Refusing to plan for the passing of an elderly loved one can be a plan for more suffering for those who survive.  This informative article by Janice Gaston brings some much needed light to the subject.

From the article by Janice Gaston for the Winston-Salem Journal:

Most of us don’t like to think about growing old and dying. Intellectually, we know we will. But we don’t really accept it. Too many of us put off making decisions and taking action that will make life easier for those who survive us.

Two recent books, The Boomer Burden by Julie Hall and Here and After Book by L.A. Justice, nudge people toward facing the future and taking the steps that need to be taken.

Hall, a personal-property appraiser from Charlotte, fills more than 200 pages with advice on everything from what you might find among your parents’ personal belongings — hundreds of twist ties, rubber bands, out-of-date catalogs, plastic containers — to keeping a log for skeptical out-of-town siblings that details a parent’s deteriorating mental state.

She wrote the book, she said, “because I got really tired of watching my beloved elderly clients being taken advantage of.” She watched as neighbors, friends and even relatives removed valuable items from the homes of fragile elderly people, sometimes paying a pittance for items that were worth much more.

“Sadly, it’s been my experience that the face of exploitation is often a familiar face,” she said. The book is one part of her advocacy on behalf of her elderly clients and their children, who often live in separate towns.

Click here to read the entire article.