Spotting And Dealing With Signs Of Mental Decline In Loved Ones

We all want to try to spot the signs of dementia in our loved ones, as soon as possible. This can avoid a loved one making mistakes, or trusting people, which could affect their lives, and yours, if you are a close relative.

But while full blown dementia may be noticeable, it is often the more subtle, initial signs of dementia or other degenerative cognitive diseases, that can be a lot harder for loved ones to spot.

Why Spot Dementia Early?

Other than the obvious health reasons, and the importance of medical intervention, why is it important to spot the initial signs of dementia, from a legal standpoint?

• If you suspect that dementia or cognitive decline may be sneaking in, you may be running out of time to make a complete estate plan. Fortunately, someone can still make an estate plan that is enforceable, even if early onset dementia, so long as full on mental incapacity has not taken hold.
• Often, those with signs of dementia, get taken advantage of; they may have others who influence them to make changes to their finances-often for the benefit of the person taking advantage of them, and to the detriment or harm to themselves.
• You can start making plans now, if you feel that someone is declining rapidly. That may be using powers of attorney, health care directives, or the appointment of guardians to handle certain matters.

What Are the Signs?

Unless you’re a doctor, it may not be easy to spot the signs of early onset cognitive decline or dementia. However, there are some external factors to look for.

One major indicator is a loved one who ignores bills, mail and other important paperwork. If you notice that mail is unopened, or bills start to default when there is no logical explanation for them to be doing so, it may be a sign that someone is becoming incapable of handling their affairs.

The same goes with lack of attention to medical care. Is a loved one forgetting to pick up or take medicine? Or not going to doctors appointments?

What You Can Do

There are things you can do, at least early on, to take care of elderly relatives showing signs of dementia.

Automating any payments, such as with automatic bill pay, can help. Lowering the amount that can be charged on credit cards may also avoid problems. You can also suggest that you and your loved one go through mail together, at a set time.

Of course, much of this is dependent on how willing a loved one is, to allow you to do these things for or with them. This isn’t always so easy, especially for loved ones in decline, who don’t see or appreciate that they are in decline.

Get your estate plan done now, before it’s too late to make one. Call the Torrance probate will and estate attorneys at Samuel Ford Law today.

Sources:

nia.nih.gov/health/legal-and-financial-planning/managing-money-problems-people-dementia#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20money%20problems,as%20balancing%20a%20bank%20account.

cnn.com/2024/10/23/business/elder-financial-harm-abuse-prevention/index.html