Gainesville Estate Planning Law Blog

Georgia residents who are age 65 or older often begin to encounter certain challenges in life. Perhaps physical health is not what it once was and an older person finds him or herself needing to visit a doctor's office more often. As loved ones age, some may also show signs of mental illness, which can be debilitating in its most serious form. In fact, mental decline or incapacitation is often a central focus of long-term care planning.

Signs of mental illness are not always abrupt or obvious. Many times, mental decline shows itself in gradual, often subtle ways. When helping to care for an aging parent or loved one, it is important to keep watch for signs of possible mental health problems. While most elders' capacity to remember things wanes with age, if a loved one starts misplacing belongings or struggling to recognize immediate family members, it may warrant further examination.

When a Georgia adult son or daughter helps an aging parent transition to assisted living, he or she often speaks with many facility officials before determining which specific place is the best fit for his or her loved one. Nursing home issues are often a central focus of long-term care planning. Sadly, not all care providers do their jobs well. In fact, some are downright neglectful or abusive, which was apparently the case in another state.

Siblings in that state say nursing home workers abused their 91-year-old mother. She is known for her distaste of hospital gowns. The woman's children say their mother was left with severe emotional trauma after two staff members intentionally taunted her with a hospital gown.

If mental or physical incapacitation prevents a Georgia adult from being able to speak or act on his or her own behalf, the court may issue a ruling that designates another person to do it. Conservatorship allows a court-appointed person to manage financial or other daily life affairs for an aging parent, other loved one or even a non-family member. This can sometimes spark contention if the person over whom a conservatorship has been granted does not think he or she needs it.

A former actress who is best known for her role as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek reportedly had a confrontation with her son a while back after a judge appointed him her legal conservator. Nichelle Nichols is said to suffer from dementia although a movie producer who is also her friend adamantly claims otherwise. The friend also stated that there are problems in the mother/son relationship in this case.

Having a child or grandchild with special needs means that you have to plan for their future in a way that most parents never do. In many cases, you can anticipate that the special needs individual in your family will outlive you, which means they will have a need for financial resources long after you're gone.

Instead of despairing over this issue, you can start planning now to provide a good quality of life and a safety net for a family member who is dependent on the care of others. The creation of a special needs trust with someone competent as a trustee is an ideal way to provide for a loved one long into the future.