One of THE most important issues to talk to your parents about is their executing a Durable Power of Attorney -- (POA) or (DPOA) in some states, an Advanced Medical Directive and Power of Attorney for Healthcare.
If your parent has a stroke, heart attack, or is unconscious for a period of time, these documents must be in place to make your helping them as easy as possible so you can focus on loving them through it and not the attending medical legal issues. Any good attorney can prepare all of them for you. Please do it now before a sudden healthcare matter arises.
The Durable Power of Attorney will allow you or whomever your parent appoints to make decisions, pay their bills, handle conversations with Medicare and insurance while they are out of commission. I usually recommend a POA that does not require a physician's determination of the incapacity of the elder. But parents need to understand that the POA can be used even when they are fully conscious, so there are some safeguards I put around that, which we will discuss later.
Advanced Medical Directives tell your parents' physicians what they want done or not done for them if they're in a critical state: life support, a Do Not Resuscitate Order, etc.
A Medical Power of Attorney for Healthcare gives you or the person your parent appoints the ability to make health care decisions for them in their stead.
It's hard to face those decisions as a child, but much easier if you've had the conversation ahead of time about what your parent wants to do. Then you'll know you're carrying out their wishes, difficult as it may be.
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