A dementia diagnosis impacts the entire family.
Unlike strokes, dementia is rarely a sudden single event.
Dementia tends to progress gradually.
It starts with mild memory lapses or with struggles to complete familiar tasks.
While these early signs can easily be dismissed as simple aging, failure to recognize and account for dementia early can make proactive planning impossible.
Dementia impacts every member of a family.
Consequently, seniors, adult children, and grandchildren must anticipate and prepare for inevitable shifts in responsibilities, roles, and relationships.
Dementia diagnoses impact more than the individual with the disease.
Rather than being a single disease, dementia is a category of conditions.
These conditions impact thinking, memory, and daily life.
Although Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of the ailment, others like Lewy body dementia and vascular dementia are common.
Early stages of these ailments generally involve the presence of symptoms like confusion, changes in personality, or difficulty managing finances.
Rather than ignoring these signs, you should seek medical evaluation to help determine treatable causes or confirm a diagnosis.
When families can detect dementia early, they can take necessary steps to manage finances, plan for care, and involve loved ones in these important decisions while they are still deemed competent.
Seeing loved ones lose their memory and independence can be devastating.
Grandchildren and children, whether adults or minors, may experience a variety of emotions related to the changes they witness and experience.
Families should approach and honor these feelings with compassion and honesty.
Discussing the reality openly can help in processing the situation while promoting resilience and support.
Children often cannot comprehend the medical definitions of dementia.
They may require more simplified explanations, like “Grandpa has a sick brain, and it forgets things.”
By explaining what is occurring, you can minimize overwhelming experiences of fear for younger children.
Teenagers may be more involved and can benefit from more specific discussions of how dementia works and what changes they can expect.
Both the AARP and Alzheimer’s Association provide guides for families to explain dementia to children.
Additionally, family counseling sessions or storybooks about the ailment can be helpful tools.
After a dementia diagnosis, families must prioritize preparations for building supportive structures moving forward in facing the disease together.
What should families include in their preparations?
Healthcare Planning:
Families should work with the physicians to develop a treatment plan.
Doctors may recommend therapies to support cognitive functioning, medications to manage symptoms, or lifestyle modifications to help with overall well-being.
Legal and Financial Preparation:
Those with early dementia diagnoses should get their estate planning documents in order while they are still deemed mentally competent to do so.
Essential documents to include are a last will and testament, a general durable power of attorney, an advance health care directive (that consists of a health care treatment directive and durable power of attorney for health care decisions), a HIPAA authorization, and perhaps a fully-funded revocable living trust.
Getting these in order enables loved ones to have the legal authority to provide financial and healthcare support to the senior with dementia.
Daily Routines and Safety:
For those with dementia, routines can minimize confusion and support well-being.
Taking safety measures by removing tripping hazards or labeling items can prevent accidents or injury.
Elder law attorneys tend to help individuals and families with long-term care planning with a focus on Medicaid eligibility planning.
Through proactive planning, seniors can help their loved ones navigate the changes with confidence.
If you have a loved one with a dementia diagnosis, you can work with an elder law attorney to help navigate the complexities of Medicaid qualification to protect finances.
Note: Not all estate planning attorneys are also elder law attorneys.
For example, we provide no elder law services and provide no advice regarding Medicaid planning.
Dementia often presents with early signs of confusion, memory loss, or behavior changes.
While the one experiencing cognitive issues faces new challenges, families often struggle with the emotions and changes associated with the diagnosis.
Communicating honestly and with compassion can help families as they take the practical and legal steps to support their loved one.
Creating estate planning documents and making safety changes around the home can promote stability and reduce risks.
Elder law attorneys can support families navigating long-term care needs and other aspects related to caring for a loved one with dementia.
Still, not all estate planning attorneys are also elder law attorneys.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice on any specific issue or problem. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between Harvest Law KC and the reader.
Reference: AARP (February 26, 2025) “How to Talk to Your Grandkids About Dementia”
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