Alzheimer's Disease: the long goodbye

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan called members of the Alzheimer's Association to the White House for the signing of a proclamation declaring November as the National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. November, which is also National Family Caregiver Month, is an ideal time to raise awareness of the resources and services the Alzheimer's Association offers the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, and the nearly 15 million family caregivers.

Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is a physical and terminal illness. It is a disease of the brain that causes difficulties with memory, thinking, and behavior. It is not a normal part of aging. There are 10 common warning signs of Alzheimer's disease:

1. Memory changes that disrupt daily life;
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems;
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks;
4. Confusion with time or place;
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships;
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing;
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps;
8. Decreased or poor judgment;
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities; and
10. Changes in mood and personality.

Alzheimer's gets worse over time. One advantage of a timely diagnosis is that the person with Alzheimer's can often participate in their estate planning. He or she can decide who will make medical and financial decisions on his or her behalf in later stages of the disease, provided that they still have the legal capacity - the level of judgment and decision-making ability needed to sign legal estate planning documents. As such, it is imperative that one who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's begin making legal and financial plans as soon as possible, to the extent that they can.

Todd C. Ratner, Esq.

Photo credit: Microsoft 

This post originally appeared on Bacon Wilson, P.C.'s blog entitled, "Estate Planning Bits."

Last Updated on Sunday, 05 February 2012 13:42