to review an online guide that runs through all the pertinent details about how to sell unneeded or unwanted whole life policies. The process is not complex, but it’s important to follow a short series of steps to generate a cash payout in the shortest amount of time.
Expand Living Space
If you want to offer parents a place to live, consider doing a room conversion in your current home, adding a brand-new room, expanding a guest bedroom, or building a separate structure in a large yard or on farm acreage. While the cost might seem high, it’s often much less costly to add a room than to pay for assisted living care.
Stay in Touch
If not living under the same roof or in the same geographic area, one of the most rewarding ways for parents and adult children to maintain a lifelong connection is through regular conversation online, over the phone, or by traditional mail. If your mother and father are past retirement age or near it, try to stay in touch even when there’s no family news or special occasion on the calendar.
Not only is two-way communication a great way to keep their spirits up as they grow older, but regular talks give you a chance to look for signs of ill health or waning mental abilities and alert doctors when the situation demands it. Try to be a sounding board for aging parents. Sometimes that’s all it takes to keep them alert, active, and positive. For elderly people, human contact is an essential component of their overall quality of life. As a frequent conversation partner and listener, you can play an indispensable role in a mother’s or father’s well-being.
