Expenses

• Buying Guide - A Buyer's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance

  Find the best long-term care insurance policy for your needs. Understand their costs, benefits, extra perks, and the common loopholes to avoid.

Blog Posts

• Blog Post - High Gas Prices May Encourage Older Drivers to Choose the Bus

  High gas prices may help older drivers give up their cars.

• Blog Post - 10 Tips for Senior Care in a Rocky Economy

  Ten tips for caring for seniors in a tough economy.

• Blog Post - How Retirement Is Changing

  A rundown of emotional and financial issues facing current and future retirees.

• Blog Post - New Test Can Spare Breast Cancer Patients from Chemo

  The new test Oncotype DX spares many women with early stage breast cancer from chemo by revealing which cancers are low risk.

• Blog Post - Weighty Matters: Diabetes Drugs Can Pack on the Pounds

  Some prescription drugs, it turns out, have an unintended side effect: They lead to weight gain.

• Blog Post - Reverse Mortgages: Time to Look at Other Options?

  If you're looking into a reverse mortgage for yourself or your parent, two new articles may give you pause.

• Blog Post - Should I be responsible for my father's funeral bill when he never paid child support for me?

  My parents have been divorced for more than 20 years...

Questions & Answers

• Question - From what money are final expenses paid first?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is there a limit on how far back a person can seek reimbursement for expenses they incurred while they were acting as Attorney-in-fact?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - Will I be responsible for any burial expenses or outstanding debt my father still has after he passes away?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - Will we have to pay out of pocket for nursing home care for my grandmother who has Alzheimers?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - My mother is 58 and moving in with us. She is suffering...

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is there any software available to help track and organize yearly costs for a guardian taking care of a parent?

  The biggest challenge in tracking guardianship expenses may be to focus on the categories to include.

• Question - Is residental board and care able to be deducted as a medical expense?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - How do we deal with the expenses associated with the cost of burying my mother when her life insurance policy doesn't cover everything?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - If my dad and I jointly own a home, can Medicaid still take it to pay for long-term care expenses associated with a nursing home?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - Where can I get financial assistance for monthly expenses we...

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Can my grandmother pay me directly with her Medicaid "spend down" for services I provide?

  Can my grandmother pay me for some of her caregiving costs to spend down for Medicaid? Yes, some caregiving costs apply to Medicaid spend down.

• Question - Who is responsible for the final costs of my almost ex-husband?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What help is available to pay for prescription drugs?

  Can your parent get financial help to pay for prescription drugs? Does Medicare cover drugs, or are there other ways to get help paying for prescriptions?

• Question - What is my first step in administering my mother's will?

  The first step is usually the hardest: Finding and organizing the property your mothe owned at her death.

• Question - How do I apply for Medicaid?

  Medicaid provides broad coverage for medical care. You apply at your state's local Medicaid office, usually a county social services office.

• Question - How can you divide up household and personal items when there is no will?

  When a person dies without a will, a probate court will get involved in overseeing how remaining property is divided.

• Question - How should my mother decide when to file for Social Security?

  Is it best to file for Social Security benefits early, at age 62, if a parent needs money or wait until 65 or 67 to file for Social Security benefits?

• Question - Financial Aid for Caregivers?

  I am caring for my parents and need to be home with them day to day. Is there any financial aid that I can get since I will have lost my income?

• Question - What's the difference between a guardianship and a conservatorship?

  What's the difference between a guardianship and a conservatorship? I want to know because my elderly parent refuses to sign a power of attorney.

• Question - How should my father balance estate planning, tax planning, and Medicaid planning?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Are living trusts and living wills the same?

  When it comes to living wills and living trusts, only the names are similar. One concerns itself with controlling medical care; the other, passing title to property.

• Question - How can I get my brother to help with Alzheimer's care?

  This question has been answered by two Community Members

• Question - Can my mother help pay for her grandchildren's education and still qualify for Medicaid?

  Will a parent risk Medicaid benefits by helping with grandchildren's education? It's essential to consider whether Medicaid will be lost this way.

• Question - What is the difference between a will and a trust?

  Both wills and trusts do the deed of passing on title to property at death, but they go about it slightly differently.

• Question - How do I pick an attorney and what should I expect to pay?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Does Medicare cover adult day care for Alzheimer’s...

  Does Medicare cover adult daycare? Medicare cover adult daycare only in very limited ways, like psychiatric help administered at the daycare center.

• Question - Can Coenzyme Q10 raise my mother's ejection fraction?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Can I get medicare to pay for both a scooter and a wheelchair?

  Medicare can pay to rent or buy a power wheelchair or power scooter, if medically necessary, but not both at the same time.

• Question - Are accidents in a foreign country covered by Medicare?

  Medicare doesn't cover medical care during foreign travel, but a Medicare Advantage plan or Medigap insurance policy might.

• Question - Since my parents own property in several states, how will their estate be administered?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - If I have durable power of attorney for my mother, how do I get access to her medical records?

  If you have been legally appointed an agent in your mother's durable power of attorney for health care, securing her medical records should be an unquestioned cinch.

• Question - My Mother lives in Michigan, she wants me to relocate back...

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How do I get my husband signed up for Medicare Part D?

  Medicare Part D drug coverage is very inexpensive for people eligible for Medicaid and in nursing homes.

• Question - Siblings disagree over selling parent's house

  My sibling has power of attorney and wants to sell my parent's house. I don't want to sell the house because my parent is still competent. What to do?

• Question - With both my parents in the hospital, how can I pay their bills?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - How do I set up a real estate trust?

  You may be able to set up a simple living trust on your own; other types of trusts may require some guidance from a legal expert.

• Question - What is my mother's liability to Medicare if she enters a nursing home?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - What are annuities and do they make sense for someone over 80?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - As a caregiver is there any kind of aid or tax breaks I can...

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Will Medicaid or Medicare help pay for my mother's long-term care?

  Will Medicaid or Medicare help pay for my mother's long term care? Medicare will cover 100 days in a nursing home if certain qualifications are met.

• Question - What happens to an elderly person's credit card at death?

  When an elderly person dies, what happens to his credit card debt? Are his relatives responsible for the credit card debt upon his death?

• Question - What's a Totten Trust and how does it work?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

Tips & Reflections

• Tip - Continuing Care Tax Benefit

  If your parents move to a continuing care retirement...

• Tip - parent with dementia

  After caring for two elderly parents for several...

News

• News - Obesity Driving Rising U.S. Health Costs

  TUESDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity is a big...

• News - Clinical Symptoms Enough to Switch Drug Regimens for HIV Patients

  THURSDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- Decisions on...

• News - Health Insurance Premiums Skyrocket

  TUESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Employer-based...

• News - Costs Can Vary By $100 or More for Same Drugs

  MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- Prices of prescription...

• News - Medicare Costs for Cancer Treatment Soar

  TUESDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Costs for treating...