Legal and Financial Help

Legal and financial planning should begin soon after a diagnosis of dementia has been made. The family will have to make important decisions throughout the course of disease that may require legal services. Some of these issues include: long-term care coverage, durable power of attorney, living wills and trusts, and future medical care coverage. If the person with Alzheimer's has the level of mental functioning necessary to sign legal documents, he or she should be actively involved in legal or financial planning. You may contact National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

Also, alzinfo.org provides valuable guidance and resources on the types of documents and legal issues that you may want to consider.