If you have an elderly loved one, be it a parent or a grandparent, that you’re worried about financially, it can be hard to know what to say to them and how to broach this topic without being offensive. But for their safety, it’s important that they have a firm grasp on their finances and that  plan is in place for when and if things start getting a little challenging for them to manage.

To help you in figuring all of this out, here are three tips for speaking with your elderly loved one about their finances. 

Create A Relaxed Setting

While something may have happened that caused you to think about your loved one and their finances, you’ll want to wait to have this conversation until you can do so in a relaxed and calm setting. If you come at them when they’re upset about having missed a bill or allocated their money in a way that they hadn’t intended, you likely won’t get far with the conversation. 

Rather, when speaking with your elderly loved one about their finances, do it at a time when they’re feeling good. This will help them to be more open to the conversation and encourage productive discourse. 

Share Your Concerns With One Another

In many cases, your elderly loved one has likely thought about their own ability to manage things on their own as they age. So while you have your own concerns, they likely have concerns as well.

As a good starting point, you might want to ask them what they’re concerned about with their money and how you can help them. You can then share what your concerns are and ask them what they think about the points that you’ve brought up. This way, you can both have a very open and honest conversation about what their needs and desires are financially. 

Plan For All Possible Contingencies

As you and your elderly loved one are talking about their finances, some things that you should be sure to discuss are the ways that their situation might change in the future and how this could affect their finances. Then, once you’ve outlined how they might need added medical care or to move into an assisted living facility at some point, you can also discuss how you’d handle these contingencies together, both from a financial standpoint and from a personal standpoint. 

By talking through these things together, you can help them maintain control over certain aspects of their live and be sure that you’re respecting their wishes if and when these contingencies become realities. 

If you feel that you should speak with your elderly loved one about their finances, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in having these conversations.