The quiet signs, not the dramatic ones
Unopened mail and unpaid bills. Expired food building up. Missed medication, or medication taken at the wrong times. Weight loss nobody's mentioned. Difficulty with stairs that's being worked around rather than addressed. Any one of these alone isn't an emergency — a pattern of several is worth a real conversation.
Why this is a house question too, eventually
A house that made sense for a family of four in 1975 often stops making sense for one person managing stairs, a big yard, and an aging furnace alone. That's not today's decision, but it's worth knowing the house is part of the picture before a crisis forces the timeline.
How to start the conversation without it landing as an attack
Lead with a specific observation, not a diagnosis — "I noticed the mail's been piling up" lands very differently than "you can't manage on your own anymore." One conversation rarely settles anything; the goal is opening the door, not closing the decision in one sitting.