1. What kind of care will the person need?

What is the person's physical and mental condition and what chronic illness does he or she have? These are the first questions you need to answer.

If he's still relatively healthy and independent, this may be the ideal time to move him in. He can become accustomed to his new surroundings and will initially require little care from you or other family members. Your kids will get to know him while he's still healthy.

Most people don't consider moving a parent or other family member in until he has some sort of health setback or crisis. In that case, it's very likely you'll be coping with the person's chronic illness. "Know the illness very well," says Donna Schempp, the program director for the Family Caregiver Alliance in San Francisco. "And not just the illness here and now. Where's this illness going to be six months, a year, two years, and five years from now? What are his care needs going to be now and in the future? You need that information."

Even if an aging family member is just slowing down and there's no specific illness such as Alzheimer's or cancer to deal with, you still need to anticipate his future condition based on family history or his personal history. Bringing someone to your home as an interim solution is another viable solution. It may be that he can live with you until his condition deteriorates to a point where he needs assisted living or a nursing home.