The mailbox tells you something the kitchen does not. A man who still opens his mail is handling the paper side of his life. When the box fills, the envelopes stack up on the table, and the top ones are still sealed, the paper has stopped getting answered. That is often the first visible sign of the slide, and it shows up well before a missed notice turns into a service cutoff or a lapsed account.
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Read the pile before you touch it
Stand at the box or the table and sort without opening anything. Count the sealed envelopes and write down the senders. Look for five things:
The same return address appearing two or three times. The second notice from one company matters more than the first.
Window envelopes, or anything marked final, past due, or action required.
Mail from his bank, his insurer, his doctor's office, or his pharmacy. Note the sender only. Do not read the contents on your own.
Appointment confirmations, renewal letters, or anything with a response line that has gone unanswered.
Catalogs and mailings you can ignore. A pile that is mostly junk mail is less worrying than a pile with three notices from the same sender.
Also compare what is opened with what is sealed. If he opens the envelopes and tosses them, he is still reading and acting. If the envelopes are sealed and stacked in date order, something has stopped.
The legal line on his mail
Opening his mail is his to decide unless he has given that authority to you in writing. A power of attorney controls this only if the document covers finances or mail, so read the document itself rather than relying on memory of what you signed. If the wording is unclear or he has not signed anything, do not open his mail on the assumption that you can. Ask a lawyer before you act, and use Local Help in St. Louis to find where to start.
If you are not authorized, you can still do useful work from the outside. Note the senders, count the envelopes, and ask him to sort the pile with you.
What to compare before you decide
Compare the senders against the errands you already know he has, such as the bank, the utility, the pharmacy, and the doctor. Any sender you cannot place is worth asking him about directly. A mailing that asks for a card number, a fee, or an urgent callback can also be a scam, so do not respond to it until you have checked with the company using a number you find yourself.
Your next move
Ask him to sit down with you for twenty minutes this week and sort the pile together, with him opening each envelope and deciding what goes where. Keep a single sheet with three columns: the sender, what the letter asks for, and who will answer it. If he agrees, ask the senders to add you as a contact for future notices. If he says no, leave the pile where it is, keep your sheet, and bring it back to the first conversation you have with him about help. For the wider picture, start with Start Here.