Our Aging Parents – What Can We Do?
Sometimes, we cannot grasp the meaning of the various stages in our lives, until we ourselves reach them. Just as with having children – no matter how much you read about them and see them around, the profound meaning of parenthood cannot be fully understood until one becomes a parent. The same is true of aging. Adults first taste the experience of aging through their parents. First, visually. Then, the slight changes in daily activity, in hearing, sight, memory. Falls, bones breaking, a recovery which takes longer than expected. Children, who throughout their entire lives were cared for by their parents, slowly exchange roles and began to care for their parents.
Is there anything to be done about it?
If parents are still independent, nothing needs to be done from a legal aspect, except to ascertain that they are enjoying their full pension rights and their National Insurance benefits. At this stage, the possibility of relocating to a Protected Living environment is still an option. Should the parents choose this option, this decision has legal and economic ramifications which should be clarified and be understood in advance.
If parents are not independent, it is necessary to verify their rights pursuant to any LTC (long term care) insurance policy that they might have, their entitlement to hire a foreign employee as a caregiver, and should the need arise, if the parents can no longer take care of themselves, then the option of guardianship should also be looked into.
In some situations, parents cannot care for themselves and there is no desire or economic possibility to hire a foreign caregiver. In these situations, it is necessary to ascertain the viability of entering a State-sponsored old age home. This process takes place through the Ministry of Health. It must be remembered that in this case, children have a legal duty to bear part of the financing for their parents' care.
Life expectancy is continually on the rise and everyone should make preparations for their senior years, from all aspects, not only the legal one.