How to Have a Financial Intervention—for Your Aging Parent

So your parent needs a financial intervention. That’s exactly what I googled when it became clear that my father was perched on the edge of a major financial disaster. At 74, he was on a trip he absolutely couldn’t afford—maxed out credit cards, zero money in the bank, calls from abroad requesting funds—and he nearly lost his car insurance, professional liability insurance and the electricity in his house in the same week. Something needed to be done.

One Tuesday evening last summer, two of my siblings and I arrived at our dad’s house ready to issue ultimatums and armed with letters explaining how his financial and behavioural recklessness was negatively impacting both his well-being and our own.

I’ve since learned that there are more advisable ways to tackle tricky money stuff with your family than our admittedly confrontational intervention approach—if, that is, you can get the conversation started. Here’s how to prevent a very stressful “Dad, we need to talk” sort of talk.

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