10/13/2026
The call can come on an ordinary day: a fall, a stroke, a bank teller who will not talk to you about your mother's account.
What decides whether you can step in is mostly paper, and half of this list has a deadline.
The five documents on the left need your parent's signature, and a signature only counts while they have the legal capacity to make that decision. A dementia diagnosis does not end capacity on its own, so an early diagnosis is a reason to call an estate planning attorney this month, not a reason to assume it is too late.
The durable financial power of attorney lets you pay bills and manage accounts. Without one, the usual route is a guardianship or conservatorship case in court, which takes months, costs money, and becomes public record.
The healthcare power of attorney names who decides when your parent cannot, and the living will records what they would want.
The HIPAA authorization answers the question readers asked most last time. Doctors may already share some information with family members involved in care, and a healthcare agent can generally get records once their authority applies. The separate authorization covers the time before that, reaches insurers, and can name a sibling who is not the agent. Many healthcare power of attorney forms already include this language, so check yours before signing a second form.
The five on the right are about finding things. Beneficiary designations override the will, so a form filled out decades ago can send an IRA somewhere no one intended, and changing one usually takes your parent's own signature.
For a long-term care policy, ask the insurer to name you as the person who gets notice of a missed premium. Many states require insurers to offer that option, along with a chance to reinstate a policy that lapsed because of cognitive impairment.
Social Security is a separate gap. It does not accept a power of attorney or a joint bank account as authority over benefits. Your parent can name up to three people in advance as possible representative payees, in their my Social Security account or by phone.
These are U.S. rules, and document names and forms differ by state. Readers in Canada should look for their province's version of each one.
Which of the ten was hardest to get in your family?
P.S. Once a week, I email the best money article I read, with my take on this week's top Facebook posts and what's new on the Ways to Wealth blog. It's free, and you can sign up on the Ways to Wealth home page.
R.J. Weiss, CFP®
The content shared here is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not personalized investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a licensed professional before making decisions based on your specific situation.
