March 4, 2014

More and more, elderly parents are moving in with their grown children. With the increasing costs of nursing homes, this makes financial sense for many people. But what should you and your parents do to prepare for such a dramatic move?

Issues that must be considered range from the financial to the emotional, according to an article on elderlawanswers.com.

The first thing to consider is the financial details. If the adult children who are taking in their parents have siblings, they should work something out so that the other siblings (those not taking in the parents) contribute something towards the costs of rooming and boarding the parents.

Costs can mount up. Besides food, one may need to do renovations or hire a home care aide.

Consider having your parents sign a contract under which they pay their children for taking them in. Maybe the parents can contribute to the remodeling or gift their own house to their children. There may be tax consequences to these actions to consider.

To avoid or reduce resentment and guilt down, family members should discuss everything out in the open at the outset. An elder law attorney can help work these things out.

Once the decision has been made, one should consider making the home senior-friendly. This may involve putting on an addition to the home, installation of  grab bars in the bathrooms, installation of ramps or conversion of a room on the first floor into a bedroom if necessary.

You may also be able to take a tax deduction by claiming your parents as dependants.

And make sure to seek out support from organizations such as local agencies that work on aging issues.