As an Alzheimer's care attorney, we are always helping family members helping their elderly loved ones. If you or a family member or friend is helping a loved one, here are the following areas of stress where you may want to hire an elder law/elder care navigation attorney:
1. The primary caregiver feels overwhelmed from trying to meet the elderly person’s needs and suffers from burnout, ill health, frustration, or guilt.
2. Family members are concerned about a parent’s health and are confused about care options, what to do next, or where to get help.
3. The elder is hospitalized and the family has been told that the elder is no longer capable of independent living.
4. The elder is ill or disabled with children who live out of town.
5. The elder was recently diagnosed with cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, COPD, diabetes, or another chronic, difficult-to-manage condition.
6. The elder has experienced a catastrophic event such as a fall, medication mistake, or accident.
7. The elder has suffered a medical crisis such as a stroke or heart attack.
8. The elder wanders, “forgets” critical information, makes unwise decisions, gets “lost,” or appears malnourished, dehydrated, depressed, weak, or fragile.
9. The elder is unable to provide such essential self-care as maintaining proper personal hygiene, taking prescriptions as directed, eating properly, and moving safely around the home.
10. The elder and family express concern about paying for future long-term care, such as looking at Medicaid and VA benefits.
We all know that stress weighs us down over time and statistically the caregiver spouse dies before the sick spouse. Most of the time people do not know where to turn to for help, and they often look for help only when they are in a crisis. But if you or a loved one is looking at the listed areas, they should reach out to a good elder law attorney for assistance. We always say that "you do not know what you do not know," so encouraging a caregiving loved one to see a good attorney could be a life changing moment for themselves and for their sick loved one.
If you want to learn more about elder law issues, you may want to:
- Download our Guide to Alzheimer's Care
- Download our free book on Protecting Your Florida Nest Egg
- Learn more about How to Pay for Long-Term Care in Florida
