Caregiving in the cards for many

If you're lucky enough to have a parent live to a ripe old age, there's a good chance that you and your siblings will ultimately get involved in assisting your parent. While your parent will always be your parent, a mother or father's disability tends to turn that relationship on its head. It's not an easy transition for anyone, particularly because both parent and child are usually so unprepared for it.

My office gets dozens of calls each week from frantic adult children who need to help their parents but have no information about any financial or legal plans the parent has made, if any. Without a Durable Power of Attorney authorizing a child or someone else to handle the parent's financial affairs, and a Health Care Power of Attorney authorizing someone to handle medical decisions, the child is, well, stuck. If a parent's cognitive abilities have declined too dramatically, the parent may not even be in a position to lay the groundwork.

I know it can be uncomfortable to approach your parent to ask about his legal documents, his financial status, whether or not he has long-term care insurance, etc. If you are the parent, initiating that conversation may be uncomfortable for you, too. But as with anything, an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure.

Every parent should have at the very least a Will, a Durable Power of Attorney, a Health Care Power of Attorney, and a Living Will. See the short video below that explains why this is so important, and for help, contact The Karp Law Firm or a certified Elder Law Attorney in the state in which your parents reside.