 TITLE: How to Help Older Adults Deal With Dementia and Their Finances CONTENT: Start a Conversation and Establish a Plan\n-----------------------------------------\nSo, what should older adults and their family members do with this information? The first step is to start a conversation—and the earlier, the better. It is far easier to open a dialogue and establish a plan before any major money problems arise, when all parties are able to collaborate. You can always keep a plan on the back burner unless and until it's needed.\n**Be watchful and respectful.** Managing your own money is a keystone of independent living. Giving up that control can be sad and scary, especially for someone who is experiencing dementia. Having someone keep a watchful eye on finances can be vital, but so is helping the person living with dementia maintain as much autonomy and dignity as possible.\n**Consider a financial power of attorney (POA).** A POA for finances enables a trusted caregiver to manage another person's finances on their behalf. The POA can take effect immediately or in the event of mental or physical incapacity.\n**Add a trusted caregiver to accounts.** Having a trusted caregiver act as co-owner on checking and savings accounts gives them the ability to pay expenses in an emergency. They can also use online or mobile banking to monitor account activity, pay bills, set up account alerts and more.\n**Limit or close credit lines.** Closing credit card accounts can be a useful safeguard against overspending. If you want to keep credit accounts open, you may be able to have card issuers turn cards \"off\" or set spending limits electronically.\n**Use modern money tools.** Convenience features can be a substantial help to older adults and their financial caregivers. A few to consider:\n*   **Reloadable prepaid cards**: These function like credit or debit cards but have preset limits and don't link to credit lines or checking accounts.\n*   **Automatic payments**: This is a way to ensure critical bills like mortgage payments, insurance, utilities and credit cards are paid on time.\n*   **Account alerts**: Caregivers can be notified when account balances drop below a preset level, or even can be sent texts whenever a transaction is made.\n*   **Spam-blocking phone apps**: Scam calls often target seniors, and limiting them can prevent criminals from doing harm. END