Seniors: You Can Maintain Control After Control Slips With The Right Plan

Older attorneys, IMHO, handle some of the most compassionate legal cases. We help seniors address their medical and financial needs when they can no longer do so, and help them make a plan to do so before the time comes when they can no longer do it for themselves. In almost all of these cases, the client’s plans or decisions involve the cooperation of their spouses, children, other family members, or loved ones. But without a plan, the future is not so secure.

The simplest, yet most profound, thing I’ve learned from another professional in this field is to keep in mind the two main goals of the older person: to maintain control when control is in the process of being lost, and to create a legacy in the world. when time is up. (How to tell seniors: Closing the communication gap with our seniors, David Solie, MS, PA, Prentice Hall Press, 2004). In most cases, the last goal is the easiest, and is achieved by helping clients put together an estate plan (usually through a last will and testament or similar documents) that leaves their assets and worldly goods and possessions to those whom they deem worthy recipients after they are gone.

The former, on the other hand, is a more complicated matter, that of helping the elderly maintain their dignity at a time when faculties fail and dignity seems to vanish. It is that loss of control that we all fear most, and rightly so. “What will happen to me if I become senile, or have dementia, or fall victim to Alzheimer’s disease? Will I be okay? Who will take care of me and watch over me? Who will make my decisions for me? Will my wishes be carried out?” ?” These questions are more pressing for those approaching the time when age-related illnesses occur.

These very deep and valid questions are legitimate concerns that can be answered before a person ever gets to that point, and that’s the beauty of planning ahead. If aging simply planned for these eventual events, it would ensure that your later years are as golden as possible. Advance Directives (powers of attorney, health care proxies, living wills), wills, trusts, Medicaid planning, and long-term care insurance – these are all tools the senior attorney uses or recommends to come up with a plan that suits your needs. the needs and finances of each particular client. .

More importantly, they are the tools each individual has at their disposal to maintain control over their future. Because without this type of planning ahead, these decisions will be made by courts and laws that do not necessarily reflect the wishes of the individual. For example, without a will, a state’s intestate laws control who will receive the individual’s worldly assets upon death. If you wish to leave your estate to a more distant relative or loved one and disregard the next of kin, his wishes must be stated in his will. Without a durable power of attorney or a revocable living trust, the guardianship courts will decide who will make your financial decisions. And without health care powers of attorney or living wills, the law (if your state has a “default” health care power of attorney law, like New York’s new law) or a guardianship court will make those decisions. Who wants their life to be controlled like this?

If you want to make sure your wishes are followed when you can no longer do so yourself, consult an estate planning or elder care attorney to help you design the right plan for your future. In this way, you maintain control over your decisions, your assets and your future. your way.