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Sohil Parekh shares ten tips on caring for aging parents when they live in a different country.

You are NRI from the USA? Working for MNC with ESOP? Probably you are HNI wanting to make FDI? Previously PIO having OCI? There is GOI scheme. You can open NRO/NRE/FD/DEMAT (but not HUF) with INR. We are definitely needing PAN. Can get from ITD. You must link Aadhaar and submit KYC. Next year, Re-KYC via eKYC or CKYC. Then if you are wanting 1/2/3BHK you can get EMI. Even invest via SIP. Also take benefit of UPI. But needing to enter OTP each time. New RBI regulation. Wanting to speak to HOD? Yes, he is BCom/CA and MBA from IIM. Not IIT. Sorry, he is gone to watch ODI. Next week? He may be at IPL. BCCI guest for T20. Now no SRT, so big fan of CSK and MSD.”

OMG. I didn’t know whether to FML or LOL.

I was still groggy from my most recent red-eye flight into Mumbai. My surprisingly good morning latte from the local McDonald’s had yet to fully fire my synapses. Under these suboptimal conditions, perhaps a visit to the local bank to commandeer a long-dormant bank account was ill-advised. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the deluge of TLAs from my RM.

The truth is, no beverage — however strong — could have prepared me for the cold reality of my re-entry into full-time life in India. I had left India for the United States as an international student in 1995. After 27 years of living there, I recently returned to India to assist my parents as my Mom battles advanced stages of ALS. You can read more about my motivations, our challenges — and how I’m trying to make sense of it all.

In the three decades since I left India, some 2 million other young Indians emigrated to the United States. Many came as young graduate students or as high-skilled technical professionals. Most stayed to build their careers and lives — far away from their families in India. Now, their parents are aging — and many are struggling with the same caregiving questions I’m facing.

If you are navigating this journey now — or expect to in the years to come — I hope you’ll find my Top 10 Tips below helpful.

Key points include:

• Communication
• Finances
• Legalities

Read the full article, The ABCs of Remotely Caring for Aging Parents in India, on Medium.