Legal Issues and Planning

So let's start with a disclaimer - I do not claim to have any legal expertise and can only relate what I have experienced or what other caretakers have told me.  I highly recommend seeking legal counsel from someone who is trained, experienced and specializes in elder law.  They will be able to explain the need, costs, and differences between Guardianship, Conservatorship, Living Trusts, Living Will, Power of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Durable Power of Attorney for Asset Management, Health Care Agent, etc.  

Because the regulations and laws differ from state to state, you need to talk with someone who is familiar with the legal requirements in the state where you loved one resides, or will be residing.  It is also good to take care of legal and health care arrangements (like Advance Health Care Directive, Health Care Agent, and Living Will) early on and before you are in an emergency situation.

I tried to be proactive when it came to legal issues and planning, making it a priority to get legal counsel and essential documents prior to our needing them.

One of our first legal joint efforts was buying a large historic home with Kristie parents where we lived together to help care for Kristie's father during his last 3-years with early-onset Alzheimer's.  We continued to live together with Kristie's mother for another 22 years after her father's death.  About halfway through our living together, we enter into a legal contract where Kristie and I agreed to pay all household expenses (property taxes, insurance, utilities, and repair costs) with the understanding that half of what we spent would go to our purchasing the home from Kristie's mother at the revised assessed value.  This contract was advantageous to Kristie's mother because she was on a limited income and it saved her a great deal of money.  It was also to our advantage because we were able to purchase her half of the house without any interest.  It took us about 11 years to completely pay for her half, and then we just continued with us assuming all the costs for our home while she lived with us, until we sold the home to move across the country to live with our daughter's family when Kristie required more care, and Kristie's mother went to live with two of her daughters.

Despite my efforts to get good legal counsel and needed legal documents, we did have one snafu that was expensive and time consuming.  We jointly purchased a home in Michigan with our daughter and son-in-law, and then paid off our half of the house after selling our home in Oregon.  Our attorney in Oregon explained that Kristie's name needed to be added to the title in Michigan because we used money from our home in Oregon.  I went down to our Michigan county courthouse and explained that Kristie's name needed to added along with my name to our half of the jointly owned home in Michigan.  Later, when working through Conservatorship documents with our Michigan attorney, we found out that rather than just adding Kristie's name with mine on the deed to our half of our home, they had actually replaced my name with hers.  This took 2 court appearances and approximately $1,500 in attorney and court fees to correct.

Dealing with dementia is a convoluted affair and having the correct and required legal paperwork is absolutely essential when needing medical care, dealing with the Social Security Administration, arranging long-term care, and when settling an estate after a loved one with Alzheimer's passes away.  Trust me, you need good personal legal advice to protect and take care of both your loved one and your assets.

Your comments or willingness to share experiences below related to legal issues and planning related to Alzheimer’s would be helpful and appreciated.

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