The Family Caregiver Toolbox

  

With this issue of TAKE CARE!, NFCA is pleased to begin a new feature aimed at providing family caregivers with a variety of tips, tools and ideas to help you make life a little easier, take better care of your loved ones, and plan for the future.

In Case of Emergency … 

No one wants to think about the “what if” scenarios, but a responsible family caregiver should always have a plan in place that addresses the unthinkable. What would your loved ones need to know should you, the family caregiver, become incapacitated, or worse? Kate Finan, a daily money manager with Help Unlimited, Inc. in Maryland, suggests that you take a three-ring binder and label it “All They Need to Know.” In it, put the location of all your important papers as well as the location of a copy of each document. Include information about your credit cards, your brokerage and retirement accounts, and all your insurance policies. If some of your bills are paid automatically through your bank, this information should be included as well. And don’t forget to make a list of your computer and other passwords so that family members can access important accounts quickly in an emergency. Use sheet protectors to keep the pages clean and safe. Finally, because the information in your binder is highly privileged, it’s important to store it in a secure place and to share its location only with the individuals you choose to have access to it.

No one wants to think about the unthinkable. But doing so now will provide both you and your family members with enourmous peace of mind.

 

 

Comments

[Cyndi]

That's a great idea. I have been caregiver for my mother-in-law for 5 yrs. (she's in a nearby nursing home with alzheimers). Two yrs. ago my husband broke his neck in an accident & is now a c5,6 quadraplegic - I do most of his care at home. We also have 8 children at home, the youngest is 3. This week I was diagnosed with breast cancer & am going to the city about 2 1/2 hrs. away for treatment. You're right - someone else needs to be able to access the info about my family if I can't take care of things for them.
Where can I get the self-help software for caregivers with 85 documents to fill out?
Thanks!
Cyndi

[Steve Steurer]

I have been doing this for years with my mother’s information. It makes it easier to provide care when everything is organized. I also keep other legal and organizational items in another binder. I found great self-help software for caregivers that has 85 easy to fill out documents that cover everything. It has documents that cover medical matters, personal information, small business related information, children and pet matters and estate documents.