Estate Planning for Alzheimer's
Failure to properly plan for the potential of a debilitating disease arising later in life can carry a number of consequences for loved ones who are left scrambling to ensure that you are taken care of and your wishes are honored.
In 2015 it was estimated that 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer's, most of those over the age of 65. Surprisingly though, a few hundred thousand of those cases occur in individuals younger than 65. As everyone knows, Alzheimer’s is a condition that reduces cognitive function due to degeneration of the brain. Unfortunately, the number of patients living with Alzheimer’s is only expected to rise over the next decade. While advancements in medicine offer some promising hope for earlier diagnosis, and hopefully one day, a cure, the reality is that Alzheimer’s can affect anyone. And, by the time it is diagnosed, it can often have progressed to the point that making important decisions about one’s estate and future can pose a challenge.
Due to that reality, estate planning becomes even more important for those that have a family history of the condition or are approaching their senior years. Failure to properly plan for the potential of a debilitating disease arising later in life can carry a number of consequences for loved ones who are left scrambling to ensure that you are taken care of and your wishes are honored. For that reason, it’s vital to complete an estate plan while you still have the mental capacity to do so.
So what can you do now to ensure that you have planned for an unforeseen medical issue down the road?
Here are three things to do right now.
1) Execute advanced directives
A power of attorney is an agreement that grants another individual legal authority to act for you if you are disabled, incapacitated or otherwise unable to make your own decisions. Generally, they come in two types: powers of attorney for health care and powers of attorney for property or financial management. You may have also heard them referred to advance directives. Those are the same thing.
By executing powers of attorney covering both health care decision making and financial decision making authority, you can ensure that a trusted family member or other individual will be able to address your needs legally should something happen to you. An attorney can help you get these checked off your list relatively quickly. One other thing: make sure that any power of attorney you execute is durable. A durable power of attorney is one that will still be valid even after you are found incapacitated. Some states default to powers of attorney being durable, while others require them to contain specific language. So, be sure to address the issue with an attorney familiar with death and disability planning.
2) Write down your wishes for any type of long-term care
Not everything needs to be put into a legally binding agreement. While necessary to grant express authority to someone to legally act on your behalf, writing a narrative containing your preferences for any type of future care can be rather informal. Anything that gives your loved ones details like where you may like treatment, how it should be paid for, whether you’d like to live in assisted living or have home care if you can afford it, etc. will suffice. I like to encourage my clients to draft a simple document explaining some of those choices and then keeping it with other important planning documents so that, even if an agent does need to act, they have plenty of guidance on what your wishes are.
3) Talk with family
The simplest thing you can do right now to ensure that you retain a level of control in the event of a debilitating mental illness is discuss your wishes with loved ones. Make sure they know the choices you’ve made and why you’ve made them. Not only will this prepare them in the event they have to carry out your plan, but it will reduce the likelihood of family disagreements over what care should be provided.
A little planning now can go a long way towards ensuring that, even if you may not be able to make informed decisions for yourself at some point in the future, you’ll still be able to live life on your own terms.
Michael F. Brennan is an attorney at the Virtual Attorney™ a virtual law office helping clients in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota with estate planning and small business legal needs. He can be reached at michael.brennan@mfblegal.com with questions or comments, or check out his website at www.thevirtualattorney.com .
The information contained herein is intended for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. For specific legal advice regarding a specific legal issue please contact me or another attorney for assistance.
