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Dealing With Financial Issues After an Alzheimer's Diagnosis By Alex Jensen |
| Thursday, March 5, 2009 |
There are many things that can change your life quickly. From a family perspective, a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is one of the most difficult. One of the many issues to be addressed is the topic of finances.
Alzheimer's is often referred to as a brutal disease, because of all the collateral damage it causes. It causes an enormous amount of pain. Ironically, the pain is not usually perceived by the patient, but by people close to the patient. Seeing a person become a shadow of its former self is gut wrenching. The fact that this occurs most often between 15 and 20 years ago even more.
When Alzheimer's disease diagnosed in a family, the person with the disease is often a high level of their parents. This creates a difficult situation, as the sons and daughters of parents still regard as authority figures. Once the diagnosis is made, these functions must be switched and the "children" must begin to take an active role in the lives of their parents. Be proactive, as soon as possible can make a world of difference in the long term.
When it comes to finances, the first thing to understand is that couples have a higher tendency to divide functions. One who has taken control of finances. This means that the other does not know much about what is happening, so you need to be sensitive to this and avoid badgering a parent who does not know much.
The first step in dealing with finances is to get an understanding of what it is. You must collect everything and do a summary. This includes all assets, retirement accounts, debts and so on. Please pay particular attention to security as the payment of care in the future will be a big problem. If parents have not established trusts, which before the person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease is considered unfit to do so under law.
Once you have a handle on the finances, it's time to draw a plan. At some point, one or more children are going to need to have power over finances. This can be a difficult decision for the family, but it is one that is inevitable. Once a decision is made, be sure to have a lawyer write up. Do not use some cheesy way of the web. It is a big problem to spend a few dollars.
Simultaneous to all this, you should look for in insurance matters. An Alzheimer's patient does not usually need much help at first. As the disease progresses, however, this will change. Having help in the house a couple times a week is the first step. Finally, the necessary level of care required the placement of the individual in a residence for Alzheimer's. How will you pay for this? Sit down with a lawyer or financial expert to be the map.
The key to getting through a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is to be proactive. Burying our heads in the sand you nowhere and make things miserable. This is particularly true for financial matters. Take time to organize and get a plan in place that everyone can agree on. Is to reduce stress in an otherwise stressful situation.
Alex Jensen is with Careplacement.com - free high housing placement service in Southern California |
posted by neptunus @ 4:12 AM  |
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