When To Take Over For Your Loved One: Caring For A Retired Or Disabled Loved One

When a loved one begins to struggle with day-to-day activities, you might think that it is time for your loved one to move into a retirement community or a nursing home. However, many of the problems that your loved one struggles with can be problems that could be solved with modifications to your home and an at home care service.

Best home safety modifications:

• Installing grab bars in the shower

• Adding ramps to reduce the use of stairs

• Getting a stair lift

The other common problems that your loved one might face include difficulty with household maintenance and transportation. If performing household chores is often a struggle, your loved one might need a housekeeper, a meals-on-wheels service or a taxi service.

However, these services can add up and they are not specifically tailored toward the needs of seniors. Also, if your loved one is struggling to carry out personal tasks, such as bathing and grooming, he or she will need a home care service.

Talking to Your Loved One

When you notice that your loved one is beginning to struggle, you will want to bring this up to your loved one before he or she reaches a state where he or she does not have the ability to make decisions. If this happens, when you are forced to make decisions for your loved one, he or she will lose control over the decision-making process.

Petitioning for Guardianship

If your loved one is unable to make decisions for him or herself and you believe that he or she needs home health care, you should consider petitioning for guardianship or conservatorship. When you petition for guardianship, you will gain the right to make decisions for your loved one. This is done after the judge has determined that you are not able to make decisions regarding his or her life or property.

Being Cautious

A full guardianship should not be imposed lightly. After a full guardianship has been imposed, your loved one will lose his or her ability to manage finances, the ability to get married, to enter into contracts and to make medical decisions. However, it may become necessary for you to become a guardian if your loved one has become unable to handle their problems and you need to make decisions for him or her. Also, if you are not able to take over and neither can any of your friends of family members, there are also private services that will fulfill this role.

To learn more, contact a company like Aventa Senior Care with any questions or concerns you have.