Hi. I’m Dana Vouga, Certified Senior Advisor and Elder Law Paralegal with Vouga Elder Law & Estate Planning.  I’m sorry to hear you have a loved one struggling with health and/or memory issues.  Whether it is your husband, wife, father, or mother, what you are going through can be one of the toughest things you will ever face.

If this is a recent development or diagnosis, the first thing we want to do is make sure your loved one has basic estate planning documents in place.  This ensures if or when you need to step in to make health care or financial decisions, you have the legal ability to do so.

• If they currently have estate planning documents in place – are they as powerful and flexible as they need to be? Let’s check to make sure.

• If there are no estate planning documents in place, or if they have documents aren’t powerful enough, does your loved have the mental capacity to understand and sign new documents?

  • Unless a doctor has already said they can’t handle their own health care and financial decisions, we will need to speak to your loved one to know for certain if they can sign new documents.

Then we want to determine how we can best support you…the family.  Do you need recommendations for in-home care?  No one ever pays us a referral fee, but we are happy to share with you who we would be comfortable having in our home.  Would your family like help locating an assisted living facility or nursing home?  We will also share with you the feedback we receive from our clients, and our experiences with independent and assisted living communities and nursing homes.

If you are at the point of needing to place a loved one in a nursing home, we know and understand:  the struggle – and the guilt – are very real.  It isn’t going to be easy, but it will eventually be ok.  We will make sure your loved one doesn’t go broke just because they need skilled care.  We can help protect assets – for your loved one’s quality of life, for their quality of care, or for a spouse still at home. I want you to know you don’t have to do this by yourself.  Arm in arm, hand in hand, we are here to guide you and help you to get through this.

Our experience and approach is intended to give you peace of mind and allow you to maximize the time you have with your loved one. Every situation is unique, but our process most often progresses as follows: