As you age, your children or other family members take on a new role in your life, where they may start caring for you in ways they haven’t before.
As you age, your children or other family members take on a new role in your life, where they may start caring for you in ways they haven’t before. It’s extremely important during this transition to make sure that your family knows what you want.
In case of an emergency or something happening, they will be the ones making decisions on your behalf. It’s beneficial to have these proactive senior care planning conversations to make sure your family knows what your wishes are and can fulfill them. Here are some things you should discuss with your family regarding your future.
Assisted Living
As you age, there is a chance that the home you are currently living in won’t be suitable for you anymore. The reasons vary; it could be too many stairs, you may need more help with daily activities, or the size may be too much with the upkeep.
Discuss with your family if you would be willing to move into an assisted living community and what features you want that community to have. Also, be sure to let them know which location you prefer for that community to be in. If you’re not sure if it’s time to move to an assisted living,
here are some signs to look for.
Memory Care
Your memory may be great now, but with age can come a decline in memory. It is worth including the option of a memory care community in your senior care planning conversation with your family. If you do need memory care down the line, would you want to move to a different community or do you want to move from the get-go to a senior living community that does have different levels of care?
A Living Will
A living will is a legal document that says what medical treatments you are comfortable with being used on you to keep you alive, and the ones you do not want. It also includes your preferences for other medical decisions, such as if you’d like to be an organ donor.
By having a living will, you are guaranteeing you are getting the medical attention you want. You’re also making the hard decisions for yourself, rather than leaving them to your family to make.
A Will
You likely already have a will in place, but it’s a good idea to make sure that it’s updated. Things may have changed since you first wrote it, and you want to make sure that everything in there is accurate. This will make things easier on your family and also will make sure that your property is divided after your passing the way you want it to be.
We understand that having a senior care planning conversation can be difficult. No one wants to talk about needing to move out of their home, memory decline, or death. But it’s important to have the conversation and prepare for these things so there is a plan in place and so your family knows what you really want, and so your family isn’t left with difficult decisions to make on their own.
