You're listening to life kit from NPR.
Hey, everybody, it's Marielle.
There is this painful, kind of expected, but still shocking reality in life.
When your parents reach a certain age, they may no longer be able to take care of themselves physically or financially.
Sometimes that moment comes way sooner than you expect.
Cameron Huddleston's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at age 65.
I was only 35, and we had not had detailed conversations about her finances until she was experiencing memory loss.
And I learned that that's about time to have those conversations.
Whether you're stepping in as a full time caretaker or just helping out around the margins, you need to know the full financial picture to pay your parents bills or pay for care.
It's a bad idea to wait until there's an emergency that forces you to have those conversations because your emotions are going to be all over the place when there's that emergency, and it's a lot harder to have a rational conversation.
Cameron's a journalist, and her experience led her to write a book called mom and Dad.
We need to talk.
How to have essential conversations with your parents about their finances.
Cameron has a ton of advice on how to go about this.
Like, don't expect to whip out a checklist and get all the answers in one sitting.
I would encourage people not to sit your parents down and grill them for hours.
This doesn't happen in one conversation.
On this episode of Life, Kit, Cameron and I talk about what you need to ask your parents about their finances, in part because their situation could affect your finances down the line.
Also, how to approach these conversations and what to do if your parent is experiencing some form of cognitive decline and you haven't had these conversations because there is a path forward.
All right, Cameron, so if this is more of a preventative thing, how do you open the conversation with your parents?