Mint Money Compass: When parents become children in need of protection from financial blunders

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Even if you live miles away from your parents, your responsibilities don’t end, especially when it comes to safeguarding their health, both physical and financial. Increasingly, adult children are stepping into the role of financial bodyguards for their parents.

In a digital-first world, their money is more vulnerable than ever to fraud while unscrupulous relationship managers and salespersons lurk around every corner, pushing products that extract more value than they deliver. These stories are no longer uncommon. Adult children, often more financially savvy and better equipped to navigate the modern financial system, are stepping in to protect their parents from digital fraud.

But their role goes well beyond helping parents use apps or avoid scams. It also involves ensuring their money is invested wisely and not left to erode in instruments that don’t even beat inflation. But, there's another, more delicate responsibility they must navigate: succession planning.

From gently nudging parents to write a will to cleaning up long-standing financial clutter, children are walking a fine line of helping parents without making them feel disempowered or out of control. This story explores that balancing act. Shipra Singh speaks to families to understand how adult children, even when living far away, are managing their parents’ finances and navigating this complex yet deeply personal role to secure their parents’ financial future.

But being digitally savvy doesn’t automatically translate into financial prudence. One clear example is the growing tendency to use artificial intelligence as a stand-in for a financial advisor. If you rely on an AI chatbot for investment advice, ask yourself this: