Eldercare attorney Harry Margolis recommends age 75 as the best time to start talking to your parents about finances and caregiving issues. “We simplified our finances down just basically into one bank account and one credit card,” Sally Balch Hurme, an elder law attorney and author, told us on The Long View. Don’t overlook a healthcare power of attorney (aka healthcare surrogate or healthcare proxy), which is someone who can make medical decisions if your parent can’t.