Unfortunately Alzheimer’s disease is something that a large number of elderly and families with elderly loved ones must face. While the focus of discussions after diagnosis often focuses on treatment, one area that is often avoided is the financial aspect of the disease.  

Financial planning for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is challenging but it can be done. Here are some of the first things that you should do to begin a financial plan.

Gather the Family

Alzheimer’s affects the entire family. When sitting down to determine what the best path forward is financially the entire family should be involved.

Identify all of the family members who should be in on the discussions and then set aside a time for you all to meet. This will ensure that everyone is on board with the plan and is aware of what needs to be done to make it successful.

Identify the Costs of Care

The plan must start with identifying the current and future costs of care. While there may be some uncertainty that figures into this step, having a ball-park figure of just what the total cost of care is going to be can help direct what the financial plan is going to look like.

Check for Veteran’s Benefits

If the person who has been diagnosed is a veteran or served in the armed forces for any length of time there may be financial aid or benefits that they can claim to help ease the financial burden. Check with your local veteran’s administration or contact an elder law attorney who has expertise in the subject to help determine what benefits might be available.

Check for Other Government Funding

There are many other government programs that exist to help individuals and families deal with the costs of care for an Alzheimer’s patient. These can be as routine as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. There may be other programs that are available as well. Having all of these sources of aid identified will help your financial plan identify where all of the costs that are generated can be funded from.

Long Term Care Insurance

Does your loved one have any long term care insurance? If they do many of the long term care policies have special funding for Alzheimer’s patients. If there is a policy in place investigate what benefits the policy has that can help to cover care for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Talk about Roles and Responsibilities

Caring for someone suffering from Alzheimer’s takes the effort of an entire family. The plan should include who is going to cover the financial aspects of care as well what family members are going to handle other aspects. Clearly defining the roles and responsibilities will help to prevent confusion and have everyone working together to a common goal.

Contact and Elder Law Attorney

Having a legal expert who can help with the aspects of Alzheimer’s care is critical. Stano Law Firm expert staff can help your family. Contact us, today.