SO, YOUR PARENTS

are loaded. They moved all their gains from the tech runup into a money-market account long before the bust. Their golden years are, well, golden. Who needs to worry about long-term-care planning?

Hey, it's not just paying nursing-home bills that should have you worried. If your mom and dad don't have in place the right paperwork-a well-drafted durable power of attorney and health directives-your family will be left scrambling if crisis hits. The fact is, according to a 2000 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Family Circle, 30% of children of aging parents have no clue where their folks keep their financial and legal documents.

What to do first? Get your folks to sign a durable power of attorney. Essentially, it's the magic wand that will give you or another trusted ally the power to tap into your parents' bank accounts, trade their stocks, sell their home or do whatever needs to be done to make funds available in case they are incapacitated. An effective power of attorney must specify every right being bestowed. The most important one: the power to make gifts. Say your dad had a stroke. Unless his power of attorney included this gifting authority, you would probably not be able to transfer any of his assets and protect them from being assessed by Medicaid.

Contact the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Sure, your folks can save money by using a standard power-of-attorney form, available at office-supply stores. Problem is, such forms are often too broad to carry much weight. Also, your parents should talk to the elder lawyer about health directives that will give you the legal right to make medical decisions for your parents. It will be less painful to turn off your mom's life-support system if she has indicated that request in writing.