TIPS FOR CAREGIVERS

According to a 2003 report from Family Caregiver Alliance, 1 in 3 U.S. households provide care to an ill or disabled family member or friend and 19-22% are caring for an adult with cognitive impairment.  A 2003 survey by Allstate Corporation reports that 1 in 6 baby boomers currently provides financial assistance for elderly parents or in-laws.

Rarely a week goes by that we don’t speak with a family member who is doing their best to help a loved one and operating with a serious information deficit.  Although sometimes it is a gradual transition as an aging loved one begins to need assistance but more often than not, family and other informal caregivers are drawn into a careiving relationship due to an immediate health crisis that often results in a permanent shift in the family dynamic. 

LEGAL PLANNING IS CRITICAL

It is critical to evaluate the potential for you to be called into a caregiving role.  If you can identify the possibility, then you can begin to lay the groundwork with your potential care recipients to enable you to prepare in advance.  Adjusting finances to accommodate care needs can often be done with good results if we can get it done while there are still funds to work with.

First and foremost legal documents must be prepared to give the caregiver the legal authority to make decisions and carry out the responsibilities required by their care recipients.

For the protection of all involved, the minimum legal documents that should be prepared and updated if changes occur with the personal representative care recipient, or named heirs.  Essential documents such as:

Durable Medical Power of Attorney
Durable General Power of Attorney
Declaration of Guardianship
Last Will and Testament or Trust
Living Will /Directive to Physicians
And in the case of a terminal condition, a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in and out of hospital or facility.

These days many people and especially adult children who are internet savvy, are inclined to print the forms off of the internet to save the cost of an attorney.  The worst time to find out you don’t have what you need is when you need it.

• HAVE YOUR LEGAL DOCUMENTS DRAWN UP BY AN ATTORNEY
• IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SPEND THE MONEY TO DO THAT- THEN
     AT LEAST HAVE THEM REVIEWED BY AN ATTORNEY.