ARTICLES

It is a tragedy that 45 percent of older Americans are having problems meeting their basic obligations. Many of these older adults must routinely shuffle their available resources in an attempt to keep quality health care, a roof over their heads, lighting, heating and air conditioning, cash resources for food and medicine, and other life basics. Living paycheck to paycheck has morphed into how do I live day today?

You shouldn’t. It is crucial to give legal authority to a person of your choice, to care for your children if anything should happen to you. You don’t want your children to become wards of the court, or to be delivered to a family member you don’t like. Second, the cost to you at the front end (now) is much less than it could be later, when you might face steep legal fees to get the job done.

The probate process consists of validating a deceased individual’s will, evaluating assets, paying off creditors and any taxes owed, and lastly, dispersing the remaining assets to the inheritors. After an asset-holder dies, the court will appoint a valid will's executor to administer the probate process. In the absence of a will, the court will appoint a state administrator to handle probate. Probate law varies by state, but there are steps in the process that are common.

Bring peace to yourself and your loved ones by preparing your financial information today for when you are no longer capable. It will ensure proper management of your financial situation and afford control over your end of life and legacy. The goal is to make and maintain an accurate list of accounts and passwords and relevant contact names at financial institutions.

Tech-savvy baby boomers are increasingly making up America’s aging population. By 2030 all boomers will have hit 65 years of age, accounting for 18 percent of the US population. This demographic is driving significant and lasting challenges as 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. Aging in place is a significant trend of the boomer population as regulatory and policy changes create new incentives supporting the independent living movement.

Do-it-yourself projects may be for home improvement, but not for estate planning. It’s just not a good idea. For the plan to work as you would want it to, it should account for plenty of complications. A good plan should protect your spouse and your children from the loss of valuable government benefits if anybody is or becomes disabled.

Some of the businesses are underway, like storing medical records in the cloud for a fee or using patient forms that have been "anonymized" to create new tools. Some products already cater directly to patients, such as wearable medical devices with monitoring capabilities through the internet of things.

Currently, 53 million Americans are the primary caregivers for an elderly family member. About 17 percent of the US population is a family caregiver, and most are losing sleep, worrying, losing income, struggling to balance caregiving tasks with their workload and other family responsibilities. These caregivers are often experiencing ill health of their own and putting their well-being at a lesser priority to their family loved one.

Great advice, something your mother would say, right. Nobody really wants to think in advance about accidents or illness. But if no advance planning has been done, and if an elderly parent has broken a hip, say, and is about to be discharged from the hospital, the family must make crucial decisions in a highly stressful situation. There may be little, if any, time to figure out which living option is the best.

Susceptibility to manipulation from those who will defraud or steal grows as people become more elderly or ill. Targeted attacks on vulnerable older people to exert what attorneys deem "undue influence" constitutes elder abuse. It disrupts the older persons' impulse to provide for loved ones and instead leaves assets to the manipulator.