Whether it’s due to a health crisis, a fall, or cognitive confusion, getting a phone call about a crisis involving your aging parent or relative is often a moment of shock and anxiety.
In these moments, it’s challenging to think clearly, but you still may need to make fast, critical decisions about your parent’s medical care or legal and financial affairs.
While no one is ever ready to receive one of these phone calls, there are things you can do to help be prepared. In partnership with First Trust, we developed this checklist to help you prepare important information for your aging parent or relative. By having this critical information gathered and organized, you can have peace of mind knowing that you’ll be prepared if a crisis comes knocking.
- Emergency Contacts
Gather contact information for three emergency contacts, including their names, phone numbers and addresses.
- Emergency Procedures
Make a plan for immediate action. Who should be called first? What steps should be taken to secure personal safety? How can medical or legal documents be accessed quickly?
- Medical Information
Record all important medical information for your aging parent or relative. Include names, contact information, addresses, and location of documents related to their:
- Primary care doctor
- Home care provider
- Local hospital
- List of medications
- Blood type
- Eye doctor
- Dentist
- Holistic/spiritual
- Veterinarian
- Medical Power of Attorney
- Health Care Proxy and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Orders
It’s important to be prepared for a situation where your parent or relative can’t make their own medical decisions. A health care proxy is a legal document that allows them to appoint someone to make medical decisions on their behalf.
Furthermore, understand your parent or relative’s wishes when it comes to resuscitation. A doctor can help your aging parent or relative complete a DNR form, which is a legal document that instructs health care providers to not perform life-saving measures that might extend the life but not improve its quality.
Keep the health care proxy and DNR order by the door so if paramedics are called, there’s immediate proof of who’s making decisions and what your loved one’s wishes are.
Related: 8 Tips for Talking About Final Wishes With Your Loved Ones
- Legal Information
Record all important legal information for your aging parent or relative. Include names, contact information, addresses, and location of documents related to their:
- Estate attorney
- Will/trust documents
- Living will
- Advance health care directive
Related: 5 Essential Estate Planning Considerations
- Power of Attorney
Record all important power of attorney information for your aging parent or relative. Include names, contact information, addresses, and location of documents related to their:
- Trustee
- Personal representative
- Corporate attorney
- Bank Information
Record information about their bank accounts and safe deposit box, including bank names, account types, and contact information.
- Financial Information
Record details about their financial accounts. Include names, locations, contact information, account numbers, and location of documents related to their:
- Financial professional/advisor
- CPA/tax professional
- 401(k)
- Brokerage
- IRA
- Trust account
- LLC
- 529 plans
- Donor advised funds
- Medicare
- Health savings account (HSA)
- Crypto currency/digital assets
- Insurance Policies
Record details about their insurance policies. Include policy providers, agent names, policy details, contact information, and location of documents related to their:
- Life insurance
- Property & casualty insurance
- Medical insurance
- Automotive
- Home
- Company benefits
- Pension
- Pet insurance
- Credit card list
For each of their credit cards, record provider name, card number, expiration date, and card verification code.
- Digital & In-person Services
Record details about their digital and in-person services. Include account or company name, username, password, and security questions/answers related to their:
- Social media
- Internet
- Cable
- Cell phone
- Gas/electric
- Prescription services
- iCloud/data storage
- Charities, philanthropies (auto donations)
- Services/Associations
Gather information about the services they use or associations they’re part of. Include account type, username, password, and security questions/answers related to their:
- Warehouse clubs
- Streaming subscriptions
- Gym membership
- Housekeeping
- Landscaping
- HOA association
- Home meal delivery
- Pool
- Values and Wishes
Ask your aging parent about these topics:
- Personal values: What core values are most important?
- Life achievements: What key life stories or achievements are they most proud of?
- End-of-life wishes: Do they have specific desires for end-of-life care and ceremonies or memorials?
- Legal objectives: What do they hope to leave behind, whether material or in the form of wisdom and guidance?
Storing and Updating Information
Once you gather the information from this checklist, store the information in a secure location that’s known to key family members or representatives. Be sure to review and update the information at least annually or after significant changes in health, financial status or family dynamics.
Want more? Check out our blog, 7 Ways to Help an Aging Parent Navigate Medicare Enrollment
We’re here for you!
Bankers Life is here to help customers with their financial and insurance needs so please visit us at BankersLife.com to learn more.
