When Mom or Dad, or Both, Need Assisted Living
When adult children find their elderly parents need more supervision and assistance, it's often difficult to discuss those needs among members of the family - and even more difficult to make informed, non-emotional, decisions. This is especially true when there is dementia involved with the elderly parent. Whether assisted living faciliities, skilled nursing home care, or other arrangements for in-home care is the right answer, getting to that answer is difficult and strewn with emotional issues that almost always exist between parent and child.
Today's Wall Street Journal contains an article that can help families prepare for, initiate, and provide guidance for those discussions. You can find the article here, " 'Talk With' Mom and Dad,"
One of the most important things a family can do to help the process is to ensure that the parents have a well crafted estate plan in place. Such a complete estate plan will include, as a minimum, a last will and testament or revocable living trust to provide for the disposition of assets at death, a living will to express one's wishes with respect to end of life decisions, and durable power of attorney to provide for management of assets and financial affairs in the event of incapacity, and a durable power of attorney for health care (In Florida that document is often referred to as a designation of health care surrogate) that designates the identity of those who are to make medical treatment decisions for one if incapacitated or otherwise unable to make their own medical decisions. In Florida, you may also want to ensure that your elderly parents have executed a "Designation of PreNeed Guardian ." This is a statutory document that allows a person to designate the person or persons who are to be appointed as guardian of the person, or guardian of the property, or both, when there is an incapacity that requires a court supervised guardianship .
If desired, a person can also prepare a separate HIPAA Release and Authorization that allows individuals to access one's medical records from health care providers and insurance companies, without the ability to actually make health care decisions. This document can allow family members, or other loved ones, to obtain information from your health care providers without also giving those individuals the ability to make medical treatment decisions for you.
The absence of any of these documents suggests that the affected individual has not completed a comprehensive estate plan. The presence of these documents can eliminate confusion, provide clarity, and ensure that the affected persons wishes are followed.
A significant part of the conversation with elderly parents should include a discussion of their estate plan and, in most cases, a review of the plan documents to ensure the documents are current and express the current desires of the elderly parents. All parents, elderly and otherwise, should also periodically review beneficiary designations on their life insurance policies, annuities, retirement plans and IRAs. We recently experienced a situation where our 80+ year old client died, leaving a widow from a 50+ year marriage. The gentleman's VA life insurance policy still had his mother as his beneficiary from the original beneficiary designation filed more than 60 years ago. A probate was required for that asset alone (his revocable living trust allowed probate avoidance for his other assets), which easily could have been avoided by periodic reviews of documents that everyone believed were "in good order."
When having that "talk with" elder parents, be sure to include the estate plan review.
Today's Wall Street Journal contains an article that can help families prepare for, initiate, and provide guidance for those discussions. You can find the article here, " 'Talk With' Mom and Dad,"
One of the most important things a family can do to help the process is to ensure that the parents have a well crafted estate plan in place. Such a complete estate plan will include, as a minimum, a last will and testament or revocable living trust to provide for the disposition of assets at death, a living will to express one's wishes with respect to end of life decisions, and durable power of attorney to provide for management of assets and financial affairs in the event of incapacity, and a durable power of attorney for health care (In Florida that document is often referred to as a designation of health care surrogate) that designates the identity of those who are to make medical treatment decisions for one if incapacitated or otherwise unable to make their own medical decisions. In Florida, you may also want to ensure that your elderly parents have executed a "Designation of PreNeed Guardian ." This is a statutory document that allows a person to designate the person or persons who are to be appointed as guardian of the person, or guardian of the property, or both, when there is an incapacity that requires a court supervised guardianship .
If desired, a person can also prepare a separate HIPAA Release and Authorization that allows individuals to access one's medical records from health care providers and insurance companies, without the ability to actually make health care decisions. This document can allow family members, or other loved ones, to obtain information from your health care providers without also giving those individuals the ability to make medical treatment decisions for you.
The absence of any of these documents suggests that the affected individual has not completed a comprehensive estate plan. The presence of these documents can eliminate confusion, provide clarity, and ensure that the affected persons wishes are followed.
A significant part of the conversation with elderly parents should include a discussion of their estate plan and, in most cases, a review of the plan documents to ensure the documents are current and express the current desires of the elderly parents. All parents, elderly and otherwise, should also periodically review beneficiary designations on their life insurance policies, annuities, retirement plans and IRAs. We recently experienced a situation where our 80+ year old client died, leaving a widow from a 50+ year marriage. The gentleman's VA life insurance policy still had his mother as his beneficiary from the original beneficiary designation filed more than 60 years ago. A probate was required for that asset alone (his revocable living trust allowed probate avoidance for his other assets), which easily could have been avoided by periodic reviews of documents that everyone believed were "in good order."
When having that "talk with" elder parents, be sure to include the estate plan review.
Posted by Randy Coleman at 2/23/2011 11:07 AM 
Categories: Guardianship, Designation of Health Care Surrogate, estate planning, Probate, Wills and Probate, Durable Power of Attorney, Revocable Living Trusts, Health Care Power of Attorney, Nursing Homes, Advance Directives in Florida
Tags: advance directives beneficiary designation designation of health care surrogate durable power of attorney elder care estate planning attorney estate planning lawyer Florida probate guardianship attorney guardianship law guardianship lawyer guardianship of the person guardianship of the property health care power of attorney Jacksonville probate attorney Jacksonville estate planning attorney Jacksonville guardianship attorney living trusts nursing homes plenary guardianship probate revocable trust revocable living trust trust attorney wills in Florida
Categories: Guardianship, Designation of Health Care Surrogate, estate planning, Probate, Wills and Probate, Durable Power of Attorney, Revocable Living Trusts, Health Care Power of Attorney, Nursing Homes, Advance Directives in Florida
Tags: advance directives beneficiary designation designation of health care surrogate durable power of attorney elder care estate planning attorney estate planning lawyer Florida probate guardianship attorney guardianship law guardianship lawyer guardianship of the person guardianship of the property health care power of attorney Jacksonville probate attorney Jacksonville estate planning attorney Jacksonville guardianship attorney living trusts nursing homes plenary guardianship probate revocable trust revocable living trust trust attorney wills in Florida
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