Caring for aging parents: the money checklist.

Do the care-cost math before the crisis

Home aides, assisted living, and nursing care each run thousands of dollars a month, and prices vary widely by area. Pricing two or three local options now beats choosing under pressure later.

Screen for every benefit they qualify for

Medicaid, VA Aid and Attendance, SNAP, and local property-tax relief go unclaimed constantly. Free screening tools exist; an hour of checking can be worth thousands a year.

Build the document and account inventory

Accounts, insurance policies, the deed, the will, and where the passwords live. Collecting it while your parent can help takes an afternoon; reconstructing it later takes months.

Check the caregiver tax breaks

A parent you support may count as a dependent, opening the credit for other dependents and, if you pay their medical bills, a possible deduction. The rules are specific, so check before filing.

Never commingle their money with yours

Pay their expenses from their accounts and keep records of every transfer. Mixed funds can look like financial abuse to a court and create problems in a later Medicaid application.

Learn the Medicaid look-back before moving assets

Gifts and transfers made within five years of a Medicaid application can delay eligibility for long-term care coverage. Well-meaning gifts to grandchildren count too.

Protect your own finances while you help

Caregiving costs lost wages and paused retirement contributions, and those compound. Draining your own accounts creates the next generation's version of this same problem.