Aging Parent Moves In

When a parent moves in, your household changes and so does your role in their care. Alongside the emotional adjustment, a handful of practical and legal steps make the arrangement work for everyone and protect your parent as their needs evolve. And like every milestone, it’s not just the move, it’s all the stuff attached to it. And remember, every path is unique; these are suggestions, not advice.

Get the legal footing right

• These are your parent’s to put in place, best done together, early.
• Make sure your parent has a Health Care Proxy and a Power of Attorney naming who can decide and act for them, Gentreo’s Health Care Proxy includes HIPAA authorization and an advance directive.
• Consider a Caregiver Agreement that puts expectations, and any financial arrangement, in writing, which protects everyone.
• Update your own Will and your parent’s to reflect the new situation.
• If your parent has a spouse or partner who isn’t moving in, make sure their documents are in order too.

Get the full picture of their affairs

• Build an inventory of your parent’s accounts, income, debts, and policies while they can help fill it in.
• Review that their insurance is current and adequate, health and Medicare coverage, supplemental plans, and any policies that should follow them to your home.
• Look into long-term-care insurance and how growing care needs will be paid for.
• Final-expense or funeral insurance, arranged early, spares the family a scramble and a bill later, see Funeral Planning when the time feels right.
• Review your and your parents’ existing homeowner’s or renter’s insurance to see if it follows them to the new residence, or needs to be updated or canceled.
• Multigenerational living can affect your homeowner’s insurance and liability coverage so be sure to review your policy carefully. Gather it all into a Gentreo Digital Vault everyone authorized can reach.

Make the home work

• Home modifications, grab bars, ramps, lighting, step-free access, keep your parent safe, and there’s financing available to help with the cost.
• A medical-alert system adds a layer of safety, especially when your parent is home alone.
• Ask about caregiver tax credits, there may be relief available for what you’re taking on.

Arrange the care and the money

• Determine if your parent can still drive and if they might need to change their insurance if they have moved to a new state.
• In-home care staffing can cover the hours you can’t.
• A geriatric care manager can help you coordinate care as needs change including helping you find in-home care, local resources, and more.
• Talk openly as a family about costs, responsibilities, and how decisions will be made.

Share the load with family

• Decide who does what, finances, medical, day-to-day, before confusion or resentment sets in.
• Keep everyone working from one shared, reachable place, so no one’s acting on old information.

Mind the whole household

• Multigenerational living is an adjustment for everyone, your parent, your partner, your kids, and you.
• The stress and the role-reversal are real; counseling and caregiver support are there for you, and respite care gives you a genuine break before you burn out.

You don’t have to set it all up before the moving truck arrives. Get the documents and the Caregiver Agreement in place first, and Gentreo helps you handle the rest as you settle into life together.

More togetherness. Less searching.

Gentreo is not a law firm or a substitute for a law firm or attorney or an attorney’s advice. Gentreo provides self-help services at your specific direction.