1. Life
2. End of Life

End Of Life

• Checklist - 10 Things to Consider Including in a Will

  10 top issues for your parents to consider before writing their wills, including how to divide their property and who will receive it.

• Article - Winding Up Your Parent's Legal Affairs After Death

  Winding Up Your Parent's Legal Affairs After Death. This article covers the distribution of assets and wrapping up of affairs.

• Checklist - 8 Ways to Prepare Your Young Child for a Grandparent's Death

  8 Ways to Prepare Your Child for a Grandparent's Death. Help your child by talking openly about death and let them spend time with the grandparent.

• Interview - Talking With TV Personality Leeza Gibbons: Providing Support for Alzheimer's Caregivers

  Talk-show host Leeza Gibbons on her mother's struggle with Alzheimer's and her own support network for Alzheimer's caregivers, Leeza's Place.

• Checklist - 8 Life Issues You're Bound to Face When Caring for an Aging Parent

  You'll deal with a range of challenges when caring for your elderly parents. The way you approach these tough issues is as important as what you say.

• Article - How to Write a Meaningful Eulogy

  How to Write a Meaningful Eulogy. Giving a eulogy for a parent who has recently died isn't easy, but it's something you'll never regret doing.

• Article - Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills: A Beginner's Guide

  A living will or advance health care directive lets medical providers know a person's preferences when they're unable to do so independently.

• Article - Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills: A Step-by-Step Guide

  How to set up a living will or health care directive. How to figure out what your parent wants and make sure it's reflected in the documents.

• Checklist - Hospice Care: A Resource List

  A list of agencies and organizations that can help you search for and find high quality cancer care.

• Article - Hospice Care Basics

  Hospice care can make your parent's final days as comfortable as possible. What to expect from hospice care, how to pay for it, and where to find it.

• Article - Choosing Hospice Under Medicare

  Medical treatment during a person's final months of...

• Interview - Talking With Kelly Corrigan

  The author of The Middle Place reflects on how family dynamics, faith, and lacrosse figured into her father’s treatment for bladder cancer.

• Interview - Talking with David Rieff

  The author of Swimming in a Sea of Death reflects on his inner struggle over how to help his mother, Susan Sontag, face death.

• Interview - Talking With Hope Rugo

  An oncologist who was also a caregiver to her mother before she died of breast cancer offers advice to other caregivers.

• Interview - Talking With David Kuhl

  David Kuhl, author of What Dying People Want, offers advice on how to have meaningful discussions with parents before they die.

• Interview - Talking With Lillian Rubin

  Lillian Rubin, psychotherapist and the author of 60 on Up, talks about caregiver guilt, dealing with dementia, and the problem with living too long.

• Interview - Talking With Dudley Clendinen

  The author of A Place Called Canterbury talks about the role of a good life-care facility in the final days a parent and adult child have together.

• Interview - Talking With Jill Bolte Taylor

  Jill Bolte Taylor, author of My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, talks about how caregivers can best help stroke survivors.

• Checklist - 7 Important Instructions to Include in a Health Care Directive

  Know the 7 crucial medical-care instructions your parents should put in their advance health care directives.

• Interview - Talking With Tamara Jenkins

  The Savages director reflects on her real-life experience as a caregiver to her estranged father -- and why she wrote it differently for film.

• Article - Parkinson's Disease: A Beginner's Guide

  This beginner's guide to Parkinson's disease helps you understand your parent's diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.

Blog Posts

• Blog Post - End-of-Life Financial Lessons Learned the Hard Way

  Francine Lipman, who teaches tax law, discovered that even she was ill-equipped to prepare herself for the financial realities of her mother's death.

• Blog Post - Silence Not Golden -- Or Helpful -- For Dying Patients And Their Families

  Talking about end-of-life issues benefits both patients and their families.

• Blog Post - You're Not Imagining It: More People Have Alzheimer's

  Alzheimer's disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the US.

• Blog Post - Depression and the Too-Secret Grief of the Dementia Caregiver

  Grief precedes death for dementia caregivers; little wonder one in four are depressed.

