Managing the Stress of Caring for Your Elderly Parent

It can be very difficult caring for an elderly parent or patient with dementia. Unfortunately, family member caregivers frequently can feel burnout providing that care. This is especially true if there is only one caregiver. Frequent doctors appointments, help needed transporting to the bathroom at night, medication compliance and other chores continue to add up leaving no time to care for your personal tasks. A good elder care attorney can guide you to home assistance. The state of Illinois has enacted the Respite Program Act. The purpose of this legislation was to provide relief and support to the primary care-giver of a frail adult or an adult with a disability and provides a break for the caregiver from the continuous responsibilities of care-giving. Without this support, the primary care-giver's ability to continue in his or her role would be jeopardized; thereby increasing the risk of institutionalization of the frail adult or adult with a disability.  320 ILCS 10/1.5 The goal of this act to provide a substitute to allow a child caregiver a short break.

            The legislature has tasked the Department on Aging to oversee all assistance activities. The Department on Aging has assigned providers to administer this program based upon where you are located. You simply have to input your location in the Provider Profile, follow the directions, and call your local provider to assist you with your care for your parent. The Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole is located in Worth Township. The Provider in this area is PLOWS.  This acronym is based upon the communities they serve, Palos, Lemont, Orland, and Worth. Although you will need to contact Plows individually, you should know if you are eligible under the Respite Program Act. Eligibility includes persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder and persons who are 60 years of age or older with an identified service need. Priority shall be given in all cases to frail adults or adults with disabilities.  320 ILCS 10/5 If you are approved for this additional care, PLOWS will work with you to ensure that a qualified and trained individual can substitute in the care-giving responsibilities for a period of time, giving you the well needed time for rest or opportunity to catch up on your chores. In addition to these services, plows can offer assessments for home or community based services, home-delivered meals, or even shared housing. If you have specific questions on the best way to comprehensively plan to your parent’s care, please contact the Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole at (708) 529-7794 to schedule a consultation.  

My parents are not behaving normally...What do I do?

Recently, I have had a number of intake calls requesting assistance from concerned children about their aging parents. I have heard everything from an abusive parent, to a parent who constantly wanders away. Just last week I received a call from a daughter who's mother was verbally abusing her father and verbally keeping him "locked away" in their home. The daughter was very distraught and wanted to have her father liberated from the home. After further discussion, I discovered that the father was still of full mind, and clearly able to make sound decisions. Although the mother's general behavior has gotten more aggressive, she still was also competent. So to sum up the situation, we have a concerned daughter and competent parents who are beginning to see changes in personality as they age. The question naturally arises then, how do we deal with this situation?

If the parents are still competent, the best thing you can do is ensure that their Last Will and Testament is up to date and that you are named as their preferred guardian in that document. Guardianship will be discussed in another article, but it basically gives you full control over someones life. In this case, like a reverse parent-child relationship. If you have the proper provision in place, once you parents mental faculties diminish to a point where they no longer can make sound decisions for themselves, you are ready to step in and the court will provide less hurdles when choosing who to appoint. Additionally, you should be named under their Powers of Attorney for Property and Powers of Attorney for Health Care. Under these documents, you can assist them with their medical care, and have the authority to get their medical records when they are unable to make medical decisions. Under their Power of Attorney for Property, you will be able to concurrently make financial decisions with them, on their best behalf. This can assist you when a parent makes less than perfect financial decisions, to set up automatic bill pay or other options to ensure that they are provided for. These documents are always revocable, so if your parents don't like the job you are doing, they can revoke your authority. You should always speak with an attorney, and it is frequently best to have a group meeting with your parents and the attorney to discuss the options available to you, and what steps you should take next. In a situation like this, a parent who is getting more passive may feel more comfortable in voicing their opinion when they know their child is assisting in securing the family finances. I would be happy speak with you about your family at my Elder Law Office for no charge. I know that having parents personality change as their grow older is difficult, let's talk about ways to make that transition as painless as possible.

Oak Lawn Elder Law | Changes in Medicaid Eligibility Rules

New eligibility rules (Public Act 97-689 in Section 75) took effect on June 14, 2012.  These new Medicaid eligibility rules were negotiated last fall between the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.  Some of these changes include the following: (1) A home transferred into a trust after the bill becomes a law may not be considered homestead property.  If the home was transferred into a trust before the bill becomes law, it prevents a person from being eligible for long-term care if the person’s equity interest in this homestead exceeds the minimum home equity as allowed under federal law. (2) People over the age of 65 can no longer participate in a federally created OBRA Pooled Trust unless the beneficiary is a ward of the county public guardian or the State guardian. Other changes were also made, so if you have any questions in regards to changes or any other eligibility questions call a knowledgeable attorney:

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole

5013 W. 95^th Street

Oaklawn, Illinois 60453

708 529-7794