Plain-language guides

The hardest part usually happens at the kitchen table. A few things help.

• Start before there's a crisis, if you can. A fall or a storm leaves less room to choose.
• Ask what your parent wants to keep: the garden, the church, the neighbor, the independence.
• Take one topic at a time. Where to live, how to pay and what happens to the house are three conversations.
• Keep your parent in the room for every decision. People follow plans they helped make.
• If brothers and sisters disagree, agree first on who decides what.

It usually takes more than one conversation. That's normal.

Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. A plan made in May beats one made the night before landfall.

• Register with STEAR by dialing 2-1-1 if your parent would need help evacuating.
• Look up the evacuation zone on ReadyHarris.
• Pack a go-bag: medications, glasses, hearing aids, chargers, IDs, insurance cards and the power of attorney.
• Decide now where your parent will go and who will drive.
• Photograph every room before the season starts, for insurance.

Most families spend a few thousand dollars on the move itself, and the ongoing cost of where your parent lives next matters more. These are typical Greater Houston ranges, last checked September 2026.

What moves the price: how much is in the house, stairs, how fast it has to happen, and whether you're coordinating from out of town. Get written estimates, and never pay a cash-only deposit.

• Name a local point person: a neighbor, a church member or a paid move manager who can be there when you can't.
• Get powers of attorney and a HIPAA release signed early, so doctors and banks will talk to you.
• Plan two or three trips: one to plan, one for move week, one for the house.
• Use video calls to walk each room and decide what goes.
• Keep one shared plan so everyone in the family works from the same version.