Costs of skipping estate planning

Caregiving is not an easy thing. It’s paperwork, passwords, POAs, and the courage to say the hard things before the crisis hits. In this episode, we get real about the emotional and financial marathon of caring for aging parents, why women disproportionately shoulder the load, and exactly what to do now so your future self isn’t rage-crying in probate court.

Our guest, Beth Pinsker—MarketWatch financial-planning columnist, CFP®, and author of My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving—walks us through the must-have documents, the family conversations that actually prevent sibling warfare, and how to set boundaries when love meets logistics. (Yes, you can be loving and say “nope, that won’t work.”)

We cover:

• The caregiving reality check: why daughters so often become default CFOs of aging parents (and what to do about it).

• The legal minimums: power of attorney, healthcare proxy, will vs. trust, and when each one matters.

• Costly myths to ditch: “We’ll figure it out later,” “It’ll be obvious who does what,” and “We don’t need it in writing.”

• Crisis-proofing your finances: automation, a single “pay-from” account, and creating a breadcrumb trail someone else can actually follow.

• End-of-life wishes: how to handle DNR/DNI and hospice decisions without guilt (clarity > chaos).

• If you’re the money person: how to leave a map your family can use (and if you’re not the money person, how to get up to speed—without becoming the household bookkeeper).

Because love isn’t just casseroles and hand-holding; sometimes it’s signatures, spreadsheets, and setting your people up to survive the hardest days with clarity and dignity.

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Connect with Beth:

Website: https://bethpinsker.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/bethpinsker_ny 

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpinsker 

Related Podcast Episodes:

• How To Have A Good Death with Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN | 292

• You Only Die Once with Jodi Wellman | 262

• 060 / Caring For An Aging Parent with Rayna Neises

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