Dear Attorney Tully: I have been diagnosed with having a “chronic” illness. I don’t have Alzheimer’s or cancer, but I am ill and probably won’t get better. I’m not sure what the future holds for me, but I know I will need more care in the short term and possibly 24-hour care within two years. I am married and want to make this transition as easy as possible on my family. Any thoughts?
ANSWER: You are wise to start planning now. Too many individuals wait until there is a crisis to start making legal, financial and health care decisions. Making decisions, in times of crisis, is not just difficult, it is also not advisable. Chronic care refers to medical care, which addresses pre-existing or long-term illness, as opposed to acute care which is concerned with short-term or severe illness of brief duration. Chronic care typically involves long-term medical care lasting more than 90 days. When you or someone you love is diagnosed with a disease or is suffering with a chronic illness, you worry about more than just the diagnosis.
There’s no way to sugar coat it. Most care decisions require money, and in many cases, lots of it. You might be dealing with fear, trauma, and changes in your life with new responsibilities. We’ve seen family members, spouses and sometimes adult children, quit their jobs while learning to cope with new tasks and transitioning family roles. You may be worried understandably, and you may be financially stressed out. Before your health care becomes a crisis, you want and need to plan.
Certainly, a crisis is not the best time to plan for making critical decisions that could have a long-term or permanent impact on you and your family. As your health changes, your family may have to transition from caregivers to care advocates. They can’t afford to lose their own health, be overwhelmed or eventually experience caregiver burnout. This is not safe for the caregiver or the person who is ill. A key goal to addressing your chronic illness is understanding the costs and managing money. You don’t want to compromise care and at the same time you don’t want to end up broke. Consulting with an experienced elder law attorney will enable you to understand the financial and legal implications of any decisions you are considering and help you navigate the waters of change while protecting your assets.
Attorney Daniel O. Tully is a partner in the law firm of Kilbourne & Fully, P.C., members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Inc., with offices at 120 Laurel St., Bristol, (860) 583-1341.
