Throughout World Alzheimer’s Month, we have been talking about a difficult subject: the possibility that someone we love, or we ourselves, may someday need long-term care.
We began by talking about Alzheimer’s disease and why awareness and early conversations matter.
We then looked at what long-term care can mean. As we discussed, long-term care does not always mean moving into a nursing home.
Last week, we looked at another important part of the conversation: the potential cost of Alzheimer’s care and long-term care.
All of those conversations lead to one more question:
What can you do now?
That is where estate planning for long-term care becomes important. It means looking beyond what happens after death and considering how your plan would work if your health, independence, or care needs changed during your lifetime.
A Will Is Important, but It Is Only Part of the Plan
Many people have already done some estate planning.
They may have a Will or Trust. They may have a Durable Power of Attorney and an Advance Health Care Directive. They may have named beneficiaries on their accounts.
Those are important steps.
But having an estate plan does not necessarily mean that you considered long-term care when you created the plan.
A plan may do a good job answering:
“What happens to my property when I die?”
But does it also answer:
“What happens if I am living, but I need help managing my health, finances, property, or care?”
That question can become especially important with Alzheimer’s disease.
Over time, Alzheimer’s may affect a person’s ability to manage finances, make decisions, live independently, or communicate wishes. That is one reason planning early, before a crisis, can be so important.
Would the Plan You Have Today Actually Work?
Having estate-planning documents is only part of the picture.
Consider your Durable Power of Attorney.
When was it prepared? Is the person you named still the person you would choose today? Does that person know you selected them? Does your Power of Attorney give that person the authority they may need to help you?
Think about your health-care documents, too.
Are they current? Does the person you selected know your wishes? Would that person be comfortable making decisions for you?
The goal is not simply to have documents in a folder. The goal is to have a plan that works when you need it.
Look at Your Assets Through a Long-Term-Care Lens
Estate planning often focuses on where your property will go after you die.
Long-term-care planning asks a different question:
What happens to your property while you are still living?
You may own a home, retirement accounts, savings, investments, life insurance, or other real estate.
Your estate plan may clearly say who should receive those assets after your death. But what happens if you need care for several years before then?
If you are married, what happens financially if one spouse needs significant care while the other continues living at home?
If staying in your home is important to you, has that goal been considered?
If you have a trust, do you understand what it was designed to do?
Does the way you own your property still fit your plan? What about the beneficiaries you have named?
You may not need to change anything. But it is better to understand how your plan works before you need to rely on it.
Would Your Plan Still Work After an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis?
Imagine that you prepared your estate plan fifteen years ago.
At the time, you and your spouse were healthy. You were working or newly retired. Your children were younger. Your finances looked different.
Now imagine that one spouse receives an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Questions that once seemed far away can suddenly become very important.
Who will manage the finances if that person eventually cannot?
Can the other spouse continue living in the home?
Who will help arrange care?
Where are the important financial and legal documents?
What happens if care at home is no longer possible?
This does not necessarily mean the old estate plan was a bad plan.
Life changed. Your plan may need to change with it.
What About the Spouse Who Doesn’t Need Care?
When one spouse develops Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or another condition requiring substantial care, both spouses can be affected.
One spouse may need care. The other still needs a place to live, income, savings, transportation, and financial security.
Instead of asking only:
“What will our children inherit?”
a couple may also need to ask:
“If one of us needs long-term care, how will the other one live?”
That is an important part of planning for your lifetime. It is also one reason estate planning and long-term-care planning should work together.
Does Your Family Know the Plan?
Your family may play an important role if your health or care needs change.
Someone may need to arrange care, pay bills, manage property, speak with health-care providers, or find important financial and legal documents.
Do the people you have chosen know what you want?
Do they understand the responsibilities you have given them?
Do they know where to find your important documents?
You do not have to share every financial detail with your family. But some conversations are much easier to have before a crisis occurs.
Why Estate Planning for Long-Term Care Matters
Proactive long-term-care planning does not mean trying to predict the future.
No one can know whether they will develop Alzheimer’s disease, whether they will need nursing-home care, or exactly what their future care needs may be.
It means considering those possibilities while you still have time and choices.
A proactive review may include:
✅ Who has authority to act for you
✅ Your Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive
✅ How your home and other property are owned
✅ Your beneficiary designations
✅ Your existing trust or estate plan
✅ Whether proactive MaineCare planning or other long-term-care planning may be appropriate for your circumstances
Not everyone needs the same plan.
But waiting until someone has experienced a serious decline in health or is about to enter a nursing facility can change the planning options that are available.
That is why the word “proactive” matters.
Bringing the Conversation Together
During World Alzheimer’s Month, awareness is an important place to begin.
But awareness can also lead to action.
We can learn about Alzheimer’s disease. We can understand the different types of care that may be needed and what that care may cost.
Then we can ask:
Is my own plan prepared for that possibility?
Estate planning isn’t only about preparing for death.
It is also about preparing for the possibility that you may need help during your lifetime.
Your estate plan may need to work for you long before it ever needs to work for your beneficiaries.
You cannot know exactly what the future will bring. But you can plan ahead for the possibilities.
Is It Time to Review Your Plan?
If your estate plan was prepared years ago, or if long-term care was not part of the conversation when it was created, now may be a good time to take another look.
At Aging In Maine, we help individuals and families plan for what may happen during their lifetime, as well as what happens after death. That may include estate planning and proactive long-term-care planning based on your individual circumstances.
Planning ahead starts with a conversation.
Contact Aging In Maine to schedule a consultation and talk about whether your current plan is prepared for the years ahead.
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Estate planning, long-term-care planning, and MaineCare planning depend upon individual circumstances and current law.
