Know What It Actually Does

Understand exactly what a Trusted Contact can and can't do for your parent's account, and how it differs from a Power of Attorney, a joint owner, and a beneficiary, in plain language you can explain to the rest of the family in one sentence.

Fill Out the Form Together

Get a step-by-step walkthrough for adding a Trusted Contact at a bank and a brokerage, what to bring, what to expect, and simple dos and don'ts for raising it so it never feels like a judgment.

Build the Full Safety Net

Go beyond one form: build a simple list of every institution your parent uses, decide whether a Power of Attorney makes sense, and set a habit for keeping it current as accounts open, close, and change.

About This Course

This course is built for adult children, the Sandwich Generation, and family caregivers who want to help an aging parent close a gap before it matters. A bank or brokerage employee is often the first person in a position to notice something is wrong with an elder parent's account, long before any family member does, and without a Trusted Contact on file, they may have no one else to call. We'll walk you through what a Trusted Contact actually is (and isn't), how it's different from a Power of Attorney, and how to sit down with your parent and add one to their accounts this week. By the end of this course, you'll have a Trusted Contact on file for your parent, a plain-language explanation you can give anyone in the family, and a simple emergency contact sheet for every institution they use. Don't wait for a scare to build the safety net that was always free to set up.