An older parent and an adult child go over a page together at the kitchen table.

Bills to check and pay

If your parent wants help with bills, or you have the legal right to help, one list makes it much harder for a bill to slip through.

Download the PDF

One page. Fill it in on screen, or print it.

Sheet preview: Bills to check and pay

How to use it

  1. List this month’s bills, their due dates and the amounts.
  2. Check each bill before it’s paid. Note any bill you want to question and who to call.
  3. If a bill is on auto-pay, write that down, then check it went through.
  4. Keep account numbers off the page.

Checking bills, and the calls that are not real

If your parent wants help with bills, or you have the legal right to help, keep this month’s bills on one list with their due dates and amounts. Check each bill before it is paid, and note any you want to question and who to call.

A scammer may pretend to be a bank, a company, or a relative. Agree on a rule with your parent: no money and no codes on a surprise call. Hang up and call a number you already know, such as the one on the bank card. A caller’s name on the screen is not proof, and urgency and secrecy are reasons to stop.

With your parent’s consent, ask their bank about alerts and a trusted contact. Help your parent check; do not take over their accounts without authority. If care bills are hard to meet, the local office for older adults (800-677-1116) can explain help with costs, and SHIP (877-839-2675) explains Medicare costs for free.

More sheets you can print

Where the papers areList where care papers are kept and who may get them.This month’s care budgetCare costs add up in small pieces: a copay here, a ride there, a refill that wasn’t covered.Care costs and receiptsWhen family members chip in, small care costs can turn into big misunderstandings.