Organizing Important Documents for Elder Care



Organizing Important Documents for Elder Care



By Kimberly Whiter



It’s the beginning of a new year. Have you set goals?

Do you have personal goals for fitness or well-being? Maybe some professional goals as well? Perhaps this holiday you spent time with family and realized some of your aging relatives might need your help in the future? Using this time of year to organize or even prepare important documents is a great idea.



Many people don’t think about these documents until they are needed. Of course, if a document is not available when it is needed, the objectives of the document(s) aren’t going to be met



Meaning you miss out on all the benefits that document is supposed to provide. And most often, these documents are needed in times of incompetency or following death, which means it could be impossible to put them in place when they are needed.

There are many stories of situations in which a needed document was not available, either because it had never been established or couldn’t be found. There are other stories of documents presented that were not accepted. These risks can be eliminated with some forethought to put these in place and organize them so they can be accessed readily when needed.



What documents are important?



  • Wills
  • Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney
  • Living Wills
  • Final Wishes and Instructions
  • Advance Directives
  • Family Written Agreement for Care


The core here is naming an agent with authority and instructions who will act for another when they can’t.



Why are these documents important?



In short, these documents aim to accomplish the following in case of death or incapacity:



  • A selected person can access financial information and do necessary business on another’s behalf;
  • A selected person can be actively involved in another’s care, being both authorized and informed;
  • A selected person will have power and knowledge to decide on all matter as another would if they were able; and
  • All post-death matters will be handled as one would direct, including all receipts by beneficiaries.


emergencies are handled easier with preparedness



Why get them prepared and organized sooner rather than later?



It usually surprises most people to learn that, except for a couple of states, California and Florida (both states popular with retirees), few or very slight penalties apply for any person or institution rejecting a presented form that appears completely valid. The reasons may be…too old, too fresh, not-on-our-company form, no confirming signature from the witness, and so on. Typically, there is no appetite for seeking legal recourse in such cases.

So, in addition to decisions made, documents executed, and location of the paperwork known, there is the issue of acceptability. Probably, your best defense will lie in having your documents prepared, executed, or at the least reviewed by a local attorney practicing in this field of law.



A bit more about the Family Written Agreement for Care



When there is more than one member of a family who agree to support in ANY way the care of a senior family member, the preparation of this agreement in writing will serve the family well. Many families might skip this step in elder care, thinking “It’ll be fine! We’re family!”.

However, consider how truly important the project of caring for an elderly family member (e.g., mother, father, aunt, etc.) is. A written agreement provides opportunities to collect ideas from all family members about caregiving, including upfront care, cash contributions, respite for the upfront caregiver, fairness of care contributions, and promote a core idea that everyone has a focused task.

Additionally, with the expansion of programs making it possible for family caregivers to be compensated for their care role, having a family written agreement in place can aid in any future claims of this money, which can be spent on care needs.

Click on the button below for some fantastic written care agreement resources.


Written care agreement resources

Just the formation of this agreement and reducing it to a writing is highly instructive to a family. When modifications are needed, it creates an opportunity to review the size and scope of each family member’s contribution to care, which can create an effort by some or all to do more. And, if one must withdraw for whatever reason, filling the gap will be less likely to prove so disruptive.



Real Situations


Alex and Joan
Rebecca

alex and joan





Alex and Joan are sisters. Their father has passed and their mother, now living alone in the family home, has fallen and broken her hip. Alex and Joan both live within a mile of the home they grew up in. With mom in the hospital recovering from hip surgery, they are planning how they are going to share care of her when she returns home.


Unexpectedly, their mom doesn’t recover very well from surgery and won’t be as independent as they thought. Also, her mental state seems fragile all of a sudden, which takes the sisters by surprise. They hunt down their mother’s estate planning files and find the appropriate powers of attorney, but they list their father as the agent, who is no longer with them!


Will they be able to make medical decisions for their mom if her mental state continues to decline? How can they get revised documents in place now with their mom not in a state to do so?



rebecca





Rebecca is a 39-year-old about to have surgery to remove a benign tumor in her abdomen. This was completely unexpected. Rebecca is young and many of her peers haven’t thought about putting together their will or advance directive.


However, Rebecca is a planner and has two children, a house, and a business to protect. Her financial planner had consulted with her a few years ago to put these important documents in place to protect her assets and ensure her children were beneficiaries to the assets she wanted to go to them.


During one of her pre-surgical appointments, the nurse asked if the had an advance directive. She knew she had a will and some other documents associated but wasn’t actually sure which exact ones. After her appointment, she went home and found her files. She became clearer on which exact documents she had, which were a will, a living will, an advance directive, and both medical and financial powers of attorney. She remembered how easy it had been to work with an attorney to put all these in place at once.


This planning provided her the opportunity to make sure her documents were accessible to those that needed them in case of an unfortunate outcome. She also called her established agent and reminder her of the documents and made clear her wishes should they need to be activated. Now the files are easy to find in case of future incidents and Rebecca knows exactly what she has in place.



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Elder Care Solutions saved our family many hours of stress and thousands of dollars out of pocket with their solution package. We highly recommend their services for your family!



Tammy S., family member



We cannot thank Elder Care Solutions enough - total peace of mind and the best decision we could make for our parents!



John C., happy client



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