Wealth and Honor

Helping Families Navigate the Financial Challenges of Age Transitions

Category: Aging Parents (Page 5 of 8)

Social Isolation Affects Heart Health, Cognition

August 8, 2022 /

Two new studies show the effects that social isolation and loneliness can have on cardiovascular health and cognitive decline.

The two studies provided several compelling links between social engagement and mental or physiological health. Some of the findings include:

  • Social isolation and loneliness are common but are under-recognized as contributing to cardiovascular and brain health.
  • The lack of social connection is associated with an increased risk of premature death from all causes, especially among men.
  • People who experience social isolation or loneliness are more likely to experience chronic stress and depression. Depression can also lead to social isolation.

Source: Social Isolation Affects Heart Health, Cognition

Covid Spurs Families to Shun Nursing Homes, a Shift That Appears Long Lasting – WSJ

January 4, 2021 /

Has COVID affected how you feel about nursing homes? Even if a loved one hasn’t become ill, many families have been unable to even visit their elderly relatives, which was especially difficult over the holiday season. This Wall Street Journal article discusses how COVID is causing many to consider other options.

The pandemic is reshaping the way Americans care for their elderly, leading more families to decide to avoid professionally run facilities as services expand to support in-home care.

Source: Covid Spurs Families to Shun Nursing Homes, a Shift That Appears Long Lasting – WSJ

What Seniors Can Expect When COVID Vaccines Begin to Roll Out | Kaiser Health News

December 18, 2020 /

Seniors in nursing homes and assisted living centers will be among the first Americans vaccinated, following recommendations last week by a federal advisory panel. Older adults living at home will need to wait a while longer.Many uncertainties remain. Among them: What side effects can older adults anticipate and how often will these occur? Will the vaccines offer meaningful protection to seniors who are frail or have multiple chronic illnesses?Here’s a look at what’s known, what’s not and what lies ahead.

Source: What Seniors Can Expect When COVID Vaccines Begin to Roll Out | Kaiser Health News

How Covid-19 Will Change Aging and Retirement – WSJ

December 16, 2020 /

As the pandemic wreaks havoc on our mental and physical health, it is also quietly reshaping how Americans will face retirement and old age in the years to come.The virus is bringing sweeping change, mainly by “accelerating developments already under way,” says physician and entrepreneur Bill Thomas. For example, “isolation of older people has long been a problem, but Covid is focusing attention on the issue and adding urgency” to address it.

In this Wall Street Journal Article, writer Anne Tergesen reports on some of the effects that the COVID virus could have on aging and society. Among her findings:

  1. More will age at home.
  2. Older people will benefit from a technology boom.
  3. Lifespans will decline. (Though perhaps only for the short term)
  4. We will have a better handle on what we want to do with our time.
  5. We will plan for death.
  6. We will embrace healthier lifestyles.
  7. We need to save more to retire.
  8. The 401(k) will morph into a multipurpose account.
  9. We will work longer.
  10. Our views on aging will change.

Source: How Covid-19 Will Change Aging and Retirement – WSJ

Alzheimer’s Researchers Study a Rare Brain – The New York Times

December 15, 2020 /

Aliria Rosa Piedrahita de Villegas carried a rare genetic mutation that had all but guaranteed she would develop Alzheimer’s disease in her 40s. But only at age 72 did she experience the first symptoms of it.

Now researchers are studying Aliria’s donated brain to try and unlock the genetic secrets that may have delayed the disease’s onset.

Source: Alzheimer’s Researchers Study a Rare Brain – The New York Times

Balancing Work and Elder Care Through the Coronavirus Crisis

December 14, 2020 /

Liz O’Donnell, founder of Working Daughter, a community for people balancing eldercare and career, and the author of Working Daughter: A Guide To Caring For your Aging Parents While Making A Living (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.) penned an article for the Harvard Business Review providing tips for those already in the sandwich generation, but now with the added challenge of working from home.

She offers four tips to help those working from home AND who now share space with spouses, children, and perhaps an aging parent.

  1. Set your parents up for success by establishing routines and clear communication where possible.
  2. Set boundaries both for them and yourself so that you can minimize or control the interruptions that shared work and home life will bring.
  3. Overcommunicate your situation with co-workers and managers. Chances are, they are in similar positions or there will be other co-workers who are as eldercare comes out of hiding and into the mainstream.
  4. Do not neglect your own self-care. Caregiver burnout was already a big deal even before COVID. For the working adult children of dependent parents, at least the office provided the odd respite from the chaos of home. Now that is gone for many, so self-care needs to be a priority.

For the full text of the article, see the link below.

 

Source: Balancing Work and Elder Care Through the Coronavirus Crisis

Elder Law firm gets sued by client for referring her to a fraudulent advisor

August 17, 2020 /

It is common practice for professionals to refer clients to one another. Clients often don’t want to shop around for someone when a professional they are already working with knows another professional to whom they can refer. Many avoid referring a single professional, preferring instead to provide 3-4 references that the client can contact on their own.

A Hartford CT firm specializing in elder law is facing a malpractice lawsuit from a client who claims it referred her to financial advisor, Thomas Renison, who stole some $400,000 from her over the course of a decade.  Apparently, the law firm also received a referral fee from Renison.

The complaint states the firm knew or should have known about Renison’s “dangerous” history. Renison was barred by the SEC in 2014 but resurfaced through a 3rd party LLC and is now facing charges of “allegedly using the LLC to defraud seniors of $6 million between 2015 and 2018.”

It’s always the bad apple that spoils the bunch.

Source: Risky Business: Malpractice Suit Alleges Hartford Firm Got a Fee for Referring Client to Fraudster | Connecticut Law Tribune

Are your aging parents prone to hiding cash around the house? Be aware of the pitfalls.

August 12, 2020 /

Texas Attorney Virginia Hammerle writes about the dangers of leaving cash hidden around the house or elsewhere as inheritances to be discovered after the owner’s death.

Your cash may never be found. Your house and/or its contents could burn up, get sold in an estate sale or be blown apart by a tornado. The dog could eat it. It could turn into a block of moldy and unrecognizable paper.

When you are doing your estate planning, do not forget to make a plan for distributing your cash. Here’s why you should have a plan in place.

Source: Dash for Cash – Informal Funding of Inheritance Has Hidden Dangers

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