Introduction

Once a person is diagnosed with dementia, family and friends should help the person make legal plans. The sooner plans can begin, the more the person with dementia may be able to participate.

Legal planning includes:

• Making plans for health care and long-term care coverage

• Making plans for finances and property

• Naming another person to make decisions on behalf of the person with dementia

Legal capacity

Legal capacity is the level of judgment and decision-making ability needed to sign official documents. In most cases, the person with dementia is able to understand the meaning and importance of a given legal document.

The requirements for legal capacity can vary from one legal document to another. A lawyer can help pinpoint what level legal capacity is required for a person to sign a particular document.

Legal documents

Once legal documents are filled out, the individual with dementia, the caregiver or a trusted family member, the attorney and the doctor should all have copies.

• Guardianship/conservatorship is given by the court when it finds that a person is legally incompetent. In the case of dementia and its effect on the brain, legal incompetence relates to the person's inability to make decisions about his or her care or property. Once a court rules that a person is legally incompetent, a guardian or conservator is appointed for that person. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia alone is not an indication of incompetence.

• A living will states a person's choices for future medical decisions, such as the use of artificial life support. A living will only comes into play when a doctor decides that the person is irreversibly ill, or critically injured and near death.

• A power of attorney allows the person with dementia (called the principal) to name a person (called an agent, usually a trusted family member or friend) to make financial decisions when he or she is no longer able (legally incompetent). Most powers of attorney are "durable," meaning that they are valid even after the principal can no longer make decisions for himself or herself.

• A power of attorney for health care allows a person to name an individual (agent) to act on his or her behalf to make health care decisions when he or she is no longer able. These decisions include health care providers, kinds of treatments and care facilities.

• A Living trust is created by a person who can make his or her own financial decisions. The person can appoint someone else as trustee (usually a trusted individual or bank) to carefully invest and manage the property (assets) of the trust.

• A will is a document that shows whom the person with dementia has chosen as the executor (the person who will manage the estate) and beneficiaries (those who will receive the estate). A will only takes effect when the person with dementia dies.

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Finding a lawyer

Get legal advice and services from an attorney. If the person with dementia is older, consider meeting with an attorney who specializes in elder law. Elder law focuses on guardianship, disability planning and other legal issues that typically affect older adults.

Your local Alzheimer's Association office can suggest elder law attorneys in your area. Find your local office or call us at 1.800.272.3900.

Free legal advice may be available in your community. Contact your local Area Agency on Aging or the Eldercare Locator at 1.800.677.1116 or www.eldercare.gov.

Note: This page provides general information and is not meant to be legal advice. Consult a competent legal professional for advice specific to you situation.