February 15, 2017

Things that Caregivers Need to Do

If you are going to be a caregiver for an elderly family member, there are some important things that you need to do before you get started.

Being a caregiver for an elderly person is not easy. It takes a lot of time and can come with emotional and financial costs. That is even more likely for people who become caregivers for their elderly family members.

There are a few things that people can do before becoming a caregiver to make things easier.

Recently, Forbes discussed some helpful pointers for caregivers in "4 Critical Things To Do Before Becoming A Caregiver," including:

Make sure you have all of the elderly person's legal, financial and medical documents. You need to know where the person has their bank accounts. You need to have powers of attorney. You need to know who the elderly person's doctors are.
Make sure your own finances are in good order. You might want to take some time off of work at the beginning of your caregiving, so make sure that you understand the FMLA.
Make a personal care agreement with the elderly person. This is a written statement about what the expectations are. While not a legal document, this will help give everyone peace of mind and make the transition easier.
Have your own support team in place. Caregiving is not easy. Make sure that you have people who can support you when you need it. You should enlist the aid of friends, family and organizations for the elderly.

Reference: Forbes (Jan. 22, 2017) "4 Critical Things To Do Before Becoming A Caregiver

February 3, 2017

Robotic Pets for Alzheimer’s Patients

Therapy animals have been used effectively for all kinds of patients, including those with Alzheimer's disease. However, it is not always practical or safe to use real animals with people suffering from dementia. Some care centers are substituting robotic pets.

Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia can give patients a deep sense of loneliness. Patients often cannot remember where they are and who the people are around them. This can lead to feelings of being alone.

One way to combat this is with companionship. However, elder caregivers and elder law advocates all know how difficult it can be to get the necessary companionship on a consistent basis.

Therapy animals have sometimes been used. However, even with specially trained dogs and cats, there is still a safety risk for many patients and the animals themselves.

Of course, real animals have to be cared for and fed as well, which takes up caregiving time.

The New York Times in "Therapy Cats for Dementia Patients, Batteries Included" discusses a new trend to use robotic cats.

Robotics have gotten good enough and cheap enough that some commercially available robotic pets could have benefits for patients with dementia.

The article discusses their use in one nursing home where the residents really enjoy the robots. They give a sense of joy and empowerment, even when the patients realize that the robots are not real animals.

There has been no conclusive research proving any long term benefits of robotic pets for people with Alzheimer's. However, the short term benefits are easy to see for those who work with the patients.

Reference: New York Times (Dec. 15, 2016) "Therapy Cats for Dementia Patients, Batteries Included."

December 12, 2016

Family Squabbles Can Hurt Elderly Parents

When an elderly parent is approaching the end of life, the ability of the family to come together and agree on treatment and care is vital to ease the parent's suffering.

The last thing that most end of life patients want to deal with, is a family feud over the patient’s medical treatment and care. However, these family feuds are a common occurrence, especially when family members have other, pre-existing disagreements.

This was the subject of a recent article in the Washington Post titled "A united family can make all the difference when someone is dying."

Doctors have a name for one of the common problems that can arise. They call it the "Daughter from California syndrome." This can happen when family members compete with each other over who cares for the elderly patient the most. Often, someone who lives far away goes too far and is the source of disruptions.

Another source of problems for families is when the person who the patient put in charge of things goes too far and refuses to cooperate with others. For example, someone given authority in a health care power of attorney may refuse to listen to the opinions of other family members. This can create unnecessary tension, especially when decisions have to be made that are outside the scope of any advanced directives.

The best thing that a family can do to help an elderly patient at the end of life is to work together, communicate freely and come to consensus decisions concerning treatment and care. The patient can help this greatly, if he or she has previously executed detailed advanced directives that designate appropriate people to be in charge.

Reference: Washington Post (Nov. 20, 2016) "A united family can make all the difference when someone is dying."

December 9, 2016May 5, 2022

Remarriage Planning

Before you get remarried late in your life you should do some estate planning. Profit Law Firm has information on how you can do estate planning to protect everyone in your new blended family.

People who are at or near retirement age are getting remarried more often than ever before. Most elder advocates think it is a wonderful thing that people are finding love and comfort late in their lives.

However, there is a potential problem.

Not enough older people getting remarried are properly planning for what doing so will mean for their families and estates. Without proper planning things can quickly go awry as New Hampshire Magazine reports in “Navigating Late-Life Remarriage.”

The biggest problem is that people do not take the time to consider what a second marriage might mean for their children’s ability to receive an inheritance. Children from an earlier marriage can be left out of an estate entirely without planning.

By default, a person’s entire estate goes to a living spouse. It cannot be assumed that the spouse will make plans to leave anything inherited for stepchildren in his or her estate. There is no legal obligation for the spouse to do so and the law will not give the money to those children if the spouse passes away without an estate plan.

This, of course, does not mean that someone should not get remarried late in life. It just means that some planning needs to take place before doing so, in order to protect children. P

Before getting remarried visit an estate planning attorney who can assist with the proper legal plans to make sure your children are protected.

Reference: New Hampshire Magazine (Dec. 2016) “Navigating Late-Life Remarriage.”

December 6, 2016

Elder Abuse Costs Rising

A new study suggests that the total costs from elder abuse in the U.S. continue to rise at an alarming rate.

