How do we know when the time has come for Mom or Dad to leave their home and seek assisted living? Maybe they’ve had an incident in the house; a fall on the stairs, a medication mishap, a plumbing disaster. If we are fortunate, the idea to move usually begins with one small event. The less fortunate usually experience crisis and often that crisis is related to health.

Retirement living is the broad term used to describe many types of housing options for people age fifty-five or older.

The purpose of the care plan is to communicate specific care needs and to define how those needs are to be served or met by caregiving or nursing staff.

Definitely get some help when dealing with the settling of an estate. And above all, save your own family some heartache and pull these documents together for yourself.

For some seniors, this move can mark the end of caring for a spouse or dependence on adult children, which can represent a new found freedom. Many older adults who feel they will lose their independence, in fact, find they gain a great deal more. They settle in and live out their lives in comfort, without the worry of maintaining a home.

Restrictions based on age alone seem unfair, since the accident rate is highest for drivers 25 and under. The ability of the driver should be the determining factor with special screenings as drivers grow older. That sounds reasonable, but the difficult part is getting folks who have driven all their lives to give up that freedom.

We all want to think we will live out our lives in good health living exactly where we want to and in the company of those we love. Make a plan now for the later days of your life. You may not need to implement all of your plans, but by planning, you won’t be taken by surprise.