b'EXPERTS CORNERManaging Your LovedOnes Legal Needs:A Checklist for CaregiversPaul HamiltonS erving as a caregiver may require you to oversee your loved ones legal affairs. A recent article on AARPs website addressed this issue and included a legal checklist for Caregivers. Here are the highlights. Deeds to Cemetery Plots state, and federal programs for which your loved one might be eligible. Military Discharge Papers Insurance Policies You should also examine your loved ones Obtain Essential Legal DocumentsPension Benefits retirement and insurance plans to see if Your loved one should have the followingany of them cover in-home care, skilled key legal documents: A Will, a Power ofInvestigate Opportunities for nursing care, mental health services, Attorney, and Advance Directives. We willFinancial Assistance physical therapy, and other forms of discuss these documents in greater detailThere are a number of programsshort-term assistance. Your loved ones later. For now, it is important to note thatand services available to elders and/ life insurance policy might even provide these documents should be created, signed,or individuals with disabilities. Theseaccelerated death payments to help pay and witnessed while your loved one is stillinclude Social Security Disabilityfor long-term care.Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security capable of making legal decisions on his orIncome (SSI), veterans benefits, theAlso, if you must take a leave of absence her own. Supplemental Nutrition Assistancefrom your job to care for a loved one, Get the Whole Family Involved Program, Medicare, and Medicaid. Youyou may be eligible for up to 12 weeks It is important to have everyone in thecan use online tools like the AARPof unpaid leave under the federal Family family participate in caregiving decisionsFoundations Local Assistance Directoryand Medical Leave Act. In addition, some whenever possible. You may even wantand the National Council on Agingsemployers offer paid family leave, and to put into writing who is responsible forBenefits Checkup to determine local,five states (New York, New Jersey, Rhode what. While this is not a legal document, it can help avoid disagreements in the future.Organize Your Loved OnesImportant PapersIn addition to the essential legal documents mentioned above, youll want to find and organize a number of other documents, including: Birth & Marriage Certificates Divorce Decree Citizenship Papers Death Certificate of a Spouseor Parent68 SG MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2021'