Time for the Annual Talk

I shared the way my Dad functions around this time of year back in May in my “Plan Like Dad Post”.  It’s that time again for “Dad’s review” and I want to share it again with you as his simple approach might be just enough to help you jumpstart a conversation in your own household.

If you recall, my parents are 20 years older than me and my younger brother lives a short drive from them compared to my 3 hour ride.  This is not an uncommon situation – children live away from where their parents are located.  And, in many cases, they only see each other physically once or twice a year.

This makes what I am sharing all the more important.

Dad’s tradition started when I moved to Connecticut from New Hampshire in 2000.  Every Thanksgiving, he would sit my brother and me down and share reiterate the plan.  It is a simple and effective plan that make both of my parents comfortable.  Here is what he says …

• Step 1 – call my brother to stabilize the situation
• Step 2 – call me to return “home” (a place that I have not lived in decades)
• Step 3 – I return home, collaborate with my brother, and find a solution
• Step 4 – we implement the solution with my brother being the “eyes-on” the solution while I manage affairs while I work
• Step 5 – continue as long as necessary

One thing that I neglected to include in this is how we will pay for things.  That is exactly the point … having a plan is half of the issue.  The other half is how things will be paid for.

Fortunately, my parents have that part of the plan addressed with the details being part of “Dad’s review”.  We both know what our parents want, how they expect for us to operate, and where the funding will come from.

Do you have a plan like this within your family?  And, more importantly, do they know what your plan is? If not, I’d suggest that you get a start then expand beyond that.

Contact my internal sales partner Kelley Hilliard at (844) 623-4251 or via email at kelleyhilliard.isp@oneamerica.com to secure your copy of the Step by Step Guide to Long Term Care along with the Care Planning Worksheet.