The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) released new research, which was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, providing that patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have a dramatic decline in their ability to make financial decisions over a one-year period. The findings of the report strongly suggest that caregivers, health care providers, and other family members should seek estate planning options and fraud prevention measures immediately on behalf of those suffering with Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia is a general term for the loss of memory, decision-making and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.
The recent UAB report provides that “[a]fter just one year, the mild AD group had dropped to 70 percent of the financial capacity demonstrated by the healthy older adult group.” As such, the sooner estate planning can begin, the more the person with Alzheimer’s may be able to participate. Daniel Marson, director of the UAB Alzheimer’s Disease Center in the Department of Neurology, and the study’s leading author, said that “[t]he findings underscore the importance, at the time of diagnosis, of patients with mild AD and their families promptly pursuing financial planning and transfer of financial responsibilities.”
Therefore, a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s should run, not walk, to an experienced estate planning attorney to discuss key issues such as options for health care decision-making, options for managing the person’s property and possible coverage of long-term care services, including what is provided by Medicare and other health insurance and government assistance programs. And, to locate the Alzheimer’s Association office nearest you, call 1.800.677.1116 for additional information and resources.
By: Todd C. Ratner, Esq.
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