Denver Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

The proverbial sandwich generation is growing as baby boomers set longevity records. The challenge becomes the need to be around more for an aging father - after the recent death of my mother - while also helping a daughter transition to college and another succeed in high school. In the 40s or 50s, especially for women, it can mean juggling work, expenses, being a role model and honoring the promise to a mother or father.

All of this can be more than overwhelming. An ever-expanding to-do list may come with anxiety and a feeling of treading water.

Coloradans already have the power to execute medical advance directives in which they can appoint agents to make medical decisions for them should they become unable to communicate their wishes. They can also provide instructions for future and end-of-life medical treatment in case of incapacity.

Have a family burial plot and casket burial become a thing of the past? Not yet, but more are looking for other options. For instance, 80 percent of boomers are opting for cremation. Many are leaving more preferences for their memorial service and final resting place as well.

A company founded by a man who lost both of his parents in childhood proposes a new concept. Instead of paying for a plot in a crowded cemetery on a busy road, Better Place Forests allows ashes to be spread in a grove of protected trees or under a chosen tree. For loved ones, it becomes a place of peace, privacy and reflection when visiting.

In a June 2019 report, the Office of Inspector General, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the findings of its investigation into nursing home failure to report potential abuse and neglect when the law requires mandatory reporting. Looking at 2016 emergency room data, auditors extrapolated that at least 6,600 incidents of possible abuse or neglect presented to doctors in the ER went unreported by nursing homes to oversight authorities, reports the Associated Press.

This means that in almost one in five suspicious ER visits by Medicare recipients living in nursing homes, the nursing facilities did not report that elder abuse and neglect might have been involved, as required by law. The investigation also revealed that involved government agencies did not always report “substantiated abuse” to local law enforcement officials.