Beth Pinsker is a certified financial planner, MarketWatch columnist and author of My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving, a new book that comes out November 4. She spoke to Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine about how best to manage a loved one's financial affairs when they become seriously ill — and the importance of talking openly about estate planning before it becomes an emergency.
Kiplinger: Your new book is about becoming a financial caregiver for your mother after she grew seriously ill due to complications from spinal surgery. What is financial caregiving?
BP: Financial caregiving is when you step into somebody else’s shoes and take over their affairs. Most people are dragged into this role sideways and have no idea how the person they’re helping has been handling money.
