Options for Life Care Plans
Designing a life care plan is important to ensure you maintain quality of life as you age. A life care plan helps you and your family navigate how to secure the care you need and plan for how you will finance that care. It also ensures your necessary legal documents are in place to support you on your aging journey and support your survivor’s so there is greater ease after your death. Life care planning recognizes that aging and dealing with chronic care needs is challenging, and it is better to have a dedicated team to help you.
An Elder Care Coordinator helps to ensure you have the right caregivers for your needs wherever you choose to call home. Unfortunately, care needs do not often stay stagnant. Your life care plan doesn’t stay stagnant either. It will be customized based on evolving care needs and your wishes and values. Everyone’s needs are different – cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all methods do not work effectively in designing a Life Care Plan. Care teams need to remain vigilant and respond quickly when there is a sign of changing patient needs.
Maser, Amundson & Boggio offers two types of holistic care plans: life care planning and crisis planning.
Life Care Planning
According to the Life Care Planning Law Firms Association, life care planning is “a holistic, elder-centered approach to the practice of law that helps families respond to every challenge caused by chronic illness or disability of an elderly loved one.” It is a service that helps people access and pay for quality care, as well as provide guidance while navigating the long-term care maze with the assistance of elder law attorneys, paralegals with extensive experience in government benefits, such as Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and Veterans benefits, and experienced social workers with a focus in geriatric care.
At Maser Amundson & Boggio, we are proud to be the first, and currently the only, Life Care Planning firm in the Twin Cities region. For years, we have staffed a full time Elder Care Coordinator that works one-on-one with our clients to preserve quality of life for our clients and their families when long-term care needs arise..
Planning for long-term elder care can be a daunting task for the majority of individuals with already busy lives. It is best and strongly recommended to get started as early as possible – especially before a crisis strikes.
The following life events are a good time to explore the benefits of a Life Care Plan: health diagnosis, decline in health, death of a partner, concerned about paying for long-term care, recent hospitalization, or caregiver burnout.
Crisis Care Planning
Oftentimes, a crisis hits a family unexpectedly and can leave a paralyzing effect on what to do next. When an elderly loved one is in a situation of dire health without a plan for future care and how to pay for it, they can be left in an overwhelming situation. It is never too late to plan for care, however, in a crisis, the options may be limited for how to finance the care and the care options that are available..
The following are examples of urgent situations that require immediate action: a rapid decline of mental cognition that can render the elder unable to perform daily activities without assistance; discharge from a hospitalization to a home that can no longer accommodate their mobility; the family caregivers situation changes unexpectedly that no longer allows them to care for a loved one.
These are just a few examples of a crisis situation. Remember it is never too late to seek assistance for you or your loved ones. This is also a good time to mention making quick decisions based on fear, lack of knowledge, or on an assumption can have adverse consequences on the care options and methods to fund care. When in doubt, seek professional help.
The best way to avoid a crisis situation is to ask the question now “how would I pay for and find quality care” and plan for action for when a crisis may arise.
Creating a Care Plan with Maser, Amundson & Boggio, P.A.
Most people aren’t familiar with end-of-life arrangements, leaving these individuals feeling stressed and unprepared when the time comes. The good news: a life care plan can help. At Maser, Amundson & Boggio, P.A., we were the first law firm in Minnesota to offer a comprehensive life care planning process to clients and families. We offer peace of mind for our clients knowing that their loved ones are taken care of physically, mentally, and financially.