Trust, transparency and triumph—the gift of your family’s future.

Written for EO by Susan Michel, founder and CEO of Glen Eagle.

Whether we have aging parents, adult children or both, we all should consider having an honest conversation about the future. If there’s one lesson I have learned from working with families over the years, it’s that elderly parents often regret that they didn’t start a dialogue with their adult children sooner. With 76 million American baby boomers moving into the retirement stage of their lives, there is a huge opportunity and need for families to start having these conversations today.

While these conversations cause all of us to come face to face with our own mortality and the possibility that health-related issues may result in a diminished capacity, the alternative—not having the discussion—can result in tension, misunderstandings and, ultimately, your wishes not being followed.