Can We Talk About Your Family Home?

I read the New York Sunday Times religiously. I take all week to do it, a section at a time. I always read  Section One, then Sunday Review, then Styles, in that order.  During the week I browse around in the Metropolitan, Travel, Arts and Leisure sections; Automobile and Sports, never; Real Estate rarely. But on Sunday, June 30, 2013 the Real Estate section caught my eye.

The lead article was entitled “Can We Talk? When Should You Discuss the Future of a Family Home with Your Parents?”

It is a lengthy, informative, thought-provoking article covering multiple issues raised when older parents own the place they have lived in for decades. Regardless of the current condition of their home, the value of the property has increased enormously over the years. Issues relating to gifts and tax concerns, family dynamics, protection of assets and even the potential for fraud are openly presented.

Talk Makes Tough Issues Easier

All these issues are supremely difficult to discuss in many families and most wait much too long to sort them out. This article gives solid, creative suggestions for how to start a conversation with your parents about how to dispose of their home when the times comes to do so and urges you to do it sooner rather than later. A medical crisis can change the game plan in an instant!

PEARL OF WISDOM

Read this article yourself and give it to your parents. It could be the catalyst for getting you to think about the issues and for starting the process of talking with your parents.

© Joan Blumenfeld, 2013

PEARLS OF WISDOM is written by Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC, a Geriatric Care Manager in private practice in Fairfield County, Connecticut. This blog on eldercare issues is intended for general interest only, not as advice for specific cases. To make an appointment for a private consultation, please call 203-845-0191.

Website: www.joanblumenfeld.com

Email: jbeldercare@sbcglobal.net