AARP Hearing Center
A Legal Checklist for Family Caregivers
5 steps to take to protect your parents or other loved ones as they age
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As a caregiver, you’re likely juggling countless duties, from driving to medical appointments to providing emotional support. Amid all the to-dos, it’s easy for one crucial undertaking to get pushed to the back burner: ensuring that your loved one’s legal arrangements are in order.
Following this checklist can help protect your aging parents’ legal rights — and your own.
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1. Familiarize yourself with essential legal documents
To help your loved one as they age or in case of illness, you’ll need permission to act on their behalf both financially and medically. Without this paperwork, the process of caring for someone can become more complex, says Brenna Galvin, an elder law attorney at Maser, Amundson & Boggio P.A., who is on the board of directors for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Here are the documents experts recommend you set up.
Financial power of attorney. A durable POA allows you to easily step in and manage someone’s finances when they can no longer do it themselves, says Elliott Appel, a financial adviser and the founder of Kindness Financial Planning, who specializes in assisting caregivers.
The specifics on what you can do depend on what is spelled out in the durable POA, but it can cover areas that range from managing everyday finances to submitting insurance claims on behalf of your loved one.
Springing versus durable POA. Appel adds that it’s critical to understand the difference between a durable POA and a springing durable POA. A springing one only takes effect under certain conditions, such as when a person is deemed incapacitated by a physician, while a durable power of attorney is effective immediately upon signing. He typically advises against a springing version, saying, “If something happens, you want to be able to act quickly.”
Health care power of attorney. Also known as a health care surrogate, it gives you or the agent of your loved one’s choosing the authority to make health care decisions on their behalf. For instance, if your loved one is unable to speak or doesn’t have the mental capacity to make decisions on their own, the designated person can step in to talk with doctors and review medical records on their behalf, says Galvin.
Living will. Like a health care POA, this is part of an advanced directive (AARP has forms for each state), spelling out your loved one’s wishes for emergency care if they are unable to communicate those desires themselves — for example, whether and when life-sustaining treatment should be stopped.
Will. If your loved one doesn’t have a will in place, it’s advisable to create one. If they have an existing will, it is worth reviewing it every few years or “during major life changes to ensure it accurately reflects their wishes,” Appel says.
2. Consider how to protect your loved one’s finances
In addition to legal documents, there are some financial tasks you’ll want to address.
Connect to financial accounts. Access to a loved one’s financial accounts can vary depending on the powers granted by the POA, applicable state laws and the financial institutions’ policies. Contact each institutions’ customer service center or visit a physical location to determine your level of access as a POA. Often, a financial institution will give POAs separate login credentials.
Sign up for email and text notifications about your loved one’s banking and investment transactions, such as large withdrawals, so you can quickly investigate any unusual activity.
Add a trusted contact to your loved one’s financial accounts. A trusted contact is someone a bank or other institution can contact about questionable activity on the account or if they are unable to reach the account holder. While a trusted contact can receive some information, they are not authorized to make transactions.
“It doesn’t hurt to add a trusted contact even if you have a POA,” Appel says. “I see it as another layer of support for a custodian to check in with someone if they are concerned.”
Consolidate bank accounts. “I meet a lot of folks that have a handful of bank accounts, a thousand dollars here or a hundred dollars there,” Appel says. It’s a good idea to track them down and consolidate them into one bank account to make it easier to monitor. You may also want to set up automatic payments for your loved one’s recurring expenses.
Designate beneficiaries. Start by making a list of all relevant accounts. Then reach out to customer service for each institution to learn the best method for adding beneficiaries. Help your loved one gather any required information for primary and contingent beneficiaries, such as their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and contact information.
If your loved one already has designated beneficiaries, it’s still a good idea to reach out to each institution to ensure that their records reflect your loved one’s wishes. Don’t rely on beneficiaries listed in their online account, Appel says.
Freeze credit. Appel advises caregivers to freeze the credit of a loved one to prevent identity theft and fraud. “The odds of them needing credit are pretty low,” Appel says, “and it is very easy to unfreeze temporarily if, for some reason, a credit report needs to be run.” Freezing credit at each of the three credit agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — is free.
