When it comes to transitioning a loved one into senior living, many families will find that there are many legal documents that will require their attention. These legal documents are important because they will record and protect your loved one’s wishes. In order to help you and your family digest this unfamiliar process, we have created a breakdown of the basics to assist you.
What Is Elder Law?
Elder Law is just one specialized branch of law that exists to carry out the legalities as they relate to seniors. For seniors, planning for the future is highly crucial to make sure that all of their wishes are known and intended to be carried out a specific way. Many of these decisions are best carried out legally and often with the guidance of an Elder Law Attorney.
What Can An Elder Law Attorney Help With?
An Elder Law Attorney can assist your loved one by helping establish a future plan, which can involve many different dimensions, such as financial, health care and estate planning decisions. A family will typically reach out to an Elder Law Attorney who focuses specifically on what they need assistance with, but in general, Elder Law Attorneys commonly help with estate planning and establishing a power of attorney.
What Is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is the process of deciding how your loved one’s belongings and assets will be distributed upon their death. Seniors will often choose to write a will or establish a trust in order to determine what happens to their assets, which an Elder Law Attorney can help them draft.
What Is A Power Of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney (POA) enlists a responsible party to make financial and/or health care decisions for a person if they aren’t able or are unwilling to make those decisions themselves.
Typically, two separate documents are needed for a financial POA and a healthcare POA. An Elder Law Attorney is a great person to lean on to assist in explaining the process and drafting the necessary documents.
Helpful Resources
Reaching out to an Elder Law Attorney, even just to answer some of your questions, is a great first step. There are many online forums and blogs with information on elder law and common family practices. One website that can help you locate information as well as an Elder Law Attorney is www.elderlawanswers.com. We encourage doing your research because staying informed is the best way to protect your loved one’s interests.
