Does Your Estate Plan Include Digital Assets?

Technology has changed many aspects of estate planning from the lawyer’s point of view. It’s as easy to meet with clients on a video call as in person, and documents can be reviewed and shared through a secure document portal. Estate planning attorneys now include digital assets as well as traditional assets, like real estate and financial accounts. A recent article from Cape Gazette, “Estate Planning for Digital Assets,” explains how to address digital assets.

The definition of digital assets itself is constantly evolving as new assets are added, but for the most part, they include:

Electronic communication: emails, social media posts, blogs
Reward programs: credit cards, airline miles, hotels.
Financial accounts: PayPal, Venmo, online investment and banking accounts
Digital asset collections: music, videos, photos
Intellectual property: domain names, articles, books, artwork, videos
Electronically stored data

The rules of ownership of data and the platforms holding the data are more complicated than most people think. The law attempts to balance the privacy of the original owner or creator of the data and a fiduciary’s need to access assets after the original owner’s death or incapacity.

Every time you create a digital asset, you are asked to agree to a contract, known as a Terms of Service Agreement or TOSA. This is usually presented as a long page of small type with a box to check to state you agree to the terms. With a single click, you’ve agreed to the terms of a legally binding contract prohibiting another person from accessing the account. Even if your executor or Power of Attorney has a username and password, they may not have the legal authority to access your digital accounts, although some states have passed laws to give fiduciaries some authority to access digital assets. Your estate planning attorney will know the law in your jurisdiction and incorporate this into your estate plan.

For your estate plan to protect digital assets, you’ll need to start by creating an inventory of all assets with this information:

What type of asset
Where it can be found (the URL address)
User name
Login information
Does it require two-factor authentication, which verifies the user using a text to a mobile phone or email address?

You’ll also want to review each digital asset to see if there is any provision for assigning someone to manage your account in case of incapacity or death. Some of the larger platforms offer this ability, which is far easier than going to court to obtain photos from a loved one’s cell phone.

Another step to protect your digital assets is to name a digital executor through a Power of Attorney, so they can act on your behalf. It would be prudent to ensure that the POA includes a specific provision expressly providing the authority to access digital assets. This is required in some states.

Your estate planning attorney will help you protect your digital assets as part of creating a comprehensive estate plan.

Reference: Cape Gazette (Feb. 7, 2025) “Estate Planning for Digital Assets”

Living Your Best Life Solo? You Still Need an Estate Plan

Whether relying on informal networks of “found” family, trusted friends, or professionals, solo agers must plan for the inevitable aging events. A recent article, “Solo Aging: Planning for Your Best Life,” from The National Law Journal, shares the details.

Most importantly, decisions about health care and end-of-life care need to be documented as part of your estate plan, and a person you trust implicitly needs to be named in the role of your healthcare proxy. You’ll need to make sure they are comfortable in this role and willing to enact your wishes, even if they disagree with them. They will also need to have access to the estate planning documents needed, including a Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, HIPAA Release and any other documents your state may require.

You’ll also want to have a Power of Attorney prepared by an experienced estate planning attorney, naming a primary and a secondary person to manage your financial and legal life if you become incapacitated. If your candidates are around the same age as you, remember they may not be able to act when you need them to, so, if possible, name younger people to serve if they cannot.

Think beyond the basics. Depending upon where you live, you may want to have a POLST (Practitioner Order on Life-Sustaining Treatment) or MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) to state your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment. Some people do not wish to have CPR performed on them in the event of a cardiac arrest and have a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) document.

You’ll want to have a financial care plan to address emergencies. Seniors 65 and older are nearly 70% likely to need some long-term care in the next two or three decades of their life. If you don’t already own a Long-Term Care insurance policy, it’s time to consider whether you can purchase one. These are now often sold as part of a life insurance policy.

A last will and testament is needed to direct the disposition of your possessions after you die. If you don’t have one, your state’s laws will govern who receives your assets. Even if you have a long-standing relationship with a partner or best friend, they have no legal rights to inherit your property. A distant relative may be located by the court and inherit everything you own instead.

