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Legal and Financial Issues in Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia
Quick Start: Legal And Financial Issues in Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, And Dementia
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Alzheimer’s advocacy groups can provide helpful and up-to-date information for families.
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Encourage your families to contact the Alzheimer’s Association ( www.alz.org , 800-272-3900) in the United States or similar organizations in other countries.
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Legal capacity is the capacity to make decisions and judgments necessary to sign legal documents, and depends upon the answers to three questions:
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What type of deliberation needs to be undertaken to fully understand the implications and ramifications of the document, if signed?
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How impaired is the patient?
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Is everyone in the family in agreement? Or are there other family members who will likely be contesting the patient’s capacity to make these decisions?
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Important legal documents are:
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Guardianship
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Living will
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Power of attorney
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Power of attorney for healthcare
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Alzheimer’s disease is expensive. There are, however, a number of resources available that may assist in defraying the costs of the disease.
Many families need our assistance to know what legal and financial issues need to be addressed when their loved one develops Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Although many social workers and some other clinicians may directly assist in these matters, knowledge of these issues is essential for all clinicians to allow us to help our families to obtain the assistance they need. A wonderful source of continuously updated information for families regarding all of these issues is the Alzheimer’s Association in the United States ( www.alz.org , 800-272-3900) and Australia ( https://www.alz.org/au/dementia-alzheimers-australia.asp ), Alzheimer Society in Canada ( https://alzheimer.ca/en , 800-616-8816), and the Alzheimer’s Society in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland ( www.alzheimers.org.uk , 0300 222 1122).
Legal Planning
Important issues in legal planning include the capacity to make decisions and judgments and the preparation of legal documents.
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