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The stage of your life when your parents start to move into retirement is a hard one: all of a sudden, your role as the child is flipped on its head, and you start to become more of the carer.
In a short space of time you will need to address some pretty big issues: their health, their home, and even their wills. So, where to begin?
Here are four good places to start, when speaking with your parents about the next stage in their life.
1. Where do you want to live?
Working out a long-term living plan, including a discussion about aged-care facilities is much easier – and more rational – whilst your parents are still in good health, eliminating difficult conversations in the future.
What people may not realise is that the waiting list for these facilities can be months long and need to be inspected and viewed first. Also, retirement villages are very different places to aged care centres, depending on the level of care required. Do your research and put together some practical options.
Having the chat about their long term living plan might feel pre-emptive while they’re still in good health, but making sure they have full control over this decision makes it easier for all involved.
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