• Blog Post - Parents Are From Venus, We're From Mars

  A simple online test promises to assess your "conversational relationship" with your parents. The bottom line: If you're not talking about the big stuff now, you'd better start.

• Blog Post - Aging Parents and Dental Care: A Life-and-Death Issue

  Regular dental care for your parents can be a matter of life and death.

• Blog Post - Alzheimer's Caregivers' #1 Challenge

  A new survey of Alzheimer's caregivers reveals that daily care isn't the worst of it. Grief is.

• Blog Post - Help! My mom's in hospice and my sister and I are arguing about her funeral.

  Our mom has said she wants to be cremated "so you don...

• Blog Post - Falling: A Deadly Problem Helped by Prevention

  Falls are a deadly problem that can be helped through prevention.

• Blog Post - How can I deal with my mom's anger at me for urging her to move my dad to an Alzheimer's residence, where he fell in love with another woman?

  My mother, who took care of my father through the early...

• Blog Post - Exciting News For Heart and Stroke Patients

  Two-drug combination blood pressure therapy lowers cardiovascular risk in patients with high blood pressure.

• Blog Post - Dr. Death Wants Your Vote

  By throwing his hat into the political ring, Jack Kevorkian has stirred renewed debate about doctor-assisted suicide.

• Blog Post - My Own Last (Online) Wishes

  Facebook users can let friends and family know their final instructions via a new application called My Own Last Wishes.

• Blog Post - Are You a "Designated Daughter"?

  A new book coins a new term for grown daughters who look after their parents: designated daughter.

• Blog Post - It Takes a Neighborhood (Pt. 1)

  Neighbors pitch in to help an isolated elderly neighbor so he can stay in his own home.

• Blog Post - Fire! A Teaching Tool

  A tragic death in Texas serves as a reminder of how vulnerable seniors are in fires and how prevention can really help.

• Blog Post - It Takes a Neighborhood (Part II)

  Taking care of an elderly neighbor can enrich the lives of everyone involved.

• Blog Post - I'm not close to my dad's new wife, and that's keeping me from caring for him as much as I'd like to (he has Alzheimer's). How can I step in and help him more?

  What to do when your elderly father's new wife comes between you and him.

• Blog Post - My mother's growing needs are putting a strain on my marriage, and I find myself wondering which will fall apart first -- her, my marriage, or me. What can I do?

  Since my dad died five years ago, my mother has had...

• Blog Post - Downward Dog May Keep Elderly Upright

  Recent research reveals Iyengar yoga improves stability and balance in older women, which could lower their risk of falling.

• Blog Post - Questions I Wish I'd Asked Mom

  Reflections on a first motherless Mother's Day.

• Blog Post - My mother is gambling away every last penny -- and her financial independence. What should I do?

  Since my father's death two years ago, my 75-year-old...

• Blog Post - Call Us Cancer "Carepartners"

  When you're helping someone you love battle cancer, you're right there on the front lines with them.

• Blog Post - My mother has asked not to be resuscitated if she has a medical crisis, but my siblings disagree on what constitutes a medical crisis.

  Before she showed signs of dementia, my mother decided...

• Blog Post - The Plot Thickens: Another Clue in the Alzheimer's-Diabetes Mystery

  New research may help explain the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Plus tips if you suspect your parent with type 2 diabetes has Alzheimer's disease.

• Blog Post - In Men With Type 2 Diabetes, Bedroom Blues May Signal a Broken Heart

  In men with type 2 diabetes, erectile dysfunction may be a warning sign for serious heart trouble, including heart attack and death.

• Blog Post - Parents' Driving Worries Baby Boomers, But No One Wants to Talk About It

  Survey finds widespread concern among Baby Boomers about their parents' driving -- and reluctance to talk about it

• Blog Post - My mother gave power of attorney to her new husband, who is putting her life in danger. How can we get it away from him?

  My mother's new husband has power of attorney for her, but I feel he puts her life in danger. How can we get her to reappoint power of attorney?

