Be UPLIFTed - Learn more about finances and legalities - week 19
This week: the details and hurdles we encounter when our senior person lives with dementia can be daunting - so let's look at the basics. Today it's about learning and gathering what we need.
Navigating legal and financial matters for your senior person with dementia can be complicated, but with proper planning, professional assistance, and open communication, you can ensure that their legal and financial affairs are managed effectively and according to their wishes.
Here are some basic areas to learn about:
Securing Important Documents:
Learn to gather essential documents, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, insurance policies, passwords, etc in a safe location and ready to access.
Make copies if appropriate and share with someone else where everything is located - how you manage your filing system - in case of an emergency or you’re unavailable.
Is there a lock box, a safety deposit box, or other storage spot accessible only to you and one or two other people? These details are important and need to be kept secure.
Legal and Financial Assistance - programs available
Explore and learn about government programs and community resources that assist with legal and financial matters, particularly for seniors and those with dementia.
Connect with other people to continue to learn about these options. What is trustworthy? Which options to avoid? How can you best navigate these learning options without being “sold” something you don’t need? Online and in-person support groups are good for this need. You can learn from others.
Learn the best way to document everything.
If you’re the assigned care partner for your senior person who is living with dementia, it’s important to have a system to document aspects of their life. This empowers and protects your senior person - and yourself.
In which areas should you document?
financial transactions - available to share when needed
medical history including experts/medications/diagnoses, etc. for a cohesive picture of their health needs and challenges - some people use a simple binder method and others use online tools.
their journey in dementia - records that demonstrate competence and ability to make legal and financial decisions when required.
Learning is a superpower!
Your ability to learn and grow in knowledge is a superpower that will benefit your senior person.
Be proactive - keep learning - stay on top of what’s needed in the legal and financial aspects and you’ll feel more in control of the state in which your senior person is living.
Tomorrow we’ll cover a list of the professionals and what they do - who you can seek out to be involved in legal and financial aspects - roles and responsibilities.
