If you are in the senior stages of life or have disabilities, it is essential to understand your legal rights and any legal considerations worth making.
Our most vulnerable citizens are too frequently neglected from a legal standpoint – and taking an autonomous approach to your legal understanding can help you to protect yourself and plan your care.
Keep reading as we discuss some essential legal tips for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Essential Legal Tips For Senior Citizens And People With Disabilities
Read below to learn about the crucial steps and legal practices you should follow if you are a senior citizen or disabled citizen.
Create A Will
As a senior citizen, you need to know that your family will be cared for in the event of your death. If you have a disability that may affect the longevity of your life, it is also a good idea to have a plan in place.
Creating a will allows you to ensure that your assets are passed down to your children, loved ones, or partners according to your desires.
There are many will writing services that can help you to understand the requirements associated with will writing. Generally, to create an official will, you will need the following:
- A valuation of your estate – you will need a complete list of your assets to evaluate which of your inheritors will receive each of your assets.
- A list of your inheritors – you must draw up all the people you wish to include, along with the assets you would like them to inherit.
- Charitable considerations – if you have no viable inheritors, you might consider donating your assets to a charitable organization. You can collect a list of charities that accept estate donations and decide which cause is nearest to your heart.
- Choose executors – an executor is a person you trust to read your will to your inheritors and ensure that all of the terms of your will are executed accordingly upon your death.
- Write your will – you can use a will writing service for this process to ensure the will is legible and legally compliant.
- Sign the will – you need a witness to the signature to ensure you are not under pressure or duress, establishing that the choice is genuine and according to your wishes.
By performing this process, you can prepare for the end of your life and ensure that your loved ones receive the assets you have in mind for them upon your death.
Preventing Abuse
You need to talk with your loved ones to ensure that your care does not come at the expense of your well-being. You should speak to your loved ones about spotting the signs of abuse in a caring environment and permit them to check for any signs of trauma during your care.
Should they spot any signs of abuse, you should discuss with them the possibility of submitting a demand letter to receive compensation for any injuries or ailments caused by neglect or abuse during your care.
Your place of residence during your care should have physical security plans to protect you from external forces. If the facility neglects to provide sufficient security, and you become harmed directly, you could have grounds for compensation.
Should you need to, there is also the option of legal action for any personal injury caused to you while under medical care. New methods of legal funding that are available mean plaintiffs need not fund their entire case with cash. Pre-settlement funding gives plaintiffs an advance (should they qualify) on their settlement amount so that they can pay for legal fees during legal process.
Understanding Your Entitlement To Government Support
In the later stages of life, you may require financial assistance to care for yourself. Additionally, disabilities can interfere with your ability to work and maintain a reliable source of income. The government recognizes this, offering support for the elderly and disabled. Applying for this support can help you to reduce pressure on your loved ones and can also help you to gain more independence from your carers.
Planning Medical Directives
When you have a disability or are a senior citizen, you need to make some plans and considerations for your medical care. To legitimize these wishes and ensure they are met, you must seek the assistance of a legal entity to help you draft your medical directives. Below are some examples of critical medical directives to consider:
- Medical directive – this document will help a senior citizen or disabled person to assign an individual to make executive decisions regarding their medical care should the person be unable to make these decisions independently.
- Do not resuscitate orders – if you do not wish to be revived in a medical emergency, you must draft a document to this effect. This will allow your medical practitioners to legally abstain from resuscitating you.
These medical directives are essential to ensure your wishes are met in emergencies and that someone you trust can make the crucial decisions regarding your medical care.
Power Of Attorney
If you become non-cognizant and unable to make decisions regarding your finances, care, and personal choices, you must assign power of attorney. You can designate an individual to oversee your affairs and make decisions on your behalf concerning the following:
- Your legal affairs
- Your finances
- Your care
You may also choose a medical power of attorney to oversee medical decisions during your care. Choosing who to give power of attorney should be done with great diligence, and the person you choose should be someone that you trust implicitly.
There are some alternatives to the power of attorney that you might wish to consider:
- Guardianship – your guardian is assigned to make decisions on your behalf should you become unable to give power of attorney. For guardianship to be granted, your guardian must present a case to the courts to prove that you are incapable of managing your affairs and would benefit from the assistance of a guardian. Your loved ones can rely on your legal and medical practitioners to assist them.
- Court-appointed guardianship – should you have no loved ones to become your legal guardians, the courts will assign you a court-appointed guardian. This person will manage your affairs and report to the court to meet your interests.
The critical difference between giving power of attorney or guardianship is that you can choose who you grant power of attorney. It is ideal to devise a plan for power of attorney to have more choice over who plans your affairs should you become incapacitated.
Knowing Legal Protections For Disabled Persons
If you are a citizen with a disability, knowing which laws are in place to protect you from discrimination is essential. Awareness of these laws will help you to spot injustice and pursue legal action with suitable grounds should anyone discriminate against you. Here are some of the best places to start:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- The Developmental Disabilities Human Rights Act (DD Act)
- The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Using these resources will help you to defend yourself against injustice and discrimination as a disabled individual.
Summary
Considering how vulnerable you are as an elderly or disabled person, you must use the power of the law to protect yourself from those who may discriminate against or take advantage of you. Awareness of legal protections and options will allow you to take pre-emptive action and ensure that your wishes and needs will be covered legally.
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