The most useful questions cover timing, financial authority, health-care wishes, backup plans, and care costs. An elder-law attorney is a lawyer who focuses on aging-related issues such as incapacity, estate documents, and long-term-care planning. Bring a list, take notes, and ask what needs signatures now. Early planning preserves choice and reduces conflict later.
Medical information disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a physician or other qualified health professional about symptoms, medications, tests, or treatment decisions.
Table of Contents
- When should we act?
- Who will handle money and property?
- Who will make health-care decisions?
- What happens if there are no documents?
- How will long-term care be paid?
When should we act?
Ask whether the person can still sign legal documents, and what should be done first. The Alzheimer's Association urges families to complete legal planning as early as possible after diagnosis, while the person still has legal capacity, according to the Association's legal planning guidance.
Ask what capacity means in your state and how the attorney will assess it. Also ask which documents need witnesses, notarization, or updated beneficiaries.
- Is capacity sufficient to sign now?
- Which documents are urgent and which can wait?
- What should we bring to complete them?
Who will handle money and property?
Ask about a will, a living trust, and a durable financial power of attorney. The National Institute on Aging lists all three as common estate-planning documents for distributing property and authorizing financial action, described in its affairs-in-order checklist. A financial power of attorney names a spouse, partner, family member, or friend to handle money and property when the person cannot.
Ask when it takes effect, whether it stays effective after incapacity, and what powers it includes. Ask how the chosen helper must act. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says a fiduciary must manage money for the other person's benefit, not their own.
Who will make health-care decisions?
Ask about both parts of an advance directive. The Library of Congress Law Library explains that these generally include a living will for life-sustaining-treatment wishes and a durable power for health care naming an agent, as outlined in its beginners' guide. Ask how specific the living will should be about breathing support, feeding tubes, resuscitation, and comfort care.
Name one primary agent and at least one backup, then ask where copies should be kept. Ask how the agent gets access to doctors and records. Also ask whether HIPAA releases, dementia-specific instructions, or placement preferences belong in separate forms.
What happens if there are no documents?
Ask what a court does when no power of attorney exists and the person cannot decide. The Alzheimer's Association says a court may appoint a guardian or conservator, often when families disagree about care, finances, or placement. Ask who can petition, what evidence the court needs, and how long the process takes.
Also ask about duties, reporting rules, and limits on selling property or moving the person. Ask how to prevent that outcome now. Review older documents for gaps, conflicts, missing backups, or agents who are no longer able to serve.
How will long-term care be paid?
Ask about Medicaid rules in your state and private long-term-care insurance for nursing-home or community care. Medicare.gov states that Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial care, explained on its long-term-care coverage page. Ask what counts as income and assets, how transfers are treated, and what records to keep.
Bring insurance policies, deeds, account lists, and current care costs. Ask for next steps in writing, with deadlines and responsible names. Update the plan after diagnosis changes, moves, marriages, divorces, or deaths.
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