Dealing with elderly parents is never an easy option, but that responsibility goes far beyond helping them with daily living skills and seeing to it that they are taken care of. Sandwich generations are becoming more and more popular with individuals caring for their children along with their parents. This means more and more people are realizing the important legal steps that need to take place while they can and while your parents can participate. Read some of these important instances below and then consult with a client focused wills and trust lawyer for more help.

Written Will

It is always important to ensure that your parents have a written will. Approximately 55% to 70% of individuals don’t have one of these. Create an inventory of all assets your parents have. Tax information and bank deeds will be helpful with this. Insurance policies should be gathered and placed with all other information where the will is placed. It is better to consult a reputable law firm to help with this issue. A client focused wills and trusts lawyer can assist with getting this done. Remember it is best to get it done early and be prepared.

Power of Attorney

God forbid anything happen to your parents, but being prepared is better than not being prepared. Drafting a power of attorney giving an individual the ability to control financial matters is something that needs to be considered. This can be beneficial to prevent quarrels and give your parents input while they can still provide input.

Healthcare

Along with having a power of attorney for financial matters, it is important to have one for healthcare as well. This is especially important if health issues are already a problem. A dedicated client focused attorney can assist with drawing this up. This gives an individual the power to make health decisions based on the elderly patient’s behalf. It’s important to not only get this done early, but also talk with your elderly parent about their healthcare wishes and what they do want done and what they don’t want done.

The sooner these issues can be dealt with, the easier instances pertaining to these will be. When parents are coherent enough to add their input the process is much simpler than sickness striking and them not being able to participate. Don’t waste any time, get it done and get it out of the way because it is better to be safe than sorry.