In addition, there may be other documents for certain health procedures, including organ and tissue donation, dialysis, brain donation, and blood transfusions. For more information about health care living wills, see Preventive Planning: Health Guidelines. Caregivers must compile important documents about the person with dementia before meeting with a lawyer. Your first call to a law firm should be an indication of how you will be treated there. You should always speak directly to a lawyer, and the objectives as well as the fees for advice should be clearly described. When a permanent power of attorney for funding is created, the person creating the document gives another person the legal authority to act on their behalf. The person with such authority is called the real lawyer. Individuals can indeed give the lawyer a wide power to manage all their finances. For example, your loved one may give the lawyer the power to take some or all of the following steps: As a lawyer for one of the branches of the military, one of my responsibilities is to provide legal assistance to serving soldiers and military retirees.

For military retirees, I am often asked to prepare: Other important documents you should have on site are: Families who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer can always plan for the future. Examples of basic health planning documents are available online. Officials of the Regional Agency on Aging may provide legal advice or assistance. Other possible sources of legal assistance and referral include state legal aid offices, state bar associations, local non-profit organizations, foundations, and social services. ✔ Individual list of assets (e.g. Bank accounts, contents of lockers, vehicles, real estate, etc.), including fair value and names listed as owners, account holders and beneficiaries Copies of all estate planning documents, including wills, trusts and powers of attorney ✔ Copies of all real estate deeds Copies of recent ✔ ✔ tax returns Life insurance policies and surrender values of policies ✔ Long-term care insurance ✔ brochures Duration or benefits Health insurance companies or benefit ✔ ✔ booklets List of names, addresses and telephone numbers of those involved, including family members, caregivers of home living partners and financial and/or accounting planners Many people are not prepared to deal with the legal and financial consequences of a serious illness such as Alzheimer`s disease or associated dementia. Legal and medical experts encourage people who have recently been diagnosed with a serious illness – especially one that is expected to lead to a deterioration in their mental and physical health – to review and update their financial and health precautions as soon as possible. Basic legal and financial documents such as a will, living trust, and living wills are available to ensure that a person`s financial and health care decisions are made at the end or end of life. A living trust, such as a will, is a method by which a person can determine the division of property they own at the time of death. However, unlike a will, a living trust takes effect as soon as it is executed. This is a very important distinction between the two documents because it allows for the management of assets held in the living trust while the person is still alive, but is so mentally disabled that they can no longer manage their own affairs.

As a rule, confirmation of incapacity for work by the person`s doctor is required. Does this mean that your loved one will no longer be able to sign legal documents after a diagnosis of dementia? Not necessarily. Dementia is a progressive disease and mental performance can be fluid at an early stage. Your loved one may still be considered mentally capable of signing legal documents, even with a diagnosis of dementia, if he or she: A will is an easy way for a person to meet basic estate planning needs. Mental competence is one of the essential prerequisites for ensuring that a will is legally binding. It is therefore important that your loved ones document their wishes regarding the distribution of the estate while being mentally able to do so.