November is National Long-Term Care Awareness Month, and Thanksgiving is a good time to get your friends and family to think about long-term care.
If you’re planning to spend time with aging parents and relatives during the holiday season, that can be a great time to observe and ask if loved ones are prepared and have plans in place before a long-term care crisis occurs.
Most of us want to stay at home as long as possible, instead of rushing into an assisted living facility or nursing home. But, home care is expensive, and the cost of care will continue to increase.
Here are some questions to ask
- What challenges in the current living situation do your aging family members foresee over the next few years? Transportation, home care, medical care, and meals should be discussed.
- What resources are available to answer those challenges?
- Are any modifications or repairs needed to allow aging in place? (Think grab bars, single-level living, possibly caregiver space)
- Do your aging family members need help with managing finances, medical coverage, or medicines?
- Can family members help with bill paying, taxes, and managing finances? Should a daily money manager be hired?
The answers to these questions may not be finite but are a starting place for planning for the future. Write down the answers, and look for resources to help with planning such as an Aging Life Care Manager or Certified Senior Advisor.
A daily money manager (DMM) is a professional who provides a wide range of personal business assistance to people who want help managing their day to day personal finances. DMMs may provide additional services like preparing budgets and debt reduction scenarios, preparation of payroll checks for home employees, or acting in a fiduciary capacity as power of attorney (POA), trustee, executor, or guardian.
