When Is The Right Time To Start Planning For Your Aging Parents?
The absolutely best time to start planning for aging parents is as soon as after retirement and there are no health issues on the horizon. There will be more planning options on the table when a couple is healthy and their heir adult children h have personalities and behaviors that have settled. We can have a full, comprehensive discussion about planning options in the future for the parents’ care and estate desires, and how to go about implementing a particular plan. The only drawback to this is that it takes time (and money) to educate clients, and the amount of education needed may be quite extensive. If there is a seminar provided and the client is willing to pay for preventative advice, then that could help to speed up and reduce the cost of the process. However, some preventative actions may not be desirable due to a potential loss of control and many new retirees will wait.
The most common time for most people to start planning is usually once the aging parent has left the “settled retirement phase”. The term “settled retirement phase” is a unique term that I’ve created to refer to the time when aging parents have stopped taking multiple vacations a year, and more or less, stay at home, drives around town very little, and living a minimally active life. That’s a good time to start planning because the parents will not likely see any significant, consistent financial expenses on the horizon, except for the expenses related to aging care. This is a very good time to start planning for long-term care.
Another very common time to start planning is immediately after a diagnosis of an illness that will cause long-term care needs. The most typical type of illness manifests in the early signs of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other types of degenerative diseases that will ultimately require long- term care. At that time, there need to be many conversations about losing control or giving control to a caregiver.
Just because a client does not come for planning at the right time doesn’t necessarily mean that they are too late.
It is also very common and much less preferred, if the aging parent is able to understand, to take action to protect assets when the aging parent needs a nursing home. If the parent has assets, we can still take action to protect them. However, the amount of assets that can be protected is much less than prior planning had been performed.
It is too late to start planning if the caregiver already has control of the finances and has paid all of the money to the nursing home in which the parent lives. There are no assets to protect in the situation. Typically, if the caregiver has control over the finances and there is no money, then the nursing home can apply for Medicaid, which does not require the services of an elder law attorney.
Is It Ever Too Early To Start Planning?
It may be too early to start planning if the adult parent still has full capacity and does not want to discuss or address it. When a parent does not want to talk about it and he or she has full capacity, then forcing the planning situation could be counterproductive. Instead, a child can enlist an elder law attorney’s services to receive assistance in coaching the caregiver on how to speak with their parent about the need for planning or the conversation about long-term care planning should occur while discussing a will or trust. Most of the time, it’s never too early to start planning, but it will depend upon the number of assets and the level of participation that the parent is willing to engage in.
Is It Too Late To Start Planning If My Aged Parent Is Already In A Nursing Home?
It is not too late to start planning if an aged parent is already in a nursing home, as long as the child does not already have control of the finances, has not already paid all of the parent’s assets to the nursing home, and there is still money to be protected from nursing home costs. If the child doesn’t have control over the finances, then they may need to work with an elder law attorney to discuss durable power of attorney, designation of healthcare surrogate, or guardianship. Even if an aging parent only has $10,000 left in the bank account, the benefit of an elder law attorney consultation can help identify legal uses for the remaining assets, which could be better than paying it all to the nursing home.
For more information on Challenges In Caring For Aging Parents, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (904) 398-6100 today.
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