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It is essential that as your parents' age, you have conversations with them about their finances. To broach the topic, you might bring up current events like the coronavirus pandemic, its effect on economic conditions, and how it relates to the security of their financial future. The conversation should come from a calming place of love and concern. Speak to them respectfully about how the coronavirus pandemic has you thinking about the importance of their planning and preparedness.

Elected leaders must rethink institutional care and its affordability and make improvements while creating innovative long-term care options for those Americans who are aging in place. Recently the Milken Institute 2020 Future of Health Summit looked into the short-term future of long-term care and deemed improvements a most urgent priority for the US healthcare system.

Estate planning is important for people of all ages, but as we age, the need for planning becomes even more critical. Many people avoid estate planning because they do not want to think about the end of life, failing health, or disability. Others believe that an estate plan is only for rich people. However, an estate plan is helpful for the senior adult and their families regardless of overall wealth.

Due to an aging population, more Americans are finding themselves or their loved ones in need of nursing home care. Often, nursing home care is absolutely necessary, but this doesn’t make it any less expensive and many find themselves depleting their life savings paying for care they need. However, there are ways to avoid spending your life savings and still getting the care you need. One of those ways is through Medicaid, and with proper planning, this program can provide much-needed relief during a time when all you should be worried about is the care received.

Estate planning may sound like the domain of the very wealthy, however, in the eyes of the law, an estate is simply the aggregate of property an individual owns, and most everyone owns something. Property ownership includes individual as well as jointly owned bank accounts, stocks and bonds, retirement accounts, real estate, jewelry, vehicles, your online digital footprint, and even pets. Short of being utterly destitute, you have an estate, and planning for it helps to protect yourself, your family, and your loved ones.

Whether you seek legal counsel for yourself or a loved one, elder law attorneys have a wide range of expertise and services that you will require at some life stage, whether in your 40s, 50s, and beyond. Actions you take in one part of your life may have unintended legal consequences in others. Without the benefit of elder counsel, you can put yourself in a disadvantageous position.