How To Provide Immediate Cash To Your Personal Representative When You Die

A common problem confronting survivors of a loved one is coming up with money to pay for immediate needs such as a funeral or related expenses.

Unless you have a living trust, your personal representative may be delayed for several weeks before he or she can gain access to your bank accounts.

A simple solution is for you to open a specified bank account now naming your personal representative as a joint owner or designate that your personal representative is to inherit the account upon your death – that is known as a POD or “payable on death” account.

I recommend putting approximately $10-20,000 in that account which should be more than sufficient to tide things over until access can be had to your entire estate.

Doubtful Depression Treatment

Clinical depression is a common problem faced by many people as they age. In many, many cases, electroshock therapy (technically, electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) has been used by psychiatrists to treat the condition rather than, or in addition to, drug therapy.

Its use on patients with dementia is usually not recommended.

The procedure involves a risk of memory loss which can compound the problems of a person already suffering from memory deficiencies.

Preventing Falls

No one likes to fall at any point in their life but avoiding falls is particularly important as we age. That is because our bones are more likely to break upon striking objects or the floor. A particularly common problem for older people is breaking their hips. That is a particularly ominous event because statistics make it very clear that this type of injury and subsequent surgery appears to shorten one’s life. What can you do?

Take a careful look on the floor where you live. Is the surface uneven? Do throw rugs slip? Are there cords on the floor or loose items that require you to avoid them? Remove all of these hazards.

Such hazards are not the same problem when we are younger because we have a better sense of balance and are more able to avoid such risks without falling.

You don’t have to take, however, the loss of balance as a given as you age. It is possible that through exercises, you can help your balance, coordination, flexibility and strength. Exercise! Make it a regular course of your daily life to find opportunities to walk both in and out of your residence. Many people have also had success by practicing Tai Chi which focuses on slow and controlled movements which increase balance and prevent falls.

Further, a number of other factors can contribute to poor balance such as medications, poor vision, hearing, arthritis, depression, confusion and dizziness. Talk to your doctor if you have any of these conditions to see if adjustments and corrections can be made. 

Dangers of Living with Someone and Not Having a Will

For better or worse, co-habitation is increasingly common. If a long-term live-in relationship is intended to substitute for a traditional marriage, understand the following:

When a person dies without a will, the next of kin through marriage or blood generally inherit. Maryland is not a common law state and marriage is still defined as a relationship between a man and a woman which has been sanctioned by the State. That means that the law views your unrelated companion or partner as a stranger. He or she has no rights of inheritance absent a private will.

Helpful Ideas for Anyone Helping an Aging Parent

Maintain a care notebook. Keep a file of your parents’ medical records, including test results, current medications, allergies, insurance coverage and Social Security numbers, along with their physicians’ contact information. Collect e-mail addresses and phone numbers for neighbors and close friends, as well as the phone number for the nearest hospital.

Develop a relationship with your parents’ doctors. Doctors appreciate the input when adult daughters or sons accompany their parents to office visits, especially when they arrive with current medication lists and knowledge of medical issues. If possible, schedule your parents’ appointments while you’re visiting. To avoid future frustration, ask your parents to sign privacy releases giving their doctors authorization to speak with you by phone regarding their care.

Set up an alert system. If your parent lives alone, talk with him or her about an electronic alert system for emergencies. These systems, typically light-weight devices worn around the neck or wrist, require only a push of a button to generate an automatic call to summon emergency help. You might also want to arrange a daily check-in call or e-mail message.

Who Will Know If You're In An Accident?

Maryland drivers can now add three emergency contacts to their driver’s license so police will know who to call if an accident occurs. The emergency contact information is stored electronically on an individual’s driver’s license and will be available only to authorized law enforcement and medical personnel.

You can go to the MVA’s website at http://www.mva.maryland.gov/ and add your three emergency contacts in just a few minutes! Go to the website, click “Online Services” and choose “Emergency Contacts” to add your contact names, addresses and phone numbers.

Note: To perform this Emergency Contact transaction, you must be able to provide your driver’s license number, date of birth, and PIN or last 4 digits of your social security number.

 

The information you provide to the MVA will be available to law enforcement agencies and medical personnel.

Don't forget to periodically review and update your contact information.

 

Is It Too Late to Learn?

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal discussed the fact that many people, as they age, lose the capacity to learn despite popular beliefs to the contrary. There are countless examples throughout the world of older people taking on new challenges traditionally considered beyond them because of the person’s age.

Do you like to travel? Maybe you have your heart set on visiting Paris. Before you go, enroll yourself in a French language course. Because of your travel plans, you will have an incentive to commit yourself to learning something new. With that attitude, your chances of success are excellent and you will feel a sense of accomplishment that will brighten your spirit and encourage you to take on yet additional challenges. That motivation can be applied to a number of activities from acquiring or improving computer skills to boning up on current events.

And, if your health permits, the challenges need not be confined to mental activities. Even if you have never skied before, you can learn basics very simply and enjoy an invigoration outing in the wintertime. Learning to ski doesn’t mean you are undertaking a course to prepare for the next Olympics, after all!

And for warmer times of the year, how about golf? If you can swing your arms and walk without pain, you are certainly a candidate to try. And although you can get about in a golf cart on the course, golfing gives you the opportunity to get some simple walking exercise in beautiful surroundings as well.