Set up a system to keep records. You’ll want to track bills paid and any money spent on your loved one’s behalf, whether it’s from your account or your loved one’s account. Use a spreadsheet and take pictures of receipts, label them and upload them to cloud service like Dropbox or iCloud, Appel suggests. Not only does this provide transparency for family members but it can be necessary when applying for benefits such as Medicaid, he says.
3. Have a heart-to-heart with your loved one
Once you know everything that needs to be done, set aside time to talk with the person you care for. Galvin suggests that her clients ask these questions: “What’s your ideal care setting? How do we support you if your goal is to stay in your home as long as possible?”
Where to find help
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. This member organization for lawyers who specialize in serving older and disabled clients has a searchable directory to help you find an elder law attorney and provides advice on hiring one.
American Bar Association. The ABA’s Commission on Law and Aging offers legal advice for caregivers and a detailed tool kit for health care advance planning.
Eldercare Locator. Your local Area Agency on Aging may be able to find legal aid, geriatric care managers and other providers in your region by searching online or calling 800-677-1116.
Discuss roles and responsibilities. Ask them who they’d like to take the lead in financial and medical decisions should they become incapacitated, and what their backup plan would be. “It might be where one child really excels at managing finances and the other really excels at the day-to-day care,” Galvin says.
The goal of these conversations is to get enough details to create a comprehensive plan that outlines your loved one’s wishes and describes the specific action each person in those discussions will take.
Document everyone’s responsibilities. Ask all parties to review the written plan and sign it. While this isn’t a legal document, it can clarify everyone’s roles and can reduce the risk of misunderstandings.
4. Form a professional and personal support team
Create a “personal board of directors,” Galvin advises. They can help guide and support you and your loved one as you get their affairs in order.
In addition to family, friends and community members who can provide practical and emotional support, you’ll want to line up these professionals:
Lawyer. It’s not necessary to hire an attorney to draft a health care power of attorney, though depending on your state, you may need two witnesses. However, it is advisable to work with a lawyer to draw up a financial durable POA — which gives a designated person authority to handle tasks like managing bills, bank accounts and investments — to ensure it meets legal standards.
Galvin suggests an attorney specializing in elder law, as they can help your loved one preserve resources, maximize public benefits and retain a meaningful quality of life. Your state’s bar association can help you locate affordable or free legal aid opinions in your community.
Accountant and financial planner. An accountant can help you explore potential tax deductions such as remodeling the home to make it accessible or a portion of assisted living center fees, Appel says.
Geriatric care manager. These professionals can help with everything from suggesting how to modify a home to age in place to identifying the social programs available to help your loved one. You can look for one in your area through Eldercare Locator.
5. Store all critical documents in a single location
Once you have all the paperwork in order, keep it in a place that can be easily accessed, such as a designated desk drawer or a binder in an office closet. You may want to buy a fireproof and waterproof document bag or safe.
If a lot of people have access to the home, you may want to put the documents under lock and key. Make sure family members know where the documents are and have copies of the keys to this “one-stop shop,” Galvin says.
In addition to the documents noted above, it’s a good idea to store other vital documents, such as:
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce decree
- Citizenship papers or passport
- Death certificate of a spouse or parent
- Military discharge papers
- Deed to a home
- Funeral plans and any deeds to cemetery plots
- Car title and registration
- Insurance policies
- Pension benefits
- Bank and credit card account information
- Investment income and assets information
- Recent tax returns
Think of this repository as a road map for your loved one’s life, Appel says. It should provide ample guidance if the person you care for is unable to communicate critical information.
Laura Petrecca is a contributing writer for AARP. She has written for USA Today, Real Simple, Digiday’s WorkLife, Kiplinger, AARP, Men’s Health, Worth, Crain’s New York Business and Advertising Age.
A Legal Checklist for Family Caregivers
Laura Petrecca is a contributing writer for AARP. She has written for USA Today, Real Simple, Digiday’s WorkLife, Kiplinger, AARP, Men’s Health, Worth, Crain’s New York Business and Advertising Age.
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