A last will is used to name an executor to manage your estate. This person will be responsible for more than distributing your assets. They are also tasked with gathering information about financial accounts, applying for a tax ID number for your estate bank account, gathering assets and placing them into the estate bank account, paying your final taxes, notifying Social Security of your passing, and filing an estate tax return.

Today’s estate plan includes planning for digital assets, so your social media accounts, emails, online photos and videos, gaming, subscriptions, cryptocurrency, and all other digital accounts are managed.

For the solo ager, having an estate plan protects you while you are living and protects your estate after you have passed. It takes some extra steps when compared to the planning done by married people. However, the peace of mind of expressing your wishes is the same, and you deserve this.

Reference: The National Law Journal (Jan. 10, 2025) “Solo Aging: Planning for Your Best Life”

Millennials and Gen Z Need Estate Plans Now

People with modest assets, young adults and parents should all have estate plans to protect themselves while they’re living, protect their children and provide a means for transferring assets of any size to heirs of their choosing. This is estate planning in a nutshell, with details furnished in a recent article from yahoo! finance, “Why millennials and Gen Z should have a basic estate plan.”

Most people first think about estate planning when they have children. It’s a good reason, as a will is used to name a guardian who will raise the children if both parents should die. Otherwise, a court will decide who should raise the children, and it isn’t always a family member. However, this is far from the only reason to have a will.

All adults should have two essential documents: a durable power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney, also known as a healthcare proxy. These documents give other people, referred to as “agents” or “representatives,” the legal power to act on behalf of the adult if they cannot do so. We don’t like to think about becoming incapacitated. Nevertheless, it happens, and when it does, having these estate planning documents makes it possible for another person to act on your behalf.

If there is no power of attorney, the family will need to go to court to have someone named as a guardian of the incapacitated person. The process is both stressful and costly. Having a POA is far easier. When you have an estate planning attorney create a POA, you also get to name the person you want to be in charge. The court may not choose the person you would have wanted.

Wise parents have their children sign a healthcare power of attorney when they turn 18. Unless this happens, the parent may no longer be part of the newly-minted adult’s healthcare, including talking to doctors, discussing health insurance issues and being involved with decision-making.

If it seems unnecessary for an 18-year-old to have a last will and testament, there are more than a few reasons for doing so. First, an 18-year-old who has been accumulating cryptocurrency might have assets to protect. In the same way, parents don’t have the right to make medical decisions for an 18-year-old; they don’t have any say over their property. If the young adult has bank accounts, digital assets, car loans, or student loans, the parent will be better protected if there is a simple will. If there is no will, the grieving family will have to go through probate, the court process of determining who will receive the young person’s assets.

Having a young adult think about having a will is a good life lesson. As they age, they must update their plan to reflect life’s milestones. Estate planning is an evolving process similar to owning and maintaining a home.

Young adults working and with retirement accounts should be mindful of who they name as their beneficiary on retirement accounts, insurance policies and any other financial account allowing a beneficiary to be named. These assets don’t pass through probate but go directly to the designated beneficiary. Keeping a list of these accounts and who was named as a beneficiary is also good practice for young adults.

Younger adults who tackle estate planning early on are setting themselves and their families up for success in the future. Many estate planning attorneys start working with one generation and are happy to advise their children as they grow into adulthood.

Reference: yahoo! finance (Nov. 18, 2024) “Why millennials and Gen Z should have a basic estate plan”

Why Is Legal Planning Important for the Sandwich Generation?

Adults of the sandwich generation find themselves responsible for both their children and their aging parents, an increasingly common situation with struggling youth and a growing elderly population. As someone ages and faces growing health issues, caregivers face increasing workloads, stress and burnout. However, good legal planning can reduce uncertainty and make future challenges easier.

What Challenges are Facing the Sandwich Generation?

The sandwich generation often faces a tricky balancing act. People born in the 1940s and 1950s live longer. However, many are experiencing more health issues than previous generations. According to research from University College London and Oxford University, today’s older adults are more likely to suffer from multiple health problems, such as diabetes or obesity, which complicate their care needs.

