Taking care of Mom -- and all of her finances too

Caregivers beware: Taking care of an elderly parent also comes with taking care of business. And handling finances might be as daunting as the role reversal that comes with taking over for Mom or Dad.

Chicago Tribune staff writer Lisa Black know this firsthand. She writes in a column:

“Like a few million other baby boomers, I have become a caregiver for my mother, a shift of roles that comes with many stresses. Cleaning out her California apartment and persuading her to leave the sunny climate for an assisted living facility just over the border near our home was just the start.

“Bittersweet, too, was that even though she has struggled with significant health problems, she was always able to survive without our help, until now. All of that was a cinch, however, compared to slogging through the bureaucratic muck known as privacy protection.”

Black goes on to describe the morass of bank accounts, medical bills, even magazine subscriptions that became nearly impossible to stop or sort out without help from her ailing mother. Read the full column here.

The financial side of caregiving requires advance planning -- and some good advice. Margaret Mintz and Jody Winer who created “The Care Organizer” notebook will be featured in a live Web chat on Jan. 11 (1 p.m. EST, noon CST and 10 a.m. PST). Sign in, join the discussion -- and bring your questions.