EP11: Elliott Appel: The Money Isn’t My Dad - Inheritance, Elder Care, and Unspoken Grief

Most people aren’t prepared for how complicated elder care, power of attorney, and inheritance can get until they’re deep in it trying to make the right call with very little guidance.   Justin Weidenfeld talks with financial planner Elliott Appel, who shares what it was really like to care for his father through a long illness and all the decisions that came with it. What do you do when a parent refuses help? How do you handle bills that are piling up in a shoebox? And what happens when money shows up in your account and you’d rather it hadn’t?    Elliott walks through the tough moments and the steps that made a difference, from choosing the right power of attorney to working with elder care consultants. He also opens up about the strange, often unspoken feelings that can surface around inheritance. This is a conversation for anyone facing the slow, emotional work of supporting aging parents or planning for the kind of future that no one wants to talk about but everyone eventually faces.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction: When Grief Meets Money 02:56 Elliott’s Personal Grief Journey 08:49 Financial Planning During and After Loss 14:50 How Elder Care Consultants Can Help 17:50 Autonomy, Caregiving, and Letting Go 23:40 Durable Power of Attorney: What You Need to Know 40:44 The Emotional Weight of Inheritance 54:01 Inheritance Guilt and How to Move Forward   Links Connect with Elliott Appel: Book: https://a.co/d/cPud2x1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elliottmappel Blog: https://kindnessfp.com/blog/ Newsletter: https://kindnessfp.com/newsletter   Connect with Justin Weidenfeld: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-weidenfeld/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-currency-of-grief-podcast/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecurrencyofgrief_podcast  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurrencyofgrief  Website: https://www.ironbridgewc.com/team/justin-weidenfeld Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm