Guides
Caregiver resources for families caring for aging parents.
These are free, plain-language guides for adult children helping an aging parent: the legal documents to sign first, each state's signing rules, how care gets paid for, and the options for care. Each one names the questions worth asking. None recommends a product, provider or firm.
Getting started: what to do first when a parent needs help
Start with the documents only your parent can sign, while they still can. Almost everything else can wait.
Start hereCaring for Elderly ParentsWhat to do first, what might already exist, the information to gather, and how to decide the order.Legal documents: power of attorney, advance directives, wills and guardianship
A financial power of attorney covers money, an advance directive covers medical decisions, and a will or trust covers what happens after death. Most of them have to be signed while your parent has capacity.
Start herePower of attorney vs. advance directiveWhat each document covers, when it takes effect, and what it's called in each state.Advance Healthcare Directive vs. Living Will vs. Medical Power of Attorney
Three names for overlapping documents. Here is what each does, how they fit together, and what none of them covers.
HIPAA Authorization for an Elderly Parent
Being next of kin doesn't entitle you to your parent's medical information. A short signed form changes that.
Power of Attorney for an Elderly Parent
A durable power of attorney lets someone your parent trusts handle their money if they can't. It only works if your parent signs it while they still can.
What Does an Elder Law Attorney Do? When a Family Needs One
The specialism covers the legal questions that arrive together in later life, and why a decision in one area can close options in another.
What Is a Conservatorship? Guardianship for an Aging Parent, Explained
The court process a family faces when a parent can no longer manage their affairs and nothing was signed in advance.
Will vs. Living Trust for an Aging Parent
Both say who gets what. They differ on probate, privacy, incapacity, cost and the work needed to make them function.
State guides: power of attorney and advance directive signing rules by state
Whether a power of attorney or advance directive needs a notary, witnesses or both depends on the state. Pick your parent's state below; each guide is built from that state's own statutes and official forms.
Start hereDoes a power of attorney need to be notarized?Notary and witness rules for powers of attorney and health care documents, state by state.Paying for care: Medicaid, long-term care insurance and protecting a parent's money
Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care, so families usually look at savings, Medicaid and insurance. These guides explain how each works.
Start hereHow to pay for nursing home careWhat Medicare covers and doesn't, how Medicaid works, long-term care insurance, and who handles the money.Beneficiary Designations
For retirement accounts, life insurance and payable-on-death accounts, who inherits is decided by a form on file, not by the will.
Long-Term Care Insurance
It pays toward help with daily living, the gap Medicare leaves. Here is how policies work, what drives the cost, and the alternatives.
Medicaid for Nursing Home Care
Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care. Here is what Medicaid does, how the 60-month look-back works, and why timing matters.
Scams Targeting the Elderly
Federal agencies list the same warning signs for every scam. Knowing them protects a parent better than memorising each one, because the details change.
When Should You Claim Social Security? Ages 62, 67 and 70 Explained
The claiming age sets the size of a parent's monthly check. Here are the three ages that matter, using the Social Security Administration's own rules.
Care and health: senior care options, Medicare and dividing the work
From help at home to assisted living and nursing homes, plus the Medicare review each year and how siblings share the load.
Start hereSenior care optionsHelp at home, adult day programs, assisted living, memory care and nursing homes, and how each is paid for.Assisted Living vs. Nursing Home vs. Memory Care
The three differ mainly in how much care they provide, and Medicare pays for none of them as long-term care.
Medicare Annual Enrollment Period
The one window each year when anyone on Medicare can change coverage without a special reason.
Siblings Caring for Aging Parents
How siblings can agree on the facts, divide the work by what each can keep up, and keep everyone on the same list.
What Is a Geriatrician? When an Aging Parent Should See One
A specialty aimed at the problems that arrive together in later life: several conditions, many medications, and changes in memory and balance.