Paperback or Digital · Fill-In Organizer
Helping Your Aging Parents Get Their Affairs In Order
The hard part isn't the paperwork — it's the asking. This is the list of what to find out, in the order it's least awkward to raise, so you're both looking at a page instead of at each other.
- ✓Their people, their professionals, and where the will and documents actually live
- ✓Accounts, bills, autopay and subscriptions — and where the passwords are kept
- ✓Their medical snapshot, care preferences and end-of-life wishes
- ✓Part 6 — a second record set for the other parent: fourteen more pages, start to finish
- ✓Paying for care: what Medicare won't cover, the monthly gap, the Medicaid look-back
- ✓Four Emergency Quick-Sheets and a First 30 Days checklist for the family
Instant PDF download — nothing ships.
Free US shipping. Delivery ~2 weeks.
Also getting Caregiving Without Losing Yourself? The Caregiver Bundle has both for $44.99 — save $6.99.
For the one who stepped up
If something happened to your parent tomorrow, would you know where to start?
Most adult children don't find out what they don't know until there's a crisis — and then they're searching a parent's house for a will, guessing at passwords, and calling companies that won't talk to them. This is the fill-in organizer that fixes that ahead of time. It's written to you, the adult son or daughter, so you and your aging or elderly parent can complete it together, one conversation at a time.
It captures their key people and professionals, where the will and documents live, every account, policy, and password location, their property and valuables, and their medical and final wishes — the whole picture, in a book you'll actually be able to find.
At 80 pages it now goes past the paperwork. If you're helping both parents, there's a complete second record set so you don't buy the book twice. If care is starting to cost money, there's what Medicare generally won't cover, a worksheet for the monthly gap between what care costs and what comes in, the Medicaid look-back timeline, and tour sheets you fill in before you drive away from a facility — not that evening, when three places have already blurred together.
Why it matters
Watch: have you had the talk?
By the time you need your parents' documents, it's usually too late to ask where they are. This is the book that helps you have that talk together — before you have to.
- ✓ Where the will, the accounts, and the papers actually are
- ✓ Have the conversation on an ordinary day — not in a crisis
- ✓ Captioned · 19 sec · watch right here
What most organizers leave out
If you have two parents, most organizers make you buy two books
This one doesn't. Part 6 is a complete second record set — fourteen more pages with their own accounts, their own documents, their own wishes. Institutions treat your parents as two entirely separate files, and after a first death the second set is the one you live in. Beyond that it adds what families scramble for: a complete “Who to Notify” roster (Social Security, the IRS, all three credit bureaus, the DMV, pensions, and insurers), a subscriptions-to-cancel section, four grab-and-go Emergency Quick-Sheets, and a First 30 Days checklist so you're not guessing about the order of things. It records where things are and who to call — not full account numbers — so it's safe if it's ever misplaced.
One book covers both parentsWhat you'll capture together
What's inside — everything you'd otherwise have to hunt for
Their people & professionals
- Family, friends & who to call first
- Doctors, attorney & financial advisor
- Who has authority to act
Documents & where they live
- Will, trust, POA & directive locations
- Deeds, titles & key papers
- A locator so nothing is lost
Accounts, bills & passwords
- Banks, pensions & investments
- Bills, autopay & subscriptions to cancel
- Where passwords are kept — safely
Property & valuables
- Home, vehicles & belongings
- Digital accounts & devices
- Who specific items go to
Medical & final wishes
- Conditions, meds & care preferences
- End-of-life and service wishes
- What matters most to them
A second set for the other parent
- Fourteen more pages, start to finish
- Their own accounts, papers and wishes
- One book instead of two
Choosing and paying for care
- What Medicare generally won't cover
- The monthly gap between cost and income
- The Medicaid look-back, and tour sheets
When the time comes
- The complete who-to-notify roster
- Four grab-and-go Emergency Quick-Sheets
- A First 30 Days checklist for the family
Appointments, meds & authority
- Six doctor-visit pages, and what to ask
- A medication log — every start, stop & dose change
- Who accepted the POA, so you prove it once
Good to know
Common questions
Who fills this out — me or my parent?
Both, together. The book is written to you, the adult child, with prompts designed to make a sometimes-awkward conversation easier. You and your aging or elderly parent complete it at your own pace; nothing has to be done in one sitting.
I have two living parents — do I need two books?
No. One book covers both. Part 6 is a complete second record set — fourteen more pages with their own key people, legal documents, bank and investment accounts, insurance, bills, property, devices, medical snapshot, and care wishes. Banks, insurers, and Social Security treat your parents as two entirely separate files, so keeping their papers apart from the start saves untangling them later, and after a first death the second set is the one you'll use most.
Does it cover paying for long-term care?
Yes. Medicare generally does not pay for long-term custodial care — the day-to-day help with bathing, dressing, and eating that most families actually need — and it doesn't cover assisted living rent or adult day care either. The book gives you a checklist of those gaps, a worksheet for the monthly difference between what care costs where your parent lives and what comes in each month, a timeline page for the Medicaid look-back (commonly five years, but it varies by state and does change, so confirm with your state's Medicaid office), and tour sheets you fill in at the facility rather than that evening. It records your numbers; it isn't financial or legal advice.
How is this different from a will?
A will says who inherits what; this organizer is the practical map for everything else — where the will is, who to call, which accounts and policies exist, what your parent wants, and what to do in the first 30 days. It complements a will, trust, and directive rather than replacing them, and it isn't legal advice.
Is it safe to write down accounts and passwords?
It's built to be safe. It records where things are and who to call, and where passwords are kept — not the full account numbers themselves — so it stays useful to your family and useless to a thief if it's misplaced. Keep it somewhere you and your parent agree on.
My parent is private about money. Will this help?
That's exactly who it's written for. The conversation is broken into small, concrete sections, so you can start with the easy parts — contacts, doctors, where documents live — and work up to the rest over time. You're organizing where things are, not taking over control.
Is this a book we write in?
Yes — a paperback fill-in organizer with labeled spaces and prompts throughout. Order the paperback and we mail it to you, or download the PDF and start filling it in tonight. Published under the pen name M. E. Hart as part of the Retirement In Order series.
Ready when you are
Instant PDF download — nothing ships.
Free US shipping. Delivery ~2 weeks.
You may also be interested in
Start getting retirement in order — one simple checklist at a time
Free quick-start checklists to help you organize the practical parts of retirement: what to gather, what to decide, and what to write down first.
- What to gather
- What to update
- What to share with family
Almost there — check your inbox.
We just sent a confirmation email. Click the link inside and your free download lands right after. (If you don't see it, check spam or promotions.)
Your next chapter, organized
Get your Helping Your Aging Parents Get Their Affairs In Order today
A few quiet afternoons now — and it's done, off your plate and off your mind.
Instant PDF download — nothing ships.
Free US shipping. Delivery ~2 weeks.