• Blog Post - New Legislation (and You) Can Help Prevent Seniors From Falling

  The Safety of Seniors Act aims to help prevent falls among the elderly. Here are ways to help reduce the fall risk for your parents.

• Blog Post - My mother says she's lonely, and it's heartbreaking for me to hear her crying at night. What can I do to help her?

  My father died seven years ago, and for quite some...

• Blog Post - The World Mourns Randy Pausch's Death From Pancreatic Cancer

  Pancreatic cancer patient Randy Pausch gained worldwide fame with his "Last Lecture" video and book, a legacy that hopefully will translate into new treatment options for deadly pancreatic cancer.

• Blog Post - I was the beneficiary of my mother's trust deposit until that was changed to her husband's name a couple of months before she died -- and I think it was done illegally.

  My mother moved from Orlando (where I live) to Miami...

• Blog Post - Universal Design Part 2 -- Breaking the Ice

  Universal design can make seniors' homes safer, but many older people resist changes. Advice for getting seniors to agree to home renovations.

• Blog Post - I can't stop feeling that I was an inadequate caregiver to my mom.

  I am a 56-year-old registered nurse. I took time off...

• Blog Post - Sandwich Generation: Dispatches From the Front

  Members of the "Sandwich Generation" face many emotional as well as practical challenges

• Blog Post - My father is in failing health and financial ruin, living with a woman who is bipolar, and refuses my help. What can I do?

  My father is 69 years old and in failing health...

• Blog Post - Hospice: Comfort for Patient and Caregivers Alike

  One family's experience with hospice during a mother's last weeks of life.

• Blog Post - Personal To-Do Lists That Help You With Caregiving Challenges

  Caring.com launches new To-Do lists to help you navigate caregiver challenges.

• Blog Post - Alzheimer's Breakthrough: What It Can Mean to You Right Now

  A cure is still far away but here's a way to further the cause.

Questions & Answers

• Question - How can I convince my dying mother to write a "goodbye" letter to her grandchildren?

  How can I convince my dying mother to write a goodbye letter to her grandchildren? A goodbye letter would create sustaining memories for the children.

• Question - My father just died. What do I do first?

  There are many details to attend to in the first week or so after a death occurs -- and the busyness can sometimes feel like a blessing.

• Question - How can I help my father, who is bedridden and has numerous health problems, face the end of his life?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What happens to an elderly person's credit card at death?

  When an elderly person dies, what happens to his credit card debt? Are his relatives responsible for the credit card debt upon his death?

• Question - How do I encourage my mom to continue to want to live?

  When giving up is “all in the mind,” there may be clinical help, but you may also simply have to accept the process.

• Question - How can I make sure that I am on my parents' "survivor" list with the federal government to make sure I recieve benefits after they pass on?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can we persuade my mother, who's caring for my dying father, to bring in hospice help?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - My mother doesn't want to know how long she has to live, so how do I say the things I need to say before it's too late?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - What's the best gift I can give my dying mother?

  When someone is terminally ill, you may not know what gift to give for a birthday or other event. Material goods may not be what a dying person needs.

• Question - How can I convince my father to stop chemotherapy that's no longer working?

  When is it time to stop chemotherapy? My father wants to continue chemo, even though it's stopped working, because he wants to "keep on fighting."

• Question - What does "end stage" congestive heart failure mean for my mother?

  End stage congestive heart failure doesn't mean someone is dying. End stage congestive heart failure is serious, but some patients live for years.

• Question - When is the right time to call in hospice?

  Hospice care is generally reserved for those who are diagnosed to be near death. But other options for help with care may be available.

• Question - How soon after my parent's death do I need to begin administering her will, and what's involved?

  How soon after my parent's death do I need to administer their estate and other financial affairs? What other legal matters should I be aware of?

• Question - How do we preserve my deceased father's estate when my mother remarries?

  To find out whether you are slated to get family property when your mother remarries, you have to look at the underlying estate plan.

