Aging parents & caregiving
The appointments. The bills. The family group chat. The feeling that you should somehow know what to do. Let’s find a clearer next step—for your parent, and for you.
Free tools · U.S. resources + New York examples · Sources checked October 27, 2026
A first conversation, a task list, and local help. No overnight expertise required.
Make a first plan 02 · Start hereUnderstand the routes for medical bills, food, energy, ongoing care, and possible caregiver pay.
Explore support options 03 · Start hereWork, siblings, guilt, burnout, and grief. You deserve a place in the plan.
Find support for you01 · Find the right door
Choose a need to find official starting points. You do not need to tell us your parent’s income, diagnosis, or personal details.
For care services, use your parent’s location. For leave from work, use the rules covering your employment. Programs make their own eligibility decisions.
2 starting points · 0 on your call list
Navigation & services
The Eldercare Locator connects U.S. families with local aging services. Ask about meals, transport, care assessment, caregiver support, or legal-assistance referrals.
Services, fees, eligibility, and waiting lists differ locally. Search using the parent’s location.
“Who can review our care needs and help us find the right local services?”
Independent counseling
State Health Insurance Assistance Programs offer free, personalized Medicare counseling. A counselor can help explain coverage, costs, and application routes.
Counseling does not enroll someone automatically or guarantee coverage.
“Can we review this coverage question and the help available with Medicare costs?”
Start with health, social-service, and legal resources where they live. These U.S. programs do not establish eligibility abroad. You can still use the task list and conversation prompts below.
02 · See the numbers
Use a local quote and confirmed funds to sketch a monthly gap. Blank fields count as zero. This is planning arithmetic; it does not estimate benefits or recommend what you should spend.
Include only funds available for the costs you entered. Do not count pending benefits or the same amount twice. For a monthly facility quote, leave hourly care blank unless it is an additional cost.
Your working estimate
Your figures.Enter the costs and funds you know. There are no assumed prices or promised benefits hiding in this calculator.
Monthly hourly care = hourly rate × weekly hours × 52 ÷ 12. Totals exclude taxes, fees, overtime, unpaid family time, and anything not entered. Rounded to the nearest dollar for display.
03 · Make a first plan
Use this as a starting list, not another standard to fail. Choose what fits. One completed call can be plenty for today.
Entries stay in this page’s memory and are not sent to Millywell or saved automatically. Reloading resets them; your browser may keep a page when you go back. Printing or downloading creates a copy for you to keep private.
MILLYWELL · MY AGING-PARENT CARE STARTING POINT General U.S. education. Sources checked October 27, 2026. Not an eligibility decision or a medical, legal, or financial recommendation. RESOURCE CALLS TO MAKE No resource calls selected yet. FIRST-WEEK CHECKLIST [ ] Ask what matters most to my parent and what help they want. [ ] Write down the one change or task that needs attention first. [ ] Contact local aging services in my parent’s area. [ ] Separate confirmed funding from applications still pending. [ ] Give one recurring task an owner and a backup. [ ] Find existing healthcare wishes and financial permissions. [ ] Make room for my own health, work, and a realistic break. MY NEXT ACTION Not entered. CARE COST PLANNING No budget figures entered. FIRST LOCAL CONTACT Eldercare Locator: https://eldercare.acl.gov/ · 1-800-677-1116 Millywell hub: https://millywell.com/aging-parents Keep this copy private. It is a planning worksheet, not a legal form.
MILLYWELL · MY AGING-PARENT CARE STARTING POINT General U.S. education. Sources checked October 27, 2026. Not an eligibility decision or a medical, legal, or financial recommendation. RESOURCE CALLS TO MAKE No resource calls selected yet. FIRST-WEEK CHECKLIST [ ] Ask what matters most to my parent and what help they want. [ ] Write down the one change or task that needs attention first. [ ] Contact local aging services in my parent’s area. [ ] Separate confirmed funding from applications still pending. [ ] Give one recurring task an owner and a backup. [ ] Find existing healthcare wishes and financial permissions. [ ] Make room for my own health, work, and a realistic break. MY NEXT ACTION Not entered. CARE COST PLANNING No budget figures entered. FIRST LOCAL CONTACT Eldercare Locator: https://eldercare.acl.gov/ · 1-800-677-1116 Millywell hub: https://millywell.com/aging-parents Keep this copy private. It is a planning worksheet, not a legal form.
Understand the choices
Care at a distance, a parent refusing help, a new care need, or a bill you did not expect. Begin with the part that matters today.
You do not need to become an expert overnight. Begin with what changed, what your parent wants, and one useful next conversation.
Read the storyA practical U.S. starting point for help with bills, care, meals, and the costs families often discover too late.
Read the storySometimes the answer is yes. The important part is knowing which program, which rules, and when payment actually begins.
Read the storyBegin with the tasks and times that need covering. Then compare settings, services, and what your family can sustain.
Read the storyBeing the reliable one should not mean being the only one. A practical guide to sharing care and protecting your own life.
Read the storyThe goal is to know what exists, where it is kept, and who is allowed to act. A folder alone does not create legal authority.
Read the storyYou can take a change seriously without diagnosing your parent from a conversation or an online quiz.
Read the storyA discharge date is only one part of the plan. You also need to know what happens that evening, that weekend, and when something changes.
Read the storyYou belong in the plan
Guilt, anger, sadness, relief, fear. Caregiving can bring complicated feelings, including in difficult or estranged relationships. You can set boundaries, seek professional help, or support care from a distance.
Care includes the calls, decisions, and constant availability as well as the visible tasks. Support needs to account for all of it.
Read the storyFind practical support after losing a parent, from asking for specific help and handling work to planning difficult dates and knowing when to seek care.
Read the storyLocal caregiver programs may offer counseling, training, groups, and respite—a temporary break from care. Ask about fees, eligibility, and waiting lists.
Words for a hard conversation
“I want to understand what matters to you. What would make this week easier?”With your parent
“I can cover Tuesday. Can you own Friday’s appointment, including arranging backup?”With family or another helper
“I cannot safely provide that level of care. What other arrangements can we make?”With the care team
Conversation examples are Millywell’s editorial suggestions. Adapt them to the relationship and the situation.
These guides and tools provide general education, with official source links and a checked date. They have not been reviewed by a clinician, attorney, or financial adviser. The navigator suggests routes to investigate; it does not determine eligibility, diagnose a condition, or create legal authority. For a personal decision, use qualified advice in the place where your parent lives.
Need urgent help? For a medical emergency or immediate danger, call your local emergency number. Sudden new confusion needs emergency assessment; in the U.S., call 911. Read the MedlinePlus guidance ↗.
Our editorial standards · Report a correction · Privacy & your choices
