If your loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, you already know how much it can turn your world upside down. There’s a lot of work you will have to do to make sure they receive the care they need so they can live safely and happily with the right protections in place. It’s also important to pursue legal protection for your loved one with dementia to ensure they continue to receive the best possible care, even as the disease progresses. Preparing legally can ensure your family has fewer worries as you care for your loved one over time.

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Dr. Kimberly Miller, director at Healthy Mind Sacramento states, “The most important piece of advice I can give is this: Make legal preparations as early as possible, as soon as a diagnosis is made.” She further explains: “After dementia becomes more advanced, the ability to understand concepts involved in legal documents becomes compromised, making it difficult to complete legal preparations.”

While it may be difficult for your loved one to give up some of their legal and financial independence and power, making sure they put those powers into the hands of people they love and trust now is crucial to avoid someone else taking advantage of them later.

Here are the five main steps legal experts recommend taking once a loved one is diagnosed with dementia.

1. Create a health care directive

Estate planning lawyer Somita Basu recommends families with a loved one with dementia make sure a “valid, recent, notarized Advanced Health Care Directive (also known as a living will) and HIPAA Waiver is in place for your loved one.” This step is important for upholding the legal rights of dementia patients.

An individual with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia will reach a point where they can’t make informed decisions about their health care. You want to sit down with your loved one now to discuss the potential health issues that may arise and what their choices for treatment would be in each case. That way, not only will you be confident that you’re making the right decision if those situations do occur later, but you can also put them in a legally binding living will.

Even with a living will in place, there are potential health care issues that can arise once your loved one’s dementia sets in that won’t be covered. For those, you want to also make sure your advanced health care directive includes providing a medical power of attorney to someone your loved one trusts to make those decisions for them.

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2. Create a written care plan with your memory care community

If you’re unsure what to do when a family member has dementia, it may be time to look into senior care facilities such as a memory care community. Once your loved one has successfully transitioned to their new living arrangements, you can further protect them by working with your chosen facility to get a care plan in writing.

Attorney Steven M. Levin clarifies: “They need to assess your loved one, make a written plan, implement the plan, and constantly re-evaluate to make sure it is meeting your loved one’s needs. This is the law.”

When you have a written plan in place, you have something to refer back to when checking in on the care your loved one is receiving. It’s easier for a family member to recognize if there’s something they’re not getting that they should be and to hold the community accountable. But as Levin makes clear, this isn’t a one-and-done deal. You want to revisit the plan regularly to figure out whether there are changes in your loved one’s needs that necessitate making changes to the plan.

If your loved one doesn’t want to hand off financial responsibility to someone else without providing clear guidelines for what they’d like to see happen with their assets and investments, you should meet with an attorney to develop an estate plan. This is the stage when getting legal advice for dementia becomes essential.

Lawyer Jennifer Cona explains that “an asset protection plan along with properly prepared estate planning documents by an experienced elder law attorney provides a clear plan of your loved one’s wishes.”

She goes on to say, “An experienced elder law attorney can break down the options and strategies for protecting assets, preserving investments and income while meeting your loved one’s care and living arrangement preferences.”

A financial power of attorney can ensure your loved one doesn’t get taken advantage of, but for someone in the early stages of dementia who wants to take more direct control over their financial future and decisions, an estate plan lets them lay out more specific plans and intentions.

3. Create an estate plan

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4. Monitor your loved one’s treatment

While many memory care communities do a good job of caring for Alzheimer’s and dementia care residents, there are some cases of elder abuse, as well as instances where a resident with dementia simply may not get the care they need. The best thing you can do to protect your loved one from substandard care or abuse is to visit often and keep a close eye on them.

Attorney Prosper Shaked recommends: “Loved ones and close friends of Alzheimer’s patients living in nursing homes and similar types of assisted living facilities [should] closely monitor their treatment.”

He further explains, “Abuse of patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is underreported and often much more difficult to detect.”

Fortunately, if you visit regularly and ask the staff questions about your loved one’s behavior and treatment while keeping a close eye on your loved one’s progress, you’re more likely to notice any issues that are cause for concern.

People with dementia are at special risk of being mistreated and taken advantage of, but those who have loved ones willing to take the steps to protect them will have a far lower risk. Do what you can to provide legal protection to your loved ones. This could involve looking into guardianship for a parent with dementia or offering legal and caregiving support. You can’t change the effects of the disease, but you can reduce the consequences of them.

5. Set up a financial power of attorney

This is the other main document Basu recommends to ensure legal protection for dementia patients. As with a medical power of attorney, this document ensures that if your loved one loses the ability to make smart financial decisions, someone else will have the power to step in and do so for them.

“One of the side effects of Alzheimer’s is paranoia. Many times, the person affected thinks everyone is out to get their money,” explains elder law attorney Patrick Simasko. “If they reach this level, then they won’t sign any documents.”

That’s why it’s crucial to get a financial power of attorney set up early. Once it’s done, contact all of the banks and places where your loved one stores money to have the document put on file. This way, you can make sure their bills are paid and their finances stay sorted.

Here’s a simple guide on how to get a POA for someone with dementia:

Talk to a lawyer specializing in elder law: They’ll give you the right advice for your situation.
Discuss with your parent: If they can still understand, explain why a POA is helpful.
Fill out the POA form: You need to do this per your state’s rules. It usually involves your parent’s signature and witnesses.
Get the form notarized: This means an official will confirm that the signatures are real.
Register the POA: You will need to let government offices or banks know about the POA.

It’s better to do this early, as dementia gets worse over time. Setting up a POA early can make things easier later on.

Navigating dementia with a loved one can be challenging, but ensuring their legal and financial protection is crucial. By taking key legal steps, like setting up health care directives, estate plans, and a financial power of attorney, you safeguard their interests and well-being.

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How to Ensure Legal Protection for a Loved One With Dementia

Let our care assessment guide you

In this article

1. Create a health care directive

Let our care assessment guide you

2. Create a written care plan with your memory care community

3. Create an estate plan

Talk with a Senior Care Advisor

4. Monitor your loved one’s treatment

5. Set up a financial power of attorney

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