• Question - Will my husband's aunt's jointly owned CDs in a credit union automatically be transferred to her trust or us upon her death?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - How can I help an elder die?

  Make sure the older person's desire to die is real. Then read up about it.

• Question - My father has had a stroke and has no will. How do I ensure his things are taken care of?

  A parent who wishes to make a will may be able to do so, even after suffering a stroke.

• Question - What is the life expectancy of someone with Alzheimer's?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - What is the meaning of dying?

  The raw time after a parent's death can be a rich time to ponder the bigger questions of life.

• Question - When is it expected for a living spouse to be come social again?

  The length of time it takes for a grieving spouse to become socially active again may depend on how active he or she was before the death occurred.

• Question - My father died I want to know if he is still watching over...

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - I made the decision to take my wife off life supports at the doctors recomendation. Will I have problems with her lfe insurance carrior when filing to collect?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How old must a child be to get money at a parent's death?

  Money left to a minor will usually be managed by an adult until that child legally becomes an adult, too.

• Question - Why am I taking my brother's death harder than the rest of the family?

  Allow yourself to grieve in your own unique way – and turn to resources for help if you would find that soothing.

• Question - How do we convince our mother to allow in-home help to care for our dying father?

  Honest conversation may convince your mother that in-home care would help improve life for both your parents. It may also convince you that you're wrong.

• Question - Can you provide me with a list of "end of life" questions to address with my family?

  A comprehensive list for end of life questions will be appearing soon; in the meantime, this site can help provide some structure for your discussions.

• Question - When is it a good time to talk to a spouse who has cancer about a will?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - How can I comfort my dying mother who is still holding on for dear life?

  Help with dealing with feelings of helplessness while witnessing a death often come from those close at hand: hospice workers.

• Question - What type of life insurance should we get for my 79 year old mother?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - How long does a person with dementia usually live?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - How long does a legal guardianship last, and how can I get access to my mother's medical records?

  After a legal guardianship or conservatorship ends, medical privacy laws can make it tough to find out information about procedures you suspect went wrong.

• Question - How can I persuade my mother to sign a living will?

  Many people fear that signing an advance healthcare directive means giving up on living. It may take an objective source to convince them of the truth.

• Question - Am I entitled to property from my brother's estate if both of my parents are alive?

  Whether a sibling is entitled to another sibling's property at death may depend on whether or not there was a will in the picture.

• Question - How do we handle paying taxes on my deceased mother's estate?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can I reconcile the debt of my late father?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How do you recognize the end stage of a loved one's dying?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Have there been any new VA widow's pension laws passed since 2007 that would require my mom to pay back what she's already gotten?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Can I transfer my mother's vehicle after her death?

  Being named an agent in a power of attorney will not entitle you to transfer property title after death.

• Question - What rights do I have as a healthcare agent?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Why does my mother talk about health issues -- in excruciating detail?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can I help boost my mother's mood after her bypass surgery?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How should my father balance estate planning, tax planning, and Medicaid planning?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Can a Wisconsin resident disinherit a spouse?

  If a will does not mention a surviving spouse, the law will likely look at the document carefully -- and make some assumptions giving the survivor a share.

• Question - Can all children see their parents' living trust?

  People who make living trusts are free to keep their contents secret. But there may be ways you can air out hurt feelings over that.

• Question - Do we need to inform the first attorney that we wrote a new will with another attorney?

  When hiring different attorneys to prepare your estate plan, it can buy you some peace of mind to make doubly sure that your documents don't conflict.

• Question - In Ontario, what happens if a spouse dies and does not have a will?

  When a person dies without a will, who will get his or her property depends on how the survivors are related -- and sometimes, how many there are.

• Question - Are family trusts public documents?

  Unlike most other legal documents that proclaim the maker's intent to the world, trusts keep the lid on things.

• Question - Are living trusts and living wills the same?

  When it comes to living wills and living trusts, only the names are similar. One concerns itself with controlling medical care; the other, passing title to property.

• Question - Answer To When To Call Hospice Question

  Hospice care is generally reserved for those who are diagnosed to be near death. But other help with care may be available if your parent doesn't qualify for hospice.

