Elder Care Planning and Legal Considerations 

Comfort Keepers shares for elder care planning tips and legal considerations for seniors and their families in Grand Junction, CO.

As your loved one gets older, organization is key. If you have recently started talking to your loved one about elder care planning, this may be a great opportunity to bring up legal matters; helping your loved one prepare their legal affairs will go a long way in helping them plan for all eventualities.

Advanced Directives

Your loved one should have advanced directives. These documents outline the medical intervention and long-term home care choices they would like to have made on their behalf should they become seriously ill or incapacitated. Advanced directives come in two forms, a living will and a durable power of attorney. The former outlines what sort of care should be provided at which time, and the latter appoints an individual to make the choices.

Wills and Trusts

Wills and trusts are very complicated topics and finding a way to bring them up to your loved one should be strategic. However, regardless of how uncomfortable they are, they are a major part of elder care planning. We have all heard about wills and trusts before, but what are they exactly? A will is a document that outlines which assets should go to whom following a loved one’s death. A trust, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated. They are created for a wide range of reasons. We recommend consulting a lawyer about whether your loved one should get one or not.

Other Important Documents

Good elder care planning requires a high level of organization, so keeping your loved one's important documents in one place can help prevent a lot of stress in the future, particularly in emergency situations.

Some of the documents you should gather in one place include:

• Birth Certificate & Social Security Records
• Health & Life Insurance Information
• Medicare Documents
• Advanced Directives, Wills & Trusts
• Bank Statements, Mortgage Papers & Investment Records
• Negotiable Securities
• Credit Card Information & Income Tax Returns
• Funeral Arrangements
• Medicare Documents
• Marriage License and/or Divorce Papers
• Military Discharge Papers

To find out more about elder care planning and how you can help your loved one in Grand Junction, CO, please give us a call today at (970) 232-2165.