At the same time, parents today face new demands from their children, including issues like mental health challenges and children staying in the family home longer due to financial reasons. Caring for both generations can feel like an overwhelming responsibility.

How Does Legal Planning Help Manage Health and Financial Concerns?

Without proper planning, the emotional and financial costs of caring for aging parents can be enormous. One solution is to work with an elder law attorney to create legal documents and plans that provide peace of mind. These legal plans may include:

Powers of attorney: Ensuring someone can make financial and medical decisions if your parent or loved one cannot.
Health care directives: Ensure that your loved one’s wishes for medical care are respected.
Guardianship and conservatorship: Appointing a trusted person to care for someone who can no longer decide for themselves.

Legal planning ensures that your parents are protected and helps avoid family disputes about who will care for them and how their finances will be managed.

What Happens without Elder Law Planning?

Legal issues can arise unexpectedly for many families if no planning is in place. A lack of legal documents can lead to disputes, confusion and expensive court battles over care. Without proper planning, adult children may end up shouldering the financial burden of their parent’s care and their children’s needs.

Some sandwich generation members face a situation where they care for their children, aging parents and grandparents. This “club sandwich” generation is responsible for four generations, which increases the pressure and makes planning even more critical.

Should You Start Planning?

It’s never too early to start planning. Waiting until a health crisis strikes can limit your options. Early planning gives you time to consider your loved one’s future care needs carefully and ensures that their wishes are followed. An elder law attorney can guide you through essential decisions before emergencies, helping you avoid unnecessary stress and financial strain.

Can an Elder Law Attorney Help You?

An elder law attorney can assist you in making decisions regarding your parents’ long-term care and financial well-being. They can create a customized plan that meets your family’s unique needs, ensuring that everything is in place before significant life changes occur. With the guidance of an attorney, you can focus on spending time with your loved ones instead of worrying about legal and financial details.

Secure Your Family’s Future with a Comprehensive Care Plan

Are you feeling overwhelmed by caring for both your parents and your children? Legal planning can help you regain control and bring peace of mind. Contact our elder law attorney today to request a consultation and start planning for your family’s future. Don’t wait until it’s too late—take the first step toward protecting the ones you love.

Key Takeaways:

Protect your parents’ wishes: Ensure that healthcare and financial decisions align with your loved ones’ preferences.
Avoid family conflict: Legal planning helps prevent disputes over caregiving responsibilities and financial matters.
Plan for health crises: Preparing in advance provides peace of mind and reduces stress during emergencies.
Secure legal authority: Powers of attorney and healthcare directives ensure that trusted individuals can act on your behalf.
Ease financial burdens: Careful planning helps manage care costs and prevents unexpected financial strain on your family.

Reference: The Guardian (Oct. 13, 2024) “Guilt, Worry, Resentment: How the ‘Club Sandwich’ Generation Juggles Caring for Parents, Children and Grandparents”

Wealth Protection Through Estate Planning

Without a well-prepared estate plan, wealth can be lost to taxes, administrative costs, or disputes among heirs, both in and out of court. With an up-to-date estate plan, changes to tax laws are proactively addressed and wealth can be protected and passed across generations. A recent article appearing in Medical Economics, “Estate planning is your first line of defense against wealth loss—Here’s what you should know,” explains how an estate plan creates a framework to minimize taxes, avoid the costs and complications of probate and ensures that your wishes for your estate are followed.

Documenting assets is one task that is done when creating an estate plan. When records are not clear, transferring assets can become complicated. A comprehensive record-keeping system can store documents like deeds, life insurance policies, asset inventories, family videos and photographs online.

Many financial records are already online through client portals by major financial companies. The key to incorporating these records into an estate plan is remembering where all the information is stored and being willing to share access information with a trusted family member or friend. The person you name as an executor of your will or a trustee for a trust is the most likely candidate to be provided with this information.

There are many steps to having a solid estate plan. However, there are also many missteps. Here are some of the most common pitfalls to avoid:

Failing to update an estate plan. All the documents in your estate plan, including a Will, Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy, HIPAA Release Form, Trusts, Advanced Directives and more, must be updated to comply with changing laws and changes in your life.