• Question - Who is responsible for the final costs of my almost ex-husband?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How do I find out if I will inherit property?

  It may take a little time and forbearance -- or a brash inquiry -- to find out whether you're slated to get property by trust or will.

• Question - What are the legal requirements for handling a burial on my own?

  The law generally allows people to handle the burial of loved ones on their own. But it's impoetant to be aware of the legal controls on how and where it can be done.

• Question - Are we entitled to my great-grandmother's property?

  Whether you have a legal claim to a distant relative's property depends on whether they did any estate planning -- and who survived whom.

• Question - How do I make my two daughters guardians of their sister if I can't serve?

  A specific legal arrangement allows you to designate others to act as back-up guardians in emergenicies.

• Question - Are online estate planning documents legal?

  When looking for an online product to help product your estate planning documents, shop carefully.

• Question - Is a large bruise from a stent closure be cause for concern?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is it normal for dementia patients to lose their ability to speak?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Do I have to pay taxes on a home that was deeded to me?

  You may have to consider not one, but three types of potential taxes on a home you take by deed.

• Question - How can we pay for final expenses if there simply isn't any money to cover them?

  My 23 year old nephew died Thursday morning of O.D.. We did...

• Question - How can I help my dad recover from neglect?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

Tips & Reflections

• Reflection - What I Wish I'd Known About Talking to a Dying Parent: Palliative Care Doctor David Kuhl

  David Kuhl, author of What Dying People Want, reflects on why parents need to have meaningful discussions with their children before they die.

• Tip - Discussing an Advance Health Care Directive With Your Parent

  It's never too soon to prepare an advance health care...

• Tip - A Do-It-Yourself Advance Directive

  If your parents have been putting off preparing a living...

• Reflection - What I Wish I'd Known About My Father's Death: Filmmaker Tamara Jenkins

  The Academy Award-nominee on what she'd change about her father's death.

• Tip - When You Want to Do It Yourself

  Resources to help you arrange for burial and other after-life tasks by yourself.

• Reflection - What I Wish I'd Known About Death and Denial: Author David Rieff

  The author of Swimming in a Sea of Death discusses helping his mother, Susan Sontag, believe she could beat a fatal illness.

• Reflection - What I Wish I'd Known About Strokes: Author Dudley Clendinen

  Dudley Clendinen, author of A Place Called Canterbury: Tales of the New Old Age in America, on communicating with his mother after her stroke.

• Tip - Beware of prepayment plans

  Never pay in advance for funeral goods and services. Here's why not, and why a Totten trust is a better way to save for funeral expenses.

• Reflection - What I Wish I'd Known About Helping a Newly Widowed Parent: Author Jamieson Haverkampf

  Jamieson Haverkampf, in Mom Minus Dad: The Essential Resource Guide for Busy Adults With a Newly Widowed Parent, equates care giving with a marathon.

• Tip - Accept Help

  When family or friends offer help in caring for your...

News

• News - Studies Examine Life After Weight-Loss Surgery

  MONDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Coronary heart...

• News - Initial Colonoscopy Key to Cancer Detection

  TUESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- A first-time colonoscopy...

• News - FDA to Review Clotting Drug After Trial Suggests Death Risk

  THURSDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S...

• News - Rheumatoid Arthritis Death Rate Unchanged

  MONDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Americans are likely...

• News - Study Supports Controversial Heart Failure Drug

  MONDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- A new study supporting...

• News - Vitamin D Won't Help Prevent Most Cancers

  TUESDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- High blood levels...

• News - Experimental Drug Fails Against Heart Failure

  TUESDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental...

• News - Obesity Leaves More Americans With Physical Limitations

  TUESDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- If you're one of...

• News - Excess Pounds Raise Women's Cancer Risk

  WEDNESDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- A study of more...

• News - Severe Urinary Problems Boost Death Risk in Older Men

  FRIDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- As many as 25 percent...

Links

• External Link - Death and Taxes