Being a caregiver means getting legal paperwork in order
Caregivers often put off the “legal stuff” because it’s confusing and it can be difficult to know where to start.
But when you’re caring for an older adult, an important part of the job is making sure essential legal documents are in order.
That allows someone to help with financial or medical decisions when necessary.
Getting the paperwork done before it’s needed will save time, money, and headaches down the road.
To help you get started, we found a helpful free guide from ARAG that gives an overview of caregiving legal basics.
It uses simple and straightforward language to cover key issues like planning for when your older adult will need someone to speak for them, housing options, end-of-life choices, and more.
We explain what’s in the guide and how it helps with important legal issues related to caregiving.
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Guide to caregiving legal basics helps you get started
We like this free guide because the information is broken up into sections that are easy to read and understand.
We also like that it gives unbiased information that helps you understand which legal documents are needed, why they’re important, and how to get started.
The guide includes:
Checklists
Definitions of key terms
Suggested questions to help you start sensitive discussions
Tips on how to choose representatives, save on taxes, etc.
Page 4 of ARAG’s caregiver guide
How the guide helps with important caregiving legal issues
This caregiver legal basics guide covers 6 sections. Here’s what each of them includes:
Estate planning
What an estate plan covers
Which documents are needed and why
A 6 step checklist for how to create one
Working with an attorney
What to expect from hiring an attorney
How they’ll work with your older adult and the family
Planning for incapacity
How a legal guardian could take over when someone is not able to make their own decisions
The process is for declaring someone incapacitated
Housing considerations
Checklists to help decide the best place to live
Other issues
Managing financial and insurance matters
Tips to help caregivers care for themselves
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By DailyCaring Editorial Team
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