Handling finances can be tricky enough when you do it for
yourself. It's even trickier when you are doing it for your elderly loved one. How do you take care of
business for someone else?
The issue involves much more than financial acumen. There are very specific rules to follow depending upon
the role you take on and it is important to play the part properly.
Managing the estate or affairs
of an elderly loved one is sometimes such a delicate dance that it has
attracted the attention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Late in October the CFPB came to the table with four guides entitled Managing
Someone Else’s Money. Available
online, these guides were unveiled on the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau Blog in a post titled “Managing someone else’s money.”
The four guides address matters
that include powers of attorney, court-appointed guardians, trustees, and
government fiduciaries.
Those left to pick up the reins
on behalf of a loved one would do well to learn their roles, and these can be
helpful guides. That said, however useful, a guide is still just a “guide.”
Unfortunately, most family members who pick up those reins learn on the job.
Regardless, loved ones on either
side – those who receive care and those who take care of them – would do well
to consider the issues early and plan accordingly.