Senior Care in Berwyn, IL and Long-Term Care Planning Month

It’s long-term care planning month and that means it’s a great time to think about senior care. While your father or mother may not need any type of senior health care services at the moment, there may come a time when that need arises. Why not start thinking about it today, and start making plans now.

One thing that too many families make a mistake about when it comes to senior care is that they simply don’t plan ahead. They don’t take the time to make enough plans, to figure out how they would pay for senior health care services, or what their parents might want if they reached a point when they could no longer communicate those needs effectively.

It’s really never too early to begin thinking about these issues and planning for the future. The first thing that you should think about is how your parents or parent would be able to afford senior care if or when the time came that they needed it.

If they own a home and they don’t have a mortgage anymore, but don’t have a lot of savings, aside from their retirement accounts, then you may want to look into a reverse mortgage for them rather than taking out a home equity loan. That doesn’t mean that they would need to (or even should) take out the reverse mortgage now, but having the information on hand and going over all of the possibilities now can save a great deal of heartache and frustration later on.

You’ll also want to discuss the potential for power of attorney should your mother or father become incapacitated or unable to make sound financial decisions for themselves at some point in the future. You are not planning on raiding their investments or savings accounts, and as long as they are fully capable mentally of controlling their finances right now, you shouldn’t even mention doing to it, but be sure that they have some provisions in a living will that would guarantee you those options.

Long term care planning should also include researching what kind of care your mother or father would want, such as senior home services. Being able to live in one’s home for as long as possible is one of the best assets about senior care at home, and while you may instinctively think about assisted living or nursing home care at some point in the future, consider senior health care services in the comfort of their own home.

For Senior Care Services in Berwyn, IL call 708-761-4909. Serving La Grange, Oakbrook, Oak Brook Terrace, Brookfield, Westchester, Downers Grove, Berwyn, River Forest, Oak Park, Hinsdale, Chicago and surrounding communities.