Be Honest With Yourself About Whether Your Family Can Adequately Care For You At Home

Aging in place sounds like a dream, especially when compared to the prospect of living in a nursing home where there are enough disinfectant chemicals to make the place smell unwelcoming but not enough to kill enough germs to prevent the spread of disease.  Don’t get attached to the aspirational content version of aging in place, though.  If your family is too burnt out from constant work and their own health problems to do basic household chores or to be patient with other people, don’t expect their situation to change for the better when your health changes for the worse.  If you choose aging in place, do not expect a sweet, conscientious daughter-in-law to materialize out of the blue to take care of you if your son is a confirmed bachelor now.  Likewise, don’t expect your children and grandchildren to band together in the interest of your physical and emotional wellbeing when you need them, if now they can barely tolerate each other.  You need a feasible plan based on your family’s own reality, whether it means aging in place or entering a nursing home as a Medicaid beneficiary.  The best person to help you develop and implement this feasible plan is a Tampa estate planning lawyer.

A Floridian Elder Neglect Nightmare

A Florida man is facing charges for manslaughter after his neglect of his elderly father, who lived with him, led to the father’s death.  When he was 65, Jimmy Cardwell suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed on the left side of his body, and his son Alton was his primary caregiver.  News reports did not indicate how the doctor first became aware that Jimmy’s life was in danger, but at one time, he confided to a doctor that he feared for his safety while under his son’s care.

By the end of his life, Jimmy showed signs of severe neglect.  His fingernails and toenails were overgrown, and he had infected pressure ulcers on his back and shoulder.  When police questioned Alton after his father’s death, he said that he did not know, until it was too late, that his father’s condition was life-threatening.  He said that he prepared meals for his father every day and bathed him every few days.  He also said that he tried to trim his father’s toenails, but his father would kick him and be uncooperative.  As police continued questioning him, he eventually admitted that several months had gone by since he had given his father a bath.

If you suspect that an elderly person is suffering from neglect, contact an elder law attorney or Adult Protective Services.  If you are still healthy, make a plan for staying connected to friends, lawyers, doctors, and community organizations so that a family caregiver, if you need to rely on one, cannot isolate you.

Contact David Toback About Protecting Yourself From Family Caregiver Abuse

A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you avoid the nightmare of relying on family members who are unwilling or unable to care for you properly.  Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.

Source:

lawandcrime.com/crime/son-accused-in-death-of-elderly-father-found-with-infected-ulcers-and-smelling-of-rotting-flesh-sheriff/