Description

Catherine Hodder, Esq. was a corporate finance attorney and a Mom to two young children when her father was hospitalized after a series of mini-strokes and spent several months in the hospital. Although her dad was very organized and had "his affairs in order", she still ran into problems she could not have anticipated, even with her legal expertise. She became a member of "The Sandwich Generation". As a result of her experience, she changed her legal focus to estate planning. Now retired from law practice, she writes many helpful articles and books, and has recently published

Estate Planning for the Sandwich Generation : How to help Your Parents and Protect Your Kids

In today's interview, Catherine tells us these 3 things will make your life easier when it comes time to help your parents:

1. Early Communication--talking to your parents about their wishes, finding out where they keep their documents, and who is in charge of their finances.
2. Prepare/plan as much as possible--find out if they have filled out documents, whether they have long term care insurance
3. See a lawyer--banks and healthcare providers often need specific language in you power of attorney documents. Terms vary from state to state.  Spending a little money up front to know that when you need these documents, they are the right ones can save you much aggravation that you will not have time to deal with.

She also suggests getting your own estate planning in order. When you are the one everyone else depends on, what happens if something happens to you?

In addition to her website, HodderInk.com

you can find Catherine on Facebook @sandgenlife  and Twitter @sandgenlife