Only child? Four ways to prepare as a caregiver for aging parents
Sometimes, there is only you.
Just ask Michael Hausknost. The financial planner from Long Beach, California is helping his 90-year-old mom, Eva, as she moves from an assisted living facility into one that specializes in memory care.
Hausknost's dad passed away many years ago. His mom's other relatives are thousands of miles away in Europe. Eva has no money at this point apart from Social Security checks.
That means that everything to do with Eva's care, from emotional to financial, falls squarely on her son.
“There is no one else,” says Hausknost, 60. “It’s literally just me.”
It is a situation more and more Americans face, as only children cope with the challenge of caring for aging parents.
That is because family size is shrinking, according to Census Bureau data. In fact, the latest numbers from 2022 reveal that 19% of American women ages 40-44 have only one child – the highest percentage ever recorded in that category. By contrast, it was 9.6% in 1976.
“Only children are showing up left and right asking me about these issues,” says Joy Loverde, an eldercare consultant and author of “The Complete Eldercare Planner.” “Everything is on the line for them, especially their own careers and financial stability.”
Here are four ways only children can prepare.
START EARLY
If it is only you to care for elderly parents, without any sibling help, then you need to start thinking about how you will handle it as soon as possible.
“I started planning for (this) 20 years ago,” Hausknost says. “I knew that there was longevity in my family, that my mom wouldn’t go anywhere soon, and had no means herself, so I saved accordingly.”
Good thing, too: His mom’s current arrangements are running around $6,000 a month for the “bare minimum” of room and board, with other tasks (like administering medications) driving the price up from there.
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