Often times when I meet with new clients, the first appointment is not with the parent(s),
but with the children. Commonly, they come to us after or during a crisis, such as
a parent's hospital or nursing home stay. Just as often, they have little or no information
about what is going on with the parent, medically and financially, and cannot provide
much of the information we need to assist them. Therefore, its not uncommon to see
that some of the stress and anxiety is felt by the children. Not knowing what to
do or how to do it. Medicare B allows for this and is especially sensitive to understand
that a psychological crisis might be avoided by helping the children with the parent's
difficulty...
Many health care lawyers and accountants never ask what preparation is needed for
the emotional and spiritual life of their clients. Possibly because they may perceive
it the role of the clinical social worker or priest to multiply the two fishes left
after finances are spent. But the good health care manager looks forward at all aspects
of the picture and takes into account the psychotherapy component, estate planning,
and at times the spiritual aspect of separation from family, friends, and the awful
feeling of being left alone among strangers. Send us your questions.
Helping Mom and Dad
...Need I also say that it is alot cheaper to prevent a psychological crisis than
to treat one ?
Communication between parent and child before a crisis is so important and can provide
peace of mind and reduce stress for both. The following are some of the questions
that families should discuss, which will often begin a dialogue about the type of
preplanning parents can do before a crisis occurs.
Children should know roughly how much and where their parents' assets are. Do they
have enough to sustain the healthy spouse should one spouse become ill and need extended
hospitalization or nursing home care?
What does the income picture look like? If one spouse dies, how much income will
the surviving spouse be left with? Will there be a significant drop in income? Often,
steps can be taken before that spouse passes to help boost the surviving spouse's
income.
Is financial support anticipated? People are living longer than ever. Many people
are at risk of outliving their money. Answering this question means not simply looking
at current expenses vs. income, but looking at the next step in the elder care journey
and the next step after that, and asking "Do I have enough to pay for long term care
and if so, for how long? If not, what is my plan then?
