CHECKLISTS – CareGiving Navigator

The Family Meeting Checklist

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Here is a short list of suggested topics to help keep you focused on the family’s plan:

Health conditions. Some seniors say they don’t want to be “a burden on my kids,” but it’s better for both sides to have a realistic picture of their parents’ health and avoid any surprises.

Is there anything important about your parents’ health that they haven’t shared with you?

Have your parents explored various Medicare options and other health care plans that address their specific needs?

Do you have a contact list of their health care providers?

Retirement plans. Every aging couple has their own “retirementality,” their view of how they want to live during their later years. It’s important to share this plan with family caregivers

How long do your parents expect to work, assuming they continue to enjoy good health?

Once retired (if ever), how would they like to spend their time?

Do your parents have the financial resources to support them through retirement?

Are they aware of the array of Social Security options and other entitlements?

Do you have a list of your parents’ financial advisers and have they assembled a list of their key documents and records?

Plans for senior living. Housing is one of the most critical factors in ensuring safe and successful aging—and you think ahead, contemplating changing needs over the years.

Do your parents want to stay in the community where they live now?

Are they healthy and independent enough to “age in place?

Are they thinking of eventually downsizing, relocating to a senior retirement complex, or moving to another climate?

Health-care wishes. If your parents were unable to manage their financial and personal affairs at some point, they need to assign roles for their adult children and others to step in to serve as their representatives.

Have your parents completed advanced care directives—will, health care proxy, powers of attorney, and living will?

Do you have a list of key contacts, including their elder law attorney?

What are your parents’ thoughts about later-life, long-term care—and how would the family pay for it?

Do your parents have an estate plan and instructions for their funeral and legacy wishes?

Birth Certificates

Social Security numbers

Passport/citizen papers

Driver’s license/organ donor card (if appropriate)

Marriage certificate or divorce decrees

Death certificate (for deceased spouse)

Military service records

Key contact list (financial advisers (s), accountant, attorneys

Inventory of “digital assets” (computer and digital devices, social media, online financial accounts, including user names and passwords)

Elder law attorney contact information

Last Will & Testament (original copy)

Durable Power of Attorney

Health Care Proxy

Living Will and if applicable, MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment)

Trust documents (if applicable)

Odds-and-ends folder (what to do with pets; personal property such as jewelry, antiques, family heirlooms and collections)

Funeral instructions and burial arrangements

Contact information for family/friends to be notified in event of incapacity or death

CareGiving CHECKLISTS

The Family Meeting Checklist

Here is a short list of suggested topics to help keep you focused on the family’s plan:

Vital Information Checklist