In a recent AARP survey, 77 percent of the men and women surveyed said they want to age at home. At the same time, only half felt they were prepared or would be able to age at home. Aging at home is possible, but it takes careful planning. To age at home, people need to have an open discussion with close family members and an elder law attorney to make sure they’re protected in a worst-case scenario.
Benefits of an Elder Law Attorney.
While the cost of seeing an attorney can seem high, it’s also extremely important. It can help you get paperwork in place to make sure your parents’ medical and financial needs are tended to as they would want.
If a medical event leaves your mom or dad unable to speak, would you trust a doctor’s decisions for their care? Would they want feeding tubes and breathing machines keeping them alive if there was no hope for a recovery? A medical power of attorney and advanced directives are essential.
If your parents could no longer handle their finances, would you be able to step in to help? A financial power of attorney gives you permission to look at bank accounts and make financial decisions for them.
Do your parents have a will? Is there an executor? Is the person they chose as the executor up for the task? You don’t want to find the executor doesn’t want the job and have to struggle for things you’re not prepared to handle while you’re grieving.
Make Sure the House is Set Up for Changing Needs.
With legal paperwork in place, you need to make sure your parents’ house is set up for aging at home. If your mom breaks a hip, are the stairs in the home going to make it impossible for her to get to her bedroom? A downstairs space may be needed to make sure she can get around while she recovers.
If your dad’s eyesight diminished, could he still safely get from one room to the other? Would you need to put in rails or gates to keep him from coming too close to an open staircase? If he lost mobility, is the bathroom equipped with grab bars for his safety?
Aging at home is always possible. It may take a safety inspection from a senior care expert to see what needs improvement. A senior care agency can also recommend caregivers to make sure your parents have plenty to eat, transportation when needed, and housekeeping services.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring senior care in Rahway, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at 908-418-4299. Providing Home Care Services in all of Northern and Central NJ, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside and the surrounding areas.
Sources:
https://www.aarp.org/retirement/planning-for-retirement/info-2018/retirees-age-in-place-aarp-study.html?cmp=SNO-ICM-FB-AO-SP&socialid=1826521817&fbclid=IwAR1d42McPPcEEEwMGJEEA6QgqH8HOLYUG9_oaa–i5G-qgQjKMhFC02N4_k
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.
Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
Robert is a Google Verified Author
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