Minnesota Estate Planning Attorney Urges You to Help Your Parents Put a Plan in Place
I live the practice of estate planning because I enjoy helping people. All people. I specialize in the “overlooked” because, well, these individuals and families are overlooked by society and need a fierce advocate on their side. Another specialty area that I have incorporated into my practice is that of elderly care and protection. All too often in America the elderly are left to their own devices as they battle illness and/or dementia. In Minnesota, the majority of seniors who need care receive it from a family member. The family needs help knowing what to do for their loved one. This is where I come in…
Currently, close to 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s. In the earliest stages of this illness it is difficult to impose upon your parent(s) the type of measures that will protect them wholly from financial scams or to remove their financial decision-making privileges. The desire to preserve your parent’s dignity and self-respect may make you decide to “stand down” in the beginning. They are your parents, after all. You don't want to take their cards or checkbooks away as though they were children. This desire to be kind and respectful can unfortunately have serious repercussions to their finances. In these earliest of stages there is a middle-ground, legally-speaking, that you can work with so that your parents still have autonomy but you can rest easy knowing that should something happen you will be informed in time to mitigate the damage.
My firm can work with you to provide your family with financial safeguards. Elderly care, especially when it comes to financial management, is a very important part of my practice area. I routinely work with families to create a Power of Attorney so that children can assume care of their elderly parent, or even to provide this decision making tool to a spouse, sibling or adult child who is better able to handle the financial obligations.
Call me today if you are at that point where you need to begin to help make decisions for a parent, or if you are beginning to see a need to plan ahead for your own financial future. I can walk you through all of the options available to you to protect you or your loved one’s finances in the days ahead.