Making a careless decision about the executor or trustee can be disastrous. The eldest child does not have to be the one to be in charge of your estate. Neither does the person you love if their life is a trainwreck. The person to be named executor and/or trustee needs to be someone you know to be extremey

Wly responsible, reliable, good with money management and a solid moral compass.

Digital assets are often ignored when it comes to estate planning. However, this new asset class needs to be included. If you have email, you have a digital asset. You have digital assets if you have email, cryptocurrency, websites, social media content, online subscriptions and photos stored in the cloud. Suppose no plan is made to create an inventory of accounts and name a digital executor. In that case, your estate becomes vulnerable to identity theft, valuable cryptocurrency could be lost forever and there may be nothing your loved ones can do.

Most family fights have to do with unequal asset distribution after the death of a parent. A clear estate plan is one way to preclude confusion about what you want to happen after death. Talking about your estate plan while you’re still able to have these uncomfortable discussions is one way to help establish your wishes. You may want to create a Letter of Intent or make a video to express your reasons for making certain decisions. This may not be legally enforceable. However, it will serve to document your wishes.

Estate planning is not just about distributing assets after death. By establishing an estate plan, the family is better prepared to deal with the loss of a loved one and can focus on healing together instead of battling over their inheritance.

Reference: Medical Economics (Oct. 17, 2024) “Estate planning is your first line of defense against wealth loss—Here’s what you should know”

Estate Planning 101: What You Need to Know

Have you done any estate planning? If you have a will, kudos to you! You’re ahead of so many people and celebrities who die without a will, creating unnecessary expenses and stress and risking family fights over assets large and small. However, a recent article from Kiplinger, “The Basics of Estate Planning,” reminds us of the importance of regularly updating estate planning documents and beneficiary designations.

Failing to do so could put heirs in a financial and legal tangle after you die or create unexpected tax consequences. You might also leave your assets to a wrongful heir, and your family might be unable to do anything about it.

What makes up the foundation of an estate plan?

The will directs your wishes to distribute assets to heirs upon your death. It’s not as straightforward as expected, so talk with an estate planning attorney to create a valid will. For instance, you don’t want to include anything you don’t want the public to know, like account numbers or passwords. The will becomes a public document when it is submitted to probate court.

A living trust, sometimes called a revocable trust, is used to own assets in a more private manner. You can put cash, securities and other assets into a trust, and the trustee, who you name to manage the trust, will be in charge of distributing assets after you die.

A living will, sometimes called an advance healthcare directive, outlines your wishes for care if you become incapacitated or for end-of-life care. This includes medical decisions like keeping you alive via artificial means, from respirators to feeding tubes. Letting your family know your wishes will spare them a lifetime of guessing what you want.

Powers of Attorney for finances and healthcare (also known as a healthcare proxy) names others to act on your behalf to manage financial and healthcare matters. Without these documents, your family may have to go to court to manage your bills and be part of your healthcare decisions.

Today’s estate plan also includes digital assets. You can designate a person as your Digital POA so they can access digital assets like emails, websites and social media accounts. They’ll need to be someone you trust and who can navigate the digital world.

All these documents need to be reviewed regularly to ensure that they align with your wishes and are current concerning any changes in the law. Most estate planning attorneys will advise you to update your documents whenever there is a big change in your life like birth, death, divorce, or a move to a new state. They should also be reviewed every three to five years as laws change.

Assets also pass through beneficiary designations. These are commonly retirement accounts and insurance policies, which ask you to name a person to receive the assets upon your death. These assets don’t go through probate. People often forget to update these documents, and old friends and ex-spouses find themselves with a surprise windfall.

It’s essential to update estate planning documents and beneficiary designations on the death of a spouse. This is not likely the first thing on your mind when grieving the loss of a loved one, but it is necessary.

