Thursday Thirteen -The Logistics of Transitioning to Assisted Living

When a parent moves into assisted living and has a diagnose of any type of dementia, whether it's early or late stages, it falls to the person with Power of Attorney (if they were smart enough to get it prior to the diagnosis) to take care of all important document changes, accounts, address, email, and so on. In this case, it is my sister and I.  Well, honestly... just me.  So. Much. To. Do.

And every provider has a different method.  Some want a copy of the Power of Attorney.  Some want a copy of the ID card or Driver's License.  They all want signatures.  They all need a change of address.  Some want you to make changes online; others, by mail. It is a confusing and time-consuming event.

We are already a month in, and only some of it has been done so far.  Instead of forwarding her mail, we go over and get it every so often.  Most of it is junk... ie. charities asking for money.  We will halt mail to her address after we get the important changes done.

I have had to figure all of this out on my own, but you don't have to!  You can ask me questions, or you can visit this website or even this website that has information on how to do these things. But if assisted living is in your future, or your parent's future, start gathering information now.

This is a sample of the type of things that must be changed or eliminated.

1-Medical Insurance

2-Pension (She has 2 and it is not an easy process!)

3-Electricity (Keeping it on until we decide to sell the house)

4-Telephone (Landline gets disconnected)

5-Cell phone

6-Gas Provider (Keeping it on until we decide to sell the house)

7-Water Provider (Keeping it on until we decide to sell the house)

8-Social Security

9-IRA Accounts

10-Life Insurance

11-Car Insurance (Sold car so just have to cancel policy)  This was actually one of the easiest things to do.

12-Long term care insurance and CLAIMS

13-Bank account (You have to put in a zip code to use the card sometimes, so this HAS to happen.)

(Burial insurance, doctors, pharmacies; there is so much more!)

Self-care is important when much of your time is spent helping a loved one.  Always make time for something that makes you happy.

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