Elder abuse is a serious problem in the U.S. This has been known for a long time. As more people live longer while suffering from some form of cognitive impairment due to age or disease, fraudsters have more and more incentive to target the elderly.

What is not often known by the general public is how frequent financial abuse of the elderly is and how costly it can be.

Recently, the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discussed the results of a recent survey that helps to answer those questions in "Elder Financial Abuse Is Costing Americans."

The numbers are alarming: 37% of elderly caregivers report that the person under their care has been the victim of financial abuse. The average cost of the abuse to the elderly victim is $36,000. That is up 20% from two years ago when the average cost per victim was reported at $30,000.

Given the large number of elderly people in the U.S., these numbers show that a significant amount of wealth is being taken from the elderly in abuse incidents.

If you suspect that an elderly person you know is the victim of elder abuse, it is vital that you contact an elder law attorney and alert authorities. While it is often difficult to recover the lost funds, it can be done if the proper people are informed in time.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Nov. 16, 2016) "Elder Financial Abuse Is Costing Americans."

November 11, 2016

Right-to-Live Movement

In a counter to the right-to-die movement, one woman wants to be the face of the right-to-live movement.

You may remember the case of Brittany Maynard. Two years ago the young woman became the face of the right-to-die movement.

She was terminally ill and argued that she had the right to end her own life with a doctor's assistance to put an end to her suffering.

Since then, more states have begun debating right-to-die legislation. Not everyone agrees with the idea, however.

Stephanie Parker is a young mother of four with terminal cancer who has been denied coverage for her treatments. She could end her suffering under the law in her state, but she refuses to do so.

Parker wishes for her children to learn that death is a part of life.

She wishes to be the face of the right to live movement, as FOX News reports in "Terminally ill mom denied treatment coverage — but gets suicide drug approved."

This is an important debate, but do not be confused by the media coverage.

While the media focuses on younger people who are wrestling with the decision whether to live or not with a terminal illness, this is a much bigger issue for elderly people, their doctors and their advocates.

All over the country elder law attorneys and advocates deal with these issues on a daily basis. There are strong feelings on both sides, but most advocates believe the decision should be left up to the individual person who has a terminal illness.

An elder law attorney could advise you on the laws concerning this issue in your state.

Reference: FOX News (Oct. 24, 2016) "Terminally ill mom denied treatment coverage — but gets suicide drug approved."

November 8, 2016

Is Death Better than Watching the Debates?

Many Americans can probably relate to retired trucker George Norman Davis who said he would rather die than watch the Presidential debates.

George Norman Davis was a retired veteran and long-haul trucker. While not famous in life, his obituary is giving him some fame on the Internet.

It tells how, on the day of the first Presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Davis proclaimed that he would rather die than watch the debate and promptly did so.

The Daily Mail reported this story in "He said he'd rather die than watch the debates… and he kept his word! Hilarious obituary of Pennsylvania trucker who worried 'the nation is going someplace in a handbasket'."

Everyone who watched any of the debates can probably relate to the sentiment. However, while there is humor in this particular story, it is also an indication of a trend. More and more people are using public obituaries to express the kind of personality and humor of their loved one.

More and more people are also writing their own obituaries and telling the tales about themselves they want to tell.

The Internet allows people all over the world to discover these obituaries and to share those they find interesting. That does mean people who would like a more traditional or private obituary need to make their wishes clear in a will or by letting their families know in another way.

Reference: Daily Mail (Oct. 20, 2016) "He said he'd rather die than watch the debates… and he kept his word! Hilarious obituary of Pennsylvania trucker who worried 'the nation is going someplace in a handbasket'."

October 13, 2016August 15, 2022

Should Seniors Get Married?

Getting married always comes with challenges and finances that needs to be worked out. This is especially true for people in their retirement years.

When people fall in love and decide that they want to get married, they often do not think of all of the financial consequences of their decision to wed. In the popular imagination this is something that young couples do all the time. They rush into a marriage without having first considered all of the financial implications.

However, elder law experts point out that the tendency does not go away with age.

Senior citizens are just as likely to get married without thinking everything through. That can be a problem, because seniors have more they need to think about than younger people as the Hartford Courant reports in “Fit To Be Tied? Think Twice About Marriage In Your Golden Years.”

Senior citizens considering getting married need to think about how marriage will affect all of their other plans, including retirement and estate plans. For example, a retired person might think his well-crafted estate plan to leave his assets to his children is solid and that a new wife with assets of her own will not affect those plans. Under the law, in Maryland and DC, however, a spouse is given inheritance rights. Therefore a retired person should contact a Maryland estate plannning attorney to review options to protect his children and the new spouse. There are several trusts that protect a spouse during life, while leaving the underlying assets to children from a prior marriage. Call Profit Law Firm, for consultation to find an option that works for your family.

In reality, it is almost impossible to cut a spouse out of an estate plan entirely. Consequently, whether or not the couple intends it, the new spouse is likely to inherit something without very careful planning. An estate planning

That is not to say senior citizens should never get married. They just need to think about it and visit an elder law attorney familiar with estate planning to learn about all the implications and what can be done about them.

Reference: Hartford Courant (Sept. 24, 2016) “Fit To Be Tied? Think Twice About Marriage In Your Golden Years.”

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Tag: Elder Law