When you are younger, your parents are in charge of making sure that you are okay in every way. Role reversals can be difficult for everyone. However, when your parents start to reach an advanced age, you should be aware of signs that would indicate encroaching incapacity.
If you are fortunate enough to have your parents residing close by, you are probably in very frequent contact. Under these circumstances, you would naturally recognize any signs of incapacity that may become present.
However, sometimes people move away, and they don’t live close to their aging parents.
The holiday season is upon us and families typically get together during this time of year. This is an ideal time to evaluate how your aging parents are doing.
If you were to visit a parent who lives out of town, take a look at the living space and see if you notice any decline that would not be there under ordinary circumstances. Take notice of grooming habits.
When you have not seen someone in a while, you may notice certain aspects of behavior that were not present the last time that you visited. If you do in fact have concerns, you may want to take the next step.
Frank Conversation
If you have any suspicions regarding encroaching incapacity, you do not immediately tell your father or mother to pack his or her bags as you rush off to an assisted living community. The first step would be to make an attempt to discuss things in a relaxed, measured fashion.
Your parent may in fact be very forthcoming about sharing. There are those who are well aware of the fact that they are not as capable as they once were. At the same time, they may be too proud to broach the subject.
Once you have initiated the conversation, the floodgates could open.
Proactive Communication
Even if you see no signs of decline, proactive communication is a very good thing if you have aging parents. Some degree of incapacity strikes a very high percentage of senior citizens. There is no need to keep your head in the sand about it.
At some point in time most families are going to have this type of discussion. It can arise out of immediate necessity, but it is probably better to talk it over before any type of crisis is impending.
You may be surprised and relieved to hear that your parents actually have an incapacity plan in place.
Incapacity Planning Consultation
If you would like to be proactive about planning ahead for the possibility of incapacity, contact our firm to schedule a free consultation.
If you have a loved one that may be losing capacity or is already incapacitated, our law firm may be able to help with immediate Medi-Cal planning. Our Professional Geriatric Care Managers are also available to assist you with the selection of adult day care, a nursing home, or an assisted care facility. They are available to assist with determining appropriate financing methods, including private pay, reverse mortgages, long term care insurance, Medicare and Medi-Cal. Our Geriatric Care Managers are also available to make home assessments for those disabled and senior individuals intending to remain in the home, as well as to attend care meetings at assisted care and nursing homes and to advocate for the best care available at those meetings.
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