The rules for inherited IRAs have changed. Therefore, your heirs need to be prepared for the impact, especially if your estate includes a large IRA. As a result of the SECURE Act of 2019, adult children or non-spouse heirs of a traditional IRA must empty the IRA within ten years of the original owner’s death. During the ten years, heirs must take annual withdrawals and pay taxes on those withdrawals as income. The alternative is to take the entire IRA at once and pay taxes on the whole account. This rule doesn’t apply to surviving spouses, who have more options.

Think of your estate plan as a gift to loved ones after you’ve passed. Without one, they may need to go to court, wait months or years to receive their inheritance or devote endless hours working on gaining control and distributing assets. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney to protect your family and legacy.

Reference: Kiplinger (Oct. 1, 2024) “The Basics of Estate Planning”

Why Gen Z Needs to Pay Attention to Estate Planning

Gen Zers may still be young, ages 17–27. However, this doesn’t mean some don’t have ownership and assets to protect with estate planning. Medical emergencies and car accidents happen to people of all ages. An estate plan protects the person as much as their property. The sooner you have a plan in place, says a recent article from yahoo! finance, “Why Gen Z Should Be Thinking About Estate Planning,” the better.

For many young adults, estate planning is like buying rental insurance. You don’t expect to deal with a fire or have your home broken into. However, having insurance means if such events happen, your possessions will be insured, and you’ll be made whole.

Gen Zers who are signed up for employee benefits like 401(k)s or retirement plans already have assets to be passed to another person if they should die young. These accounts typically feature beneficiary designations, so they should be sure to have those completed properly. Many Gen Zers name their parents or siblings as their beneficiaries at this point in their lives. The future may bring new relationships, marriage and children, so they must update these beneficiaries throughout life.

While practically everyone using a cell phone or computer has digital assets, Gen Zers are likely to have more digital currency and crypto in digital wallets. They may have intellectual property on platforms, including TikTok or YouTube. These assets need to be protected in a digital estate plan. The information required to access these accounts should not be in a last will and testament. However, they should be documented so the assets are not lost.

Other digital assets don’t have any value. Users don’t have the right to transfer the assets, like social media accounts or music files. Having a conversation with a digitally savvy person about these assets and providing them with login and account information is an integral part of an estate plan.

Gen Zers do need a will. Without a will, the estate will get tangled up in probate, a court process where the laws of your state determine who inherits any possessions. This takes time and court fees can add up quickly.

Having a will created with an experienced estate planning attorney encourages a review of assets, providing a perspective of finances that one might not otherwise have early in their career.

Estate planning also includes planning who will make medical and financial decisions in case of incapacity. These documents, including a Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy, Living Will and other documents, are state-specific. Once someone becomes a legal adult, neither parents nor siblings can be involved with medical care or handle finances, unless these documents are created and executed. Trusted friends can also take on these roles.

A young adult should make an appointment with a local estate planning attorney. They’ll provide guidance through the process. Regardless of age and stage, having a plan creates peace of mind for young adults and their family members.

Reference: yahoo! finance (Sept. 17, 2024) “Why Gen Z Should Be Thinking About Estate Planning”

What Is the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer’s?

Dementia is a serious and growing health concern affecting over 55 million people around the world. However, many mistakenly conflate the condition with Alzheimer’s Disease. Care highlights the differences between the two conditions and the importance of understanding them.

What Is Dementia?

Dementia describes a decline in cognitive function and mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Memory loss is a common symptom. However, dementia can also impact reasoning, comprehension, language and spatial awareness. Different types of dementia have distinct symptoms and causes.

What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that primarily affects memory. It often starts with short-term memory loss, such as forgetting conversations, misplacing items and repeating oneself. As the disease progresses, it can also impact:

Language skills
Visual perception
Driving skills
Ability to manage finances or use technology

What are Other Forms of Dementia?

Besides Alzheimer’s disease, there are several other common types of dementia, each with unique symptoms and causes. Understanding these different types helps in recognizing symptoms and seeking appropriate care.

Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)

Lewy Body Dementia affects thinking, reasoning and processing information. It often presents with hallucinations and behavioral issues. People with LBD may experience agitation, memory problems and symptoms like Parkinson’s disease, such as tremors and slow movements.

Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, often due to a stroke or chronic illness. Symptoms can include confusion, slowed thinking, difficulty concentrating and problems with organization. The symptoms vary depending on the location of the blocked or damaged blood vessels.

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)

Frontotemporal Dementia affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control personality, language and movement. Symptoms can include changes in personality, behavior, language difficulties, memory loss and confusion.

How Is Dementia Diagnosed?

There isn’t a single test for dementia. Doctors instead use various sources of information, including patient history, family observations and physical exams, to determine the type of dementia. Cognitive testing and MRIs may also assess memory, attention, language and other cognitive abilities.

The Importance of Early Planning

The sooner someone facing a dementia diagnosis begins planning for their future care and financial decisions, the better for their loved ones. This planning involves discussing the person’s wishes and preparing legal documents.

“Have the conversation,” says Martha Mannix, a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. In an article by Tribdem, she emphasizes the importance of discussing who the person wants to be with, how they want to spend their time and putting themselves in the person’s shoes.

How Powers of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directives Can Help

Legal documents, like advance healthcare directives and financial power of attorney, are indispensable to protecting yourself against dementia. These documents ensure that power over your finances and healthcare lies with your family, not a court-appointed guardian. Establish a financial power of attorney, a healthcare power of attorney and an advance healthcare directive to control your end-of-life care, emergency healthcare and finances.

Start Planning for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Today

If you or a loved one faces a dementia diagnosis, a good estate plan makes all the difference. Contact our law firm today to schedule a consultation and learn how estate planning can support you and your family in the face of cognitive decline.

Key Takeaways

Understanding Dementia: Dementia is a decline in cognitive function severe enough to interfere with daily life, encompassing various symptoms beyond memory loss.
Alzheimer’s Disease: The most common form of dementia, primarily affecting short-term memory and progressively impairing cognitive functions.
Different Types of Dementia: Lewy Body Dementia, Vascular Dementia and Frontotemporal Dementia each have distinct causes and symptoms, requiring unique approaches to care and treatment.
Have Essential Conversations: Discussing wishes and preparing legal documents, like advance healthcare directives and financial power of attorney, ensures that an individual’s preferences are respected.

References: Care (Jan. 7, 2022) “Understanding the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s: What experts say you need to know” and Tribdem (Jul. 29, 2023) “Dealing with dementia | Planning ahead: ‘Have the conversation’ | News | tribdem.com”

Your College Student Needs a Power of Attorney for Finance and Healthcare

Once a child reaches the age of legal majority, they are considered an adult with privacy rights. This means that parents lose access to private information. This can have dire consequences if the student is involved in an accident or gets seriously ill, explains the article “Navigating The Transition To Adulthood: A Legal Guide For Parents” from mondaq. With proactive steps, parents can address these situations before they occur.

Whether or not your insurance covers your child’s healthcare doesn’t matter. Without a Healthcare POA, parents cannot make medical decisions, speak with healthcare providers, or talk with the health insurance company. Parents are strongly urged to have their college-bound student complete a Healthcare Power of Attorney.

If there is no POA and the child is incapacitated, parents will have to go to court to be able to make medical decisions for their child. Hospitals and healthcare providers are extremely strict about following these rules to avoid litigation and fines. No matter how bad the situation is, don’t expect any rules to be bent.

Your adult child should also have a Living Will. This is a document controlling decisions about end-of-life. It only becomes effective when a person is in a state of permanent unconsciousness, like a coma, or if they are terminally ill. The student uses this document to express their wishes concerning care: do they want to be artificially fed, hydrated, or kept alive by extraordinary means? Do they want to become an organ donor? This document conveys their wishes and can save the family an unimaginable amount of added stress during a trying time.

A Durable Power of Attorney is used to name a person, known as an “agent” or “attorney in fact,” to act on their behalf. The agent can take care of legal and financial matters. This is needed in case of incapacity so the parent or trusted person may deal with financial institutions, colleges, courts and any other company or organization on behalf of the student. Without it, parents cannot access account information or act on the student’s behalf.

Does your student need a will? The estate planning attorney who helps create the documents listed above can help you answer this question. Depending on their situation, if the student owns a car, has a bank account, an inheritance, or sizable cryptocurrency accounts, they may need a will.

