Many people are unprepared to deal with the legal and financial consequences of a serious illness such as Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Legal and medical experts encourage people recently diagnosed with a serious illness — particularly one that is expected to cause declining mental and physical health — to examine and update their financial and health care arrangements as soon as possible. Basic legal and financial documents, such as a will, a living trust, and advance directives, are available to ensure that the person’s late-stage or end-of-life health care and financial decisions are carried out.
A complication of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and related dementias is that the person may lack or gradually lose the ability to think clearly. This change affects his or her ability to make decisions and participate in legal and financial planning.
People with early-stage Alzheimer’s or a related dementia can often understand many aspects and consequences of legal decision-making. However, legal and medical experts say that many forms of planning can help the person and his or her family address current issues and plan for next steps, even if the person is diagnosed with later-stage dementia.
There are good reasons to retain a lawyer when preparing advance planning documents. For example, a lawyer can help interpret different state laws and suggest ways to ensure that the person’s and family’s wishes are carried out. It’s important to understand that laws vary by state, and changes in a person’s situation — for example, a divorce, relocation, or death in the family — can influence how documents are prepared and maintained. Life changes may also mean a document needs to be revised to remain valid.
Families beginning the legal planning process should discuss their approach, what they want to happen, and which legal documents they’ll need. Depending on the family situation and the applicable state laws, a lawyer may introduce a variety of documents to assist in this process, including documents that communicate:
Advance directives for health care are documents that communicate a person’s health care wishes. Advance directives go into effect after the person no longer can make decisions on their own. In most cases, these documents must be prepared while the person is legally able to execute them. Health care directives may include the following:
A durable power of attorney for health care designates a person, sometimes called an agent or proxy, to make health care decisions when the person with dementia can no longer do so.
A living will records a person’s wishes for medical treatment near the end of life or if the person is permanently unconscious and cannot make decisions about emergency treatment.
A do not resuscitate order, or DNR, instructs health care professionals not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if a person’s heart stops or if he or she stops breathing. A DNR order is signed by a doctor and put in a person’s medical chart.
