One of the core services my office provides is long term care planning. Often families do not understand what is meant by a “long term care plan”. They have their Will and maybe Trust and their Living Will, Health Care Surrogate and Durable Family Power of Attorney. They have their retirement savings, bank accounts, properties, perhaps their stocks and bonds. They believe they have done all the “planning” necessary. What they are missing is a viable plan to take care of them in the event of incapacitation such as a chronic illness, stroke, ALS, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s disease. We all like to believe ‘this won’t ever happen to me.’ But the fact remains, the very real danger is out there, as the following survey shows:
The original content of the following article is from the Alzheimer's Reading Room http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com.
The MetLife Foundation Alzheimer’s Survey “What America Thinks,” conducted by Harris Interactive, found that most people are not preparing for the strong possibility that they or their family members will develop Alzheimer’s, despite significant fear of the disease. When asked which of five major diseases they fear most, Alzheimer’s disease was second (31%) behind cancer (41%), but far ahead of heart disease (8%), stroke (8%) and diabetes (6%). The survey was conducted by telephone with 1,007 adults in September 2010; it follows similar research from 2006, the year of the 20th MetLife Foundation awards presentation.
The current study found:
- 44 percent of adults have family members or friends with Alzheimer’s disease.
- Nearly a quarter (23%) of adults are extremely or very concerned that they may someday provide care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, an increase from 18% in 2006.
- Only 18 percent of adults say they have made any plans for the possibility of getting Alzheimer’s disease, compared to 12 percent in 2006. Fewer than half of all adults claim to have talked to their families about Alzheimer’s disease (41%).
- Thirty-three percent have considered what care options would be available to them in the event of AD; 44 percent have designated who would take care of them. Slightly more than one in five (21%) adults claims to have made any financial arrangement for the possibility of AD onset.
Call my office for more information on long term care planning.
See my website: www.charlie-robinson.com.