The documents mentioned above should also be in place for parents. If parents don’t have a will, Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will and trusts, if appropriate, their newly minted adult will have a lot to deal with if they should both die unexpectedly. A visit to the estate planning attorney for all generations is a good idea.

Reference: mondaq (June 24, 2024) “Navigating The Transition To Adulthood: A Legal Guide For Parents”

Long-Term Care Planning and Timing Move to Assisted Living

A recent JAMA Internal Medicine study titled “The Natural History of Disability and Caregiving Before and After Long-Term Care Entry” examined the health and caregiving needs of assisted-living residents. Study results highlighted the median move-in age, the average level of care needed and likely long-term needs. This article expands on the research results to highlight how your assisted-living move-in impacts elder law in your estate planning and the strategies to consider.

How Does Timing Your Move to Assisted Living Influence Long-Term Care Planning?

The study indicates that the mean age for moving into assisted living is 85, and they are less likely to be severely disabled compared to those entering nursing homes. The research identified a critical period of one to two years during which the care needs of assisted living residents could escalate to levels seen in nursing home settings. This progression underscores the importance of upfront discussions and planning regarding long-term care strategies.

Despite relatively good initial health, over half of the new residents had dementia, highlighting the need for comprehensive planning to protect financial and personal well-being in the event of cognitive decline.

Legal Strategies for Assisted Living Planning

As the average entry age into assisted living is around 85, it is crucial to prepare for possible increases in care needs, including issues related to dementia or cognitive decline. Legal and financial strategies to consider with your elder law attorney include:

Living Trust: Living trusts are a three-party agreement between the creator, trustee and beneficiary. With well-written terms and instructions, these trusts can protect your assets and funds.
Irrevocable Trust: Irrevocable trusts transfer asset ownership to the trust and can help lower your estate’s value.
Powers of Attorney (POA): Durable POAs give legal authority to a trusted person to oversee financial and healthcare matters when you are incapacitated.
Advance Care Directives: These directives specify your preferences for medical care, including decisions about treatments and care facilities.

Elder law attorneys are vital in navigating the legal complexities associated with transitions to assisted living. They help draft critical documents like living wills and powers of attorney and ensure that your rights are protected throughout the process.

Conclusion

Deciding to move into an assisted living facility is a significant life choice that impacts quality of life and health care in later years. Consulting with elder law professionals helps families devise flexible plans that accommodate changing care needs, ensuring that legal and financial protections are in place for residents as they transition into and within senior living communities.

Key Takeaways:

Optimal Timing for Assisted Living: The average age for moving into assisted living is 85, with prior home care averaging 18 hours per week.
Evolving Care Needs: Health and independence levels can approach those of nursing home residents within one to two years, indicating possible changes in care needs.
Personalized Decision Making: The decision to move into assisted living varies greatly and should be based on individual health, care requirements and personal preferences.
Role of Early Long-Term Care Planning: Elder law attorneys are crucial for helping seniors with early long-term care planning that protects individual rights and assets before a move to assisted living is necessary.

Reference: JAMA Internal Medicine (Nov 6, 2023) “The Natural History of Disability and Caregiving Before and After Long-Term Care Entry”

Estate Planning Blog Articles

Estate & Business Planning Law Firm Serving the Providence & Cranston, RI Areas

What Challenges are Facing the Sandwich Generation?

How Does Legal Planning Help Manage Health and Financial Concerns?

What Happens without Elder Law Planning?

Should You Start Planning?

Can an Elder Law Attorney Help You?

Secure Your Family’s Future with a Comprehensive Care Plan

Key Takeaways:

What Is Dementia?

What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?

What are Other Forms of Dementia?

Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)

Vascular Dementia

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)

How Is Dementia Diagnosed?

The Importance of Early Planning

How Powers of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directives Can Help

Key Takeaways

How Does Timing Your Move to Assisted Living Influence Long-Term Care Planning?

Legal Strategies for Assisted Living Planning

Conclusion

Key Takeaways:

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