How to Plan Finances For Parents With Alzheimer’s
If you’re the primary caregiver for a loved one who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you’ll have to assist in making arrangements to secure their financial future.
According to the National Institutes on Aging, legal and medical experts agree that people must review their financial arrangements as soon as they are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s to ensure that their wishes are carried out.
This is because those in the early stages of the disease can often understand the components and consequences of legal decision-making. Alzheimer’s symptoms can include:
- Memory loss
- Problems with thinking and reasoning
- Affected judgment and decision-making
End-of-life planning for loved ones with Alzheimer’s can be a stressful and emotional process, so it is important to understand the different factors that go into financial planning to reduce stress.
As you begin planning, you’ll find that these four steps are essential to your loved ones’ successful financial future.
1. Select a Durable Power of Attorney for Finances
Your loved ones will have to name someone to make all of their financial decisions once they can no longer do so themselves.
Selecting a durable power of attorney for finances will help you and your loved ones avoid court actions that could eventually remove any control you or your family members have over their financial affairs.
2. Create a Will
Your loved ones will have to create a will to ensure their assets and belongings are distributed as they wish following their time of death.
Wills can include information regarding gifts they want to leave to certain people and the arrangement of care for minors or pets. They can also detail their estate planning by selecting someone to take care of their home.
3. Appoint a Living Trust
Your loved ones can clarify specific instructions on how they want their home to be maintained after they die in their wills. They may also name a trustee, or a living trust, who will hold the title to both the property and the funds for beneficiaries.
Once your family members can no longer manage their affairs, the trustee takes over, so they must pick someone they can rely on, such as a trusted family member.
Once the living trust is named, this person can decide how the estate should be distributed once the last beneficiary dies, provide a plan for property disposition and avoid the cost and delay of probate.
4. Consider an Elder Law Attorney
Many people with Alzheimer’s will choose an elder law attorney (ELA) to assist them and their families with end-of-life decisions.
ELAs help people understand state laws that dictate what the durable power of attorney for finances has control over and how legal documents are created and maintained.
They can also thoroughly explain the financial options available to your parents and provide advice on how to preserve financial assets while supporting your loved ones with Alzheimer’s.
Contact the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the American Bar Association to find a qualified ELA.
Preplanning is Fundamental
One of the most critical aspects of creating a will is clarifying their funeral plans. Most people have a strong preference for how they want to be laid to rest.
Your loved ones may be interested in funeral alternatives like cremation. National Cremation Society makes the planning process as seamless and stress-free as possible for you and your loved ones by offering affordable prepaid cremation plans.
Preplanning funeral arrangements gives you and your loved one peace of mind knowing that all of the expenses are paid for and that their expectations will be met when the time comes.
It’s not enough for your loved ones to create a will on their own, however. It can take months for wills to be located after a person passes, impacting how effective their funeral wishes are.
By planning this together, talking it through, and having prearrangement set up, you can assure that their final wishes will be met.
National Cremation is the nation’s oldest and largest provider of simple and affordable cremation services. Whether you have an immediate need or want to plan your cremation services in advance, we’re always available to assist you and your family. Contact us online or call (855)-469-9474 today.
