Not only have I served as a Trustee for several of my aging clients , aunts and uncles, I have also had to deal with the issue of losing a father due to the complications from Alzheimer's. I can tell you that the situation is more time consuming than you ever imaged. It is also frustrating because you will need to deal with insurance companies, caregivers, a variety of medical professionals who typically don't communicate with one another, and your siblings and healthier parent.
On top of this, there is the paperwork and every piece is critical whether it is the Living Trust (or lack thereof), the appropriate Powers of Attorney, or just the daily life finances which become problematic for an elderly person. My observation is that dementia issues are not easy to detect if your elderly person is aging in a familiar environment. They can fool you for quite a while, especially if you don't interact with them on a daily basis. You may want to put yourself on "cognitive alert" and watch for small declines.
Of course, this means there will be a variety of new considerations for you. Whether your loved one is no longer entirely independent or simply needs extra help to enjoy their lives, you may need help with any or all of the following areas...
- Reviewing and paying household bills, budgeting, and record keeping.
- Assisting with check writing and checkbook balancing.
- Making sure money is received, receipted, and deposited.
- Offering second opinions regarding household issues and unexpected situations
- Handling day-to-day financial transactions such as home repairs, routine maintenance, and emergency medical
expenses.
- Planning retirement account distributions and safeguard against improper
disbursements.
- Organizing and review personal, financial, and legal documents to determine what needs to be
addressed.
- Preparing an inventory of personal assets and investments.
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Making health, social & functional assessments to determine the services best suited for each individual.
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Providing care
planning and care management: arranging & monitoring home &
community care, assisted living, nursing care facilities & other
services.
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Arranging for support for family caregivers who live far from their parents or siblings.
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Obtaining services from law firms, banks and trust departments & guardians and conservators
and of course, CPAs.
Medicaid Gets Tough: Prepare to pay for your own longterm care.
Until
recently, families might have been able to retain a significant amount
of money and still declare "poverty eligibility by transferring assets
to special trusts or to relatives and using the remainder to pay the
nursing-home bills long enough to satisfy the penalty period for such
transfers.
Under the new law known as the "Deficit Reduction Act of 2005,(signed
into law in February 2006) that strategy to qualify for government-paid
nursing-home care, is now history. You may need to consult and attorney specializing in elder-law to assist you with planning.
Elder care is costly.
As the nation's 78 million baby boomers
reach retirement age in 2011, "They will face a health care work force
that is too small and woefully inadequate to meet their needs," warns a
recent report by the Institute of Medicine."
The National Alliance for Caregiving did a survey and found that those caring for their elderly parents made many sacrifices:
- 50% spent on average more than 10% of their annual income in care giving expenses.
- 37% quit their job or reduced their hours.
- 47% cut back on vacations.
- 38% are saving less or not at all for their children's future.
- 34% are using their savings.
- 32% have provided caregiving for more than five years
- 27% are cutting back on basics, including clothing, utilities and transportation
- 23% are cutting back on personal medical or dental expenses.
