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| Elizabeth D. Johnson Legal Assistant |
There’s a reason we call it "The Best Protection for Elders and Their
Families."
Life Care Planning will help you
make the best decisions to protect yourself later on. It can help you achieve
your goals and reduce stress for yourself and for your family.
The primary goal of a Life Care
Plan is to assist the senior and their family in being able to make legal,
financial, and medical decisions without government or court intervention (such
as a guardianship, which can be very costly), prolong the senior’s stay at
home, protect their quality of life, and preserve their assets.
Over the next 25 years, it is
estimated that the number of American households that are caring for an older
relative will double. That means that care giving for elderly relatives will
become as common as childcare. Care giving in this capacity can be costly, both
for the senior citizen and for his family members. Most people want to stay at
home (or with an adult child) rather than entering a nursing home. However, most
people also don’t want to be a burden on their children, or their children live
far away or are too busy with their own lives to provide care for their parents.
Additionally, many people don’t have children or don’t trust their own family
members to provide good care to them or make wise decisions on their behalf. A Life Care Plan can address all of these issues
and concerns.
It’s never too early to start
thinking about all of this. One must be prepared for a future where you may not
be in control so that your best interests and wishes are carried out properly. So
often, clients come to us only when there is a crisis, at which point there are
far fewer options available. By planning
early, you can establish your overall priorities and make a plan that meets
your goals and adapts to you as your medical or financial situation changes.
You may ask why a law firm would
be at the center of the Life Care Plan. So much of the aging process intersects
with the law (estate planning, long-term care planning, probate and trust
administration, etc.). Instead of stepping in when there is a crisis, a Life
Care Plan allows the law firm to be part of the aging process from the start,
to maximize the legal options available to the aging client when needed.
So, what is included in a Life
Care Plan? First, you would meet with an attorney to discuss your unique goals,
conduct a thorough analysis of your financial situation, and determine
eligibility for government benefits. Then there would be a medical assessment
and on-site evaluation of your current living arrangements with an elder care
coordinator (ECC) who has a background in health care and social work. Finally,
the attorney and elder care coordinator would work together to develop your Life
Care Plan: a written assessment of your current situation and plan for
implementing your goals.
The elder care coordinator will
work as liaison between you, your family, and all facets of aging: financial,
legal, medical, and senior resources. Your elder care coordinator will put you
in contact with various senior resources to enhance quality of life, such as
resources to help you age in your own home, or, eventually, find facility care
that meets your needs. The average person going through the aging process for
the first time likely does not know about these various resources and programs
in the area, but the ECC already has this knowledge from helping many other
clients age gracefully. If you do
eventually need facility care, the ECC can visit you in a facility unannounced
to see how you are really being treated. The ECC will know what to look for and
can identify subtle problems that your family members might not recognize. Because the law firm is at the center of your
Plan, an attorney can step in and advocate on your behalf to a long-term care
facility as soon as the ECC notices a problem.
A Life Care Plan also includes a
comprehensive review of your current estate planning documents, if you have
them, and creating new estate planning documents for you if you do not have
anything in place. Your attorney will also discuss how you plan to pay for
care. Do you have long term care insurance, Medicaid, or will you be paying out
of pocket? If you or your spouse is a veteran, you would want to look into veteran’s
benefits. Your Life Care Plan will also provide safeguarding against financial
abuse. Financial abuse and exploitation is more common than people may realize,
so your attorney will go over options on how to protect yourself and your
assets.
Finally, your Life Care Plan will
be an ongoing relationship that adapts to your needs. We will be aware of your
family dynamic and will be on the lookout for suspicious or unusual behavior.
When sudden changes occur (health issues, death in the family, etc.), your ECC
will not have to play catch-up, but can instead step in to solve problems as
soon as they appear. We will already be very familiar with your finances and
medical situation so that we can step in and help immediately.
In conclusion, proper planning
for your aging can be expensive and there are many individual components to
consider. A Life Care Plan combines all of these individual components into a
single, cohesive plan. Providing input now lets you take control of where and
how you age and takes stress off of loved ones. A Life Care Plan is a gift to
yourself and your family and an investment in your future.
If you would like to learn more
or schedule an appointment, please give us a call.
