Arrangement during life for informal caregivers.

Questioner

I am a caregiver for an elderly lady of 92 years old, she lives in a nursing home and is still mentally healthy. She has authorized us for her bank account, so that we can pay her bills. She has her own home that needs to be sold. Furthermore, we would like to have everything arranged properly in case she is no longer mentally capable of arranging things. What is the best thing to do? Mentorship in combination with guardianship, or is one of the two sufficient? Or is a living will better? Madam no longer has any family, we have known her for years from our church community and have been caring for her for a long time.

Lawyer

It is good to know that there are different options to arrange things for the lady. Mentorship and guardianship, or a combination of both, can be a suitable solution. However, there are certain conditions attached to this. In a mentorship, you become responsible for someone’s personal and medical affairs, such as healthcare decisions and where the lady will live. This can be helpful if the lady is unable to make those decisions for herself in the future. Guardianship, on the other hand, involves taking responsibility for someone's financial affairs. This can include managing their income, paying their bills, and managing their home. In your situation, a combination of both may be helpful, as it involves both personal care for the elderly lady and managing her finances. A living will is another option. This is a document in which the elderly lady can indicate who may make decisions on her behalf if she is no longer able to do so herself. In addition, she can record her wishes and preferences for medical treatment, care, housing and the handling of her financial affairs. But as said, this is only limited information. It is highly recommended to consult a legal expert to see which option best suits your specific situation and to make sure that everything is arranged correctly and according to the law. ---------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.