Caring for Elderly Parents Checklist

Checklist – Caring for Elderly Parents

This guide and checklist will help families caring for elderly loved ones. We have included important to-do items that will help in dealing with the issues seniors and their families face.  This article covers: Determining needs,  Receive Permission, Handy information to access, Knowledge of senior concerns, and Taking a break and Caring for yourself.

Determining Senior’s Needs – Caring for Elderly

• Is your parent in need of assistance with shopping, cleaning, laundry, making beds,  or yard work?

• Is your parent in need of assistance with bathing, dressing or grooming?

• Is she in need of assistance with grocery shopping, or meal preparation?

• Is your parent experiencing difficulty with memory, hearing, vision, or movement?

• Is it safe for your parent to drive or use public transportation alone?

• Does your parent have difficulty residing at home? Would modifications help improve safety?

• Is your parent in need of assistance with paying bills or managing finances?

• Does your parent need help with making legal and other important decisions?

Receive Permission

• Appoint a trusted family member for financial power of attorney to handle paying bills and financial decisions

• Identify a close relative to handle health care decisions with a medical power of attorney

• Discuss and execute a living will to define future life-support preferences

• Identify legal documents, policies, and accounts and have safety deposit box access

• Document your senior’s wishes: funeral preferences, songs, cremation, finances, medical preferences

• To make legal decisions, utilize a durable power of attorney

• Consider who to add to mortgages and deeds

Handy information to access when Caring for Elderly

• Copies of identification records: including, driver’s license, social security, and military ID numbers

• Copies of Insurance documents: including medicare, or medicaid info, supplements,  long-term care policy

• Document medical history: include known allergies, medications, past surgerys and procedures

• Geriatric doctors: contact information including names, address, phone numbers

• Locate vital records including: birth certificate, marriage license, spouse death certificate, divorce decree

• Identify trusted providers, including: financial advisor, lawyer,  accountant, clergy

• Update address list of family, friends, neighbors, and religious members

• Document financial records, including: checkbook, account numbers, tax records, investments

• Contact insurance agent for review on medical, life, homeowner’s, long-term care, auto

• Review and update legal documents inlcuding: powers of attorney, will,  health care directive

• Locate deeds on properties including home,  vehicles, or boat title

• Identify household records, including: mortgage, tax records on property, apartment lease

• Discuss final wishes including: burial, funeral pre-planning, organ donation,  estate distribution

Senior Concerns

• Your parent wants to continue to make as many decisions possible

• Your parent wants you to respect her independence

• Your parent wants to talk to you about their desires, concerns, and frustrations

• Your parent wants you to have reasonable expectations of what can be done independently

• Your parent wants you to be patient, loving, and show compassion while you are being responsible

• Your parent wants you to make good decisions that are in the best interest of your parent’s needs

Take a break…and care for yourself

• Take a break and do something you find enjoyable for yourself

• Recognize when you are getting tired and you need to take a break

• Don’t feel guilty when you take a much needed break

• Utilize other family members, support groups, and experienced caregivers

For a detailed assesment about caring for elderly, take our senior-elderly needs assessment.

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