The parent is referring to the "buy, borrow, die" strategy of wealth accumulation. Would that work in your parent's specific circumstance? Maybe? Maybe not? But

The parent is referring to the "buy, borrow, die" strategy of wealth accumulation. Would that work in your parent's specific circumstance? Maybe? Maybe not? But taking a low interest loan against assets as a method of wealth generation and tax avoidance is both a viable strategy and an extremely popular one.