ELDER CARE
Overview | Brain Health & Everyday Living | Planning Ahead | Caregiver Support
Planning Ahead
Planning ahead isn't about expecting the worst. It's about keeping your values, and your voice, at the center of your care, especially as life becomes less predictable with age. Documenting wishes and naming decision-makers early gives families a clear roadmap to follow, reducing stress and helping avoid complex processes like capacity evaluations or court involvement.
This page offers two coordinated roadmaps: health care, and financial/legal, plus a glossary of key terms, roles, and housing options. They work best considered together.
Roadmaps
Many people know they “should” get things in order, but aren’t always sure where to begin—or how the pieces fit together. This roadmap offers a clear, step-by-step way to reflect on your values, organize essential health and financial documents, and identify the people who can support you if circumstances change.
While working with trusted professionals, such as elder law or estate-planning attorneys, fiduciaries, financial advisors, care managers, and health care providers, is often the best way to ensure plans are thorough and legally sound, this roadmap gives you a practical foundation so you understand your options and know what you’re walking into before those conversations begin.
Health & Care
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Think about your priorities, values, quality of life, and what matters most to you if your health or ability to make decisions changes.
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Identify someone you trust to communicate your wishes and make health care decisions if you are unable to make them yourself.
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Learn about advance directives, health care proxies, living wills, and other documents that can help communicate and protect your wishes.
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Make sure the people who may need your plan know it exists, understand your wishes, and can access important information when it is needed.
Financial & Legal
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Consider your priorities for your finances, property, family, care needs, and the way you would like your affairs handled if circumstances change.
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Identify trusted people who could manage financial or legal matters on your behalf if you need help or become unable to do so yourself.
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Learn about powers of attorney, wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and other documents that may be part of your plan.
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Keep important financial, legal, insurance, property, and account information organized and accessible to the people who may need it.
Prefer something you can save or print? Downloadable planning guides and checklists are available within each roadmap.
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Email: drjlobosco@gmail.com
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