Seniors: Conversations You Need to Have With Your Children Now

As you age, you begin to realize all the things that you should have talked about with you children earlier. However, most of these conversations are never too late to have! The first step is calling up your child and setting up a time and a place to go over the things that you need to tell them now.

The most important discussion that you need to have is about your wishes in the event of your death. Your kids need to know whether you have a will and when the last time you updated it. Once you are gone, you don't want a fight to break out amongst your children about your final requests. Your best bet is to be organized and explain to your child or your children any important details that they need to know. Have you already purchased a burial plot? Is there a certain type of funeral service that you desire? Your children may be put off at first by discussing these things with you. They will probably state that it's morbid and that since you are in good health there is no reason to have this type of conversation. Do not let them blow you off! Anything can happen and it is important for them to realize that you are only ensuring that things are taken care of appropriately once you are gone.

Health related discussions are also a must have conversation for you and your children. If one of your children is given power of attorney, then you should speak about your feelings in the event of a serious health crisis. Do you wish to be resuscitated? Is there a certain amount of time that they should allow you to be hooked up to a ventilator? These are hard things to talk about, but it will be a relief to you to know that you got this type of exchange out of the way.

Financial discussions ought to be held between seniors and their children. Provide your child with the names and contact information for all of your financial representatives. This includes your attorney, accountant, bank information and financial planners. If you have files or records in your home, explain how things are organized to your child. Also, be honest about your current financial status. Do you have enough money to live out your retirement comfortably? Is there a financial crisis on the horizon that they should be aware of? Your children could possibly help you figure out how to manage your money or take over the responsibility, so that you are no longer burdened by it.

Passing on your family history is something that you should tell your children now. Regale them with old stories and let them know about important people in their family tree. If there were amazing accomplishments made by your relatives, make sure you let them know about it. If you have done a family tree, give them a copy in order to pass down to future generations of your family. If there are family heirlooms that you have held onto, make sure you tell them about the pieces in order to ensure that they are properly taken care of. A family's history is important and you should make certain that it gets passed on throughout your descendants.

Having certain conversations with your children can be stressful, but it is still important to have them. The longer you wait, the harder these talks are going to be or worse over, you may never have a chance to have them. Set aside a few hours or a weekend and have these discussions with your children now.