The Importance of Estate Planning for Nursing Home Residents
Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, and Traverse City, Michigan

Putting a relative in a nursing home is always a hard decision to make. Before you go through with this decision, however, it is important to make sure your loved one's estate planning, including health care directives, durable power of attorney, and will, is in order. Having detailed estate plans in order before your loved one enters the nursing home can protect him or her from some forms of nursing home abuse.

What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is when your loved one makes a plan for what actions will be taken should he or she ever become disabled or die. It includes financial decisions about the disposition of property, but, more importantly for your loved one, it also includes directives about medical treatments that will or will not be used in the event your loved one becomes disabled. Specifically, components of estate planning include:

• Medical Directives
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Wills
• Trusts

These documents allow your loved one to make his or her wishes clear before entering the nursing home. These documents preserve and protect your loved one's wishes for self and property.

Health Decisions

When you are considering placing your loved one in a nursing home, it is generally because he or she has already suffered health problems that make it difficult for him or her to live alone. You probably have an idea of some likely further health outcomes that may need to be addressed. Advance directives are documents that state what kind of medical care your loved one should receive in particular circumstances. Explicit statements concerning many different likely outcomes can help ensure that your loved one receives the care he or she desires in the event any of these occur.

For unexpected situations, it is important that your loved one grants a durable power of attorney. Granting a durable power of attorney allows the designated attorney-in-fact to make decisions about what types of treatment your loved one will receive in the event of worsening health.

It is important that you and your loved one sit down to make these decisions before your loved one enters the nursing home, so the facility can be told of your decisions and they can be incorporated into your loved one's plan of care.

Helping your loved one write a will or protect his or her property with a trust before entering the nursing home can protect him or her from financial abuse. Once a will is written, changes to it made under duress are more obvious. Also, a trust can be used to protect your loved one's property against nursing home employees who might try to gain access to it. A trust can be put in effect if your loved one becomes unable to manage his or her financial affairs. The trust not only works as actual protection: the presence of a trust can make your loved one less of a target for those looking for residents to exploit financially.

If, however, despite your best planning, your loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse in terms of denied or inappropriate medical care or financial exploitation, we can help. Jay Trucks & Associates, P.C. has helped many victims of nursing home abuse in the Flint, Saginaw, and Lansing, Michigan area, and may be able to help you. Please contact us today.

Lawyers for the Injured
Jay Trucks & Associates, PC
Experienced - Dedicated - Compassionate