As you stare at the clouds on your flight home from your sister’s wedding, you think about your aging parents and come to the realization – it’s time to help them downsize. Their two-story family home was great when they were younger, but now it’s a burden to maintain that amount of space.
They knew eventually they would be ready to sell their home and discussed this transition open and honestly with you and your siblings.
All you can think is “there will be so much to do,” and the mere thought of going through every item in their home, creating a moving plan, and choosing what they should take or discard, stresses you immediately. Where do you begin? Right here.
The senior relocation and downsizing process can be overwhelming for any family. You aren’t alone. Consider this; approximately 34 million Americans actively care for an older parent. 5.1 million of those families live one or more hours away and simply can’t take on moving their parents or their things. They too balance the demands of multiple households, work, and the many daily tasks of everyday life and don’t have enough space at home for Mom and Dad’s property.
Care itself is complex, but caring for your parent’s personal property from miles away can be a daunting task as well. So where do you start?
According to Senior Move Expert, Nan Hayes, after deciding to downsize or relocate and liquidate property you should consider the following:
• What is the best option for my parent’s personal property? Should I hold an estate sale?
• What would the objective be in selling the personal property?
• Once we agree to an estate sale, what would the scope of the estate sale be?
• What sale options are available?
• What are the right questions to ask an estate sale provider?
When taking on a large responsibility like long-distance care, the actual possessions that need to be inventoried, sold, or dispersed are often forgotten. Caring Transitions can help you with the entire senior relocation and downsizing process and even handle personal property.
To get more tips on caring for your parent’s things, read
Tips for Selling Personal Property.
Sources
https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/since-you-care-guides/mmi-long-distance-caregiving.pdfhttp://www.caringtransitions.com/About-Us/Newsletter/View/ID/6082/Tips-for-Selling-Personal-Property