Elder Law, estate planning, Long Term Care
Case Study: the Caretaker Adult Child
By Rick Law, Senior Advocate and Estate Planning Attorney in Western Chicago. Abigail was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 52. One of her sons, Steve, got a call from Abigail’s former employer in a town 30 miles from where Abigail lived. Abigail had driven that morning to a job where she had not worked for 12 years. Her family had seen some changes in their mother over the past few years. She was agitated, forgetful, and she sometimes said inappropriate things. They had attributed it to a “midlife crisis.” Because Abigail had been a single parent from the time her children were little, Abigail’s sons wanted very much to care for their mother who had cared so selflessly for them all their lives. As the Alzheimer’s progressed, her other son, Andrew, agreed to have Abigail move in with him and provide her with supervision and assistance. Andrew and his wife were able to do this for almost three years. Because of the advice that we provided them, Andrew and his wife were able to act as her caregivers. When the time was appropriate, the children were able to make the confident decision to transfer Abigail into a nursing home – without feeling any guilt for relinquishing her care to strangers. Thus, Abigail spent the last six years of her life in a quality nursing home, and she passed away peacefully on the first week of February 2009. Upon her death, Andrew said, “I know that before she lost her memory entirely, it meant a great deal to Mom to know that we didn’t allow her home to be sold. She died happy that she had never become a burden we couldn’t handle.” Too many families needlessly lose everything they have. Don’t let that be you. If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free. We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family. Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future. Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.