Talking to your parents about the end of their life

End of life planning for your parents

It's a difficult conversation for a caregiver and their aging parent to have-- planning for the end of their life.

It wasn't something Linda Burhans spent much time contemplating.

A life lesson learned.

Burhans wrote a book to help others navigate their parents end of life issues after caring for her own terminally mom.

“You need to have some end of life conversation. You need to have a ton of paper work filled out,” said Burhans.

Through her support group, Burhans encourages caregivers to connect with each other and share resources.

Family law attorney Bill McQueen said adult children should encourage their parents to designate a healthcare surrogate, draw up a power of attorney and draft a living will.   The document will speak for them in the event they cannot.

Over 70 percent of Americans will need assistance with daily living before they die.

It's one of the reasons why Shirley Balter made her end of life wishes clear to her family.

This 83-year-old provided her family, including her daughter-in-law, with a copy of her will.  She doesn't want any questions in the end.

Balter said she didn't schedule a big sit down meeting, rather she found ways to bring up the subject in on going conversations with her grown kids.

She found it to be an easier conversation when it's talked about on a regular basis.

Here are some helpful links: