Start helping your Mom and Dad by gather these 7 documents first!

I recently met up with some longtime friends who have experience caring for their parents and we talked about how things started for them. I noticed a common theme.

“It was so awkward talking to my mom about this topic.”
“I want to help, but I don’t even know where anything is.”
“After the work week ends, I’m already spent and really don’t want to think about another thing.”

And you know what? I have felt the exact same way. The interesting part is the gap between parents and their children. Parents value their independence and dignity and don’t want to burden their kids. Adult children want to help, but simply do not know where to start. Then...a fall, a stroke, or a cognitive shift. The parent becomes disabled/incapacitated and the adult children have to hit pause on their own lives and enter a state of prolonged triage. Suddenly they are dealing with the entire system all at once: hospitals, insurance, Medicare, pharmacies, and often banks, attorneys, and government agencies. 🤯

If you want to get ahead, ask your mom and dad if you can help gather few key documents. Take photos of these documents, put them in a secure drive, and share them only with trusted members of the family.

1. 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞: Primary form of ID for hospital admission, pharmacy pickup, and signing legal documents.
2. 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝: Needed to apply for benefits, update Medicare, and handle Social Security matters.
3. 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝: Hospitals and doctors need this immediately to
verify coverage and process claims.
4. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝: Prevents surprise bills and ensures proper coverage for treatments, procedures, and hospital stays.
5. 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Blood type, medications, allergies, and
PCP info. Instant context of your parent’s general health.
6. 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Tells doctors what medical
treatments your parent does or doesn't want (i.e., feeding tubes, ventilators).
7. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲: Legally authorizes someone to make medical decisions if your parent is unable to make decisions for themselves.

𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. Family alignment isn’t achieved overnight, but starting with this one practice gives you a great foundation to build on.

If you want to talk about it, feel free to book a consultation with me. 🤝