In recent years, the population of those who are over the age of sixty five has been on the rise, thanks to a rising generation of Baby Boomers here in the United States. Already, the numbers of this elderly population have swelled to nearly fifty million people (just over forty nine million, to be a little bit more exact), up from just over thirty seven million people in the year of 2006. And the elderly population is only likely to keep growing – in fact, by the time that we reach the year of 2060, it’s likely that there will be ninety eight million people at or above the age of sixty five.
With age comes wisdom and often the time to pursue hobbies and passions, as many recently retired people have discovered. Senior discounts are certainly nice as well. However, aging comes with its own set of challenges as well, particularly in regards to mental and physical decline, something that escalates in both speed as well as severity as the years pass on. In many cases, living alone becomes dangerous and more intensive elder care becomes necessary.
Consulting with an elder care lawyer can help you to find the best place for the elderly person in your life, be it a parent or even an aunt or an uncle or just a close personal friend. An elder law lawyer will help you to ensure that this elderly person is well taken care of, and that do not come to any harm when under the care of others. Nursing home abuse can be a frightening prospect, but the help of an elder law attorney can be very much comforting.
After all, moving into an assisted living facility is often the best option out there for elders who need help with the everyday tasks of life, as is the case for more than sixty percent of people after they reach the age of sixty five and age above it. Some of these basic needs are difficult to meet when they are being cared for by family members, as these family members, no matter how much they might love them, simply do not have the training needed to meet these needs in a consistent and thorough way. When it comes to more serious declining health concerns, such as in cases of dementia, many family members will find that they are even more out of their depth than ever in terms of caring for their loved ones and trying to balance the rest of their life as well.
A retirement home can also be ideal for socialization, as living independently can often be far too isolating for many older people, especially since their children have developed their own lives and schedules and many of their friends have passed away. Being part of a retirement community, however, can change that, and promote them to socialize with their neighbors. In fact, some people even find romance in retirement homes.
In addition to this, family members and the elderly person themselves should talk with an estate planning attorney. An estate planning attorney can help them to make end of life plans, even if that end is still quite far away (after all, the typical person who turns sixty five is still likely to live for nearly twenty years, if not even more than that). An estate planning attorney can also help them to divide up assets, so that there is less to settle once they do pass away. More than anything, an estate planning attorney can help to give peace of mind, as this estate planning attorney will make sure that everything proceeds as it should after the death occurs. Having an estate planning attorney on board is critical, but too few people see an estate planning attorney while they still can – for most of us, going in to see an estate planning attorney should be far more of a priority than it currently is.
With more and more elderly people aging in the United States than ever before, matters of elder care and end of life planning is quickly becoming incredibly important for many.