Maybe you're not caring for elderly parents now.

But you might be soon.

Forty-one percent of baby boomers who have a living parent are helping take care of them, with personal help, financial assistance or both, according to a USA Today/ABC News/ Gallup Poll.

Of those boomers who aren't providing care for parents now, 37 percent think they will someday. And about half of them say they're concerned about their ability to do so.

Think you might be one of them? You might consider some specific actions now to prepare yourself — financially, at least — according to financial planners and experts in eldercare.

This might sound callous, but people need to ask themselves this question and answer honestly: How much of a commitment am I willing — and able — to make to help my parents?

"We're still living in the fantasy that there are people at home who can take care of the elderly without giving up too much," says John Rother, director of policy and strategy for AARP. "We haven't caught up to the fact that most women are in the work force."

The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP have estimated that 61 percent of people who voluntarily care for the elderly — in most cases, their own relatives — are women. And for a typical unpaid caregiver who has a regular job, the care required of an elderly relative forces her to cut the hours she works at the regular job by about 41 percent, thereby shrinking her pay and benefits, AARP has found.

At the same time, unpaid caregivers who contribute their own money spend an average of $2,400 a year on care, according to AARP.

Adult children are paying out of their pocket "to make up for the mistakes their parents made 20 years ago," by not saving or investing aggressively enough, says Kenneth Kamen, president of Mercadien Asset Management, a financial planning firm.

"You have to decide: How much of my lifestyle do I potentially give up so my dad can lead the kind of life I think he should lead?"

Kamen doesn't mean to sound harsh. In fact, he and his wife are working with her siblings to help her mother craft a strategy for her future living arrangements.

"At some point, the baby boomers are going to have to lay down the guilt," he says. They need to worry about paying for college for their kids and saving for their own old age — which most haven't done, he says.

"Boomers are going to need way more money than they think they'll need," Kamen says.

OK, so you won't spend all your money on your parents. (OK, maybe you will ... ) But here are some costs and issues to consider:

HAVE "THE TALK"

This one is almost as hard as the "birds and bees" talk you may or may not have had with your children. But you need to talk frankly with your parents about what kind of care they expect to have.

It can be difficult, especially for some members of the World War II generation who have tended to keep financial issues private.

"It's amazing how little the baby boomers know about the financial situation of their parents," Kamen says.

To make it easier, try to back into the conversation: "Say, Dad. We were doing our will the other day and wondered if you have all that taken care of?" Or: "We're starting to plan our retirement. What did you and Mom decide?"

CONSIDER REMODELING

Whether your parents move into your house or stay in their own, you might need to adapt the living space. You could add everything from handrails in bathrooms and a ramp instead of stairs at the front door, to a bathroom and bedroom on the first floor.

"Most of the housing we live in today is 'Peter Pan' housing: It's designed for people who are never going to grow up and never grow old," says Jon Pynoos of the University of Southern California's Andrus Gerontology Center.

CONSIDER INSURANCE

Some people want to pay or help pay for long-term-care insurance for their parents. But "don't buy it for them unless you really can afford it and it offers them peace of mind," says Bill Driscoll, a financial planner in Plymouth, Mass. (He and his siblings are chipping in for their mother's policy.)

Others note that "it's more likely you'll need (long-term-care insurance) for yourself," Kamen says. "You're going to live way longer than your parents."

DO THE PAPERWORK

Make sure your parents have given someone the authority to make financial and medical decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated. Your parents should have two documents that you can find in an emergency: a durable power of attorney for finances and a power of attorney for healthcare.

Without them, you could be forced to go to court to have a parent declared incompetent — an expensive, invasive and painful process. Many couples grant power of attorney to each other. But your parents should also name a backup agent in case the other spouse dies or becomes incapacitated.