Senior Care Needs Come On Suddenly Sometimes. What Should You Have Now Just In Case?

Many of my friends have said that they do not need to worry about senior care living thankfully because their parents are healthy and doing great. What a blessing that is. I hope that will be the case for as many people as possible. One thing I would say speaking from experience is that in a day things can change. I never anticipated that my mom would be at my house talking with me and literally suffer a spinal condition 4 hours later standing at the refrigerator. She went from her own apartment and having no needs to being completely dependent.

A few things I would suggest to family members is to make sure you have all the legal documents you may need in the future now. If you have them signed, notarized and somewhere safe you probably won't need them. However, if you do need them at some point suddenly it will make your life much easier. My mom had a power of attorney already for healthcare and her property but I still had a difficult time getting access to information and her bank accounts to pay her bills. Some institutions wanted more specific language in the document than others. I had to jump through several hoops to get things in order in a very short period of time. I also learned that a power of attorney was not enough for certain issues like social security. They have a specific document and process for people to complete in order to have access or control in that area.

I would suggest that you take a look at the page on my website called "Documents You Should Have". It gives you an idea of where to start and some crucial ones to have. Many of the documents you need are available online for free. I would recommend that everyone take any documents they create or obtain to an elder care lawyer to review and make sure that any specific needs your family may have are addressed adequately in them so you don't have any issues later.