<prompt> Human: Ill start off by saying that I absolutely realize this is of my parents own doing. And, while helping them with their retirement is important to me, its not a huge priority because Im currently trying to save and pay down some of my own debts. But, Id like to help in whatever little way that I can right now.My dad has done hard manual labor since he was 1617. Hes now 52 and I can see that he is getting tired. He went to a chiropractor because of some persistent pain he was having and she commented that his knees and back were comparable to that of an 80 year old. Hence, my concerns.He makes 500 a week as long as he shows up the five days, which he almost always does. He got into trouble with the IRS a few years ago, so he is paid cash only. I dont know the details of the IRS problem. My mom likes to keep that under wraps.My mom spent most of her years being a stay at home mom. Now, that were all grown up, she is working part-time at a supermarket. She makes maybe about 200 a week on average. I know she has at least one loan, but, again, I dont know the details.They own a truck and two cars, one of which was gifted by my sister because it was more dependable for driving out of town to see the grandkids. As far as I know, the truck and less dependable car are collateral on one of my moms loans.They are still buying their house. Its 500 a month, owner financed. They still owe 39k and is valued at about 50k.They are terrible with money, always have been. But, surely, there is something I can do now to help them, especially my dad?I have three siblings and they are all tight with money. Admittedly, Im the best off because I dedicated myself to school and am the only one to have a college degree. I know my parents are irresponsible but I always did have their support.So, what can I do to help my parents? What is something my siblings could help with too? They all have the same concerns as me about my dad.Assistant: He makes 500 a week as long as he shows up the five days, which he almost always does. He got into trouble with the IRS a few years ago, so he is paid cash only. I dont know the details of the IRS problem. My mom likes to keep that under wraps.Im not trying to come at this judgmentally at all, but got into trouble here makes it sound like he ended up owing a bunch of taxes and couldnt pay them all at once, so now his solution has been to go off the grid financially and try to ignore the problem rather than solve it.And if thats true, its kind of tough for you to do much for him long term without addressing that issue first. The IRS can just go after any kind of savings you set up for him to satisfy whatever tax debts your parents have.I think you need to have a sit down conversation with them where you stress that you really want to help, but you need clarity on their tax situation or you wont be able to do anything. Without clear answers on that, its difficult to plot a way forward.Human: The IRS can just go after any kind of savings you set up for him to satisfy whatever tax debts your parents have.Im going to talk with my parents about the IRS situation and hopefully begin to get a handle on that. That seems to be priority one. Quick question though. If I were to set up a savings account in my name, but for the purpose of helping my parents, would that be taken by the IRS? Secondly, my mom has always filed her taxes as Married, Filing Separately. I guess the impression she wanted to give is that they are separated with no contact, but that is not the case, obviously. Is it advisable or even possible to open a Roth IRA in either of their names?  <response>: You and your parents need professional tax advice. You are asking how to legally support your parents, who have likely committed tax fraud and are now avoiding payments on taxes and penalties owed. Please do not take any advice from the internet. Worse case scenario, you get in some kind of felony level trouble for helping them hide money. That is pretty bad. You should talk to a CPA or a tax attorney. 