Aging Solutions Newsletter

March 2008

Caregiver Tip of the Month

— Low-income Seniors MUST file a tax return THIS YEAR —

According to the IRS, the ONLY way for low-income seniors to receive a tax rebate ($300 for individuals or $600 for couples) is to FILE a tax return. That includes Social Security recipients who don't normally need to file returns.

The only requirement is that the senior must have earned at least $3,000 in qualifying income during 2007. That includes Social Security benefits, tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, VA disability and death benefits, and earned income such as wages, salaries, tips and self-employment.

The IRS is preparing a new simplified version of Form 1040A along with special instructions for most low-income seniors to use. It will be available on the IRS website in the near future.

If you help an elderly parent with their taxes, and you don't want to wait for the online version, you can use a paper version of 1040A from your local IRS office. The IRS has a sample form on their website to help you. Most of the sample has been overprinted in grey. Only the few white areas must be filled in. There are also 3 special instructions in red. To download the sample form, click on Simplified Form 1040A. (Note: This is a PDF form. To view it, you must have the free Adobe Reader program installed on your computer. For more information about it, click on Adobe Reader.)

The IRS will begin sending rebates to taxpayers in early May. Because we expect that the rebates will be mailed based on the date tax returns are filed, early filers should receive their rebates before people who put off filing until later.

Important Notes:

If your parent normally wouldn't need to file a tax return this year, they will NOT have to pay any taxes if the only reason they do file a tax return is to qualify for their tax rebate.
Their tax rebate will NOT be taxed when they file their 2008 federal tax return in 2009, regardless of whether they do file a return or are not required to do so at that time.
Their tax rebate will NOT affect their eligibility for any federal benefits, and it will NOT reduce any benefits they are already receiving.
They do NOT need to hire an account, a CPA, H&R Block or any other tax preparer to file the simplified 1040A. After all, paying a fee of $50 to $100 (perhaps more) will cost your parent a sizable chunk of their rebate. Instead, if you or your parent wants help ...

AARP's Tax-Aide is the nation's largest, free, volunteer run tax counseling and preparation service. For more information, including their locator service, "Find a Tax-Aide Site Near You," visit AARP's Tax-Aide website. Or, call AARP's Tax-Aide toll-free at 1-888-227-7669.

The IRS's free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program has locations in many shopping malls, schools, libraries and other community and neighborhood centers. For more information, call toll-free at 1-800-829-1040.

Find Eldercare for Your Loved Ones

We have partnered with ElderCarelink to help you find the right local eldercare services for your loved one. ElderCarelink has established a nationwide network of carefully screened eldercare providers and facilities. We are pleased to bring this referral service to you free of charge.

Within minutes of completing a brief Needs Survey, you will receive a detailed email report that list eldercare providers in your area who match your specific requirements. Last year alone, over 100,000 families utilized this service in their search for high-quality senior care.

We look forward to our family helping yours. Take a minute now to complete the Needs Survey and find the community that meets your family's needs. Let us assist you.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. My parents live in Lakeland FL, and have been resistant to advice and help about their living circumstances. Dad is 87 and Mom is 82. She insists on being Dad's caretaker. He has suffered several strokes and both should be in assisted living. Mom is still able to drive.

We have tried to help with advice and assistance, and we are quite concerned about them. Their behavior patterns have changed in the last two years as Dad's medical condition continues to deteriorate. My brother-in-law and sister live in Wisconsin and I live in Utah, so we cannot always be available when they need us. We set them up with the Lifeline service, but they complain about having to wear the necklace, monitor, etc.

If you can advise us where we can get information about assisted living situations, it would be most helpful. I have tried to guide them to Medicaid services, and they say they don't qualify for any assistance, and can't afford alternative assisted living situations. I'm not sure they have really tried hard enough to get helpful advice.

What options are available to them? They seem to think their situation is hopeless, and that they are stuck in their current living situation (they live independently in a retirement community). When Dad was last in the hospital, I tried to get him assessed for LTC referral, and he was discharged to home at Mom's insistence.

Also, do you have tips for communicating with elderly parents? It is very difficult to have a direct and honest conversation without tears and frustration on the part of Mom.

A. We suggest that you speak with a geriatric care manager in Lakeland. This medical professional is trained in geriatrics, social work, nursing or counseling. Not only do they have a lot of experience working with older people who are in denial, like your parents, but they can also suggest ways to encourage your parents to meet with them.

He or she will conduct a thorough patient assessment to identify needs and develop an appropriate plan of care. They can also screen and supervise professional caregivers; coordinate medical care; pay bills; and act as a liaison with your family. Depending on your parents' needs, they can also screen and supervise other qualified people to help with housekeeping, laundry, shopping, maintenance and repairs; review applicable financial and legal issues and offer referrals to geriatric specialists; and assist with a change of living arrangements, if that is most appropriate.

To find a care manager near your parents, look at the website of the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers. This is the major national association of health care professionals who oversee long-term care arrangements needed by older people. Their Web site includes a locator to help you find a nearby care manager; click on their "Find a Care Manager" button on the right hand side of their page.

Daily Living Solutions

— products for seniors and the elderly —

As we grow older, it often becomes difficult to use many everyday products because of arthritis, disability or other conditions. If you or a loved one needs a little help – or a lot – here are practical and affordable solutions that make life a little easier – solutions that help people continue living independently in their own home. To help you find what you need, everything is sorted into convenient categories in our Solutions for Seniors section.

You will also find, usually at a substantial discount, hundreds of medical equipment items, home health care products for the elderly, disability assistive devices, and more.

Whether you are looking for yourself or a loved one, Solutions for Seniors offers a wide variety of products, supplies and accessories – raised toilet seats, safety rails, incontinence supplies, large-handle eating utensils, pain relief, diabetic supplies, pill splitters and crushers, big-button hearing-amplified telephones, canes, walkers, rollators, wheelchairs – and much more.

Caregiver Tip #2

One of the best, most-informative and easy-to-understand new information resources for eldercare is a series of more than 20 MP3 podcasts, AGING PARENTS: The Family Survival Guide, produced by AgingParents.com in association with HelpWithElders.com.

HelpWithElders.com was created and operated by Dr. Mikol Davis, a clinical psychologist, and Carolyn Rosenblatt, RN and Attorney at Law, a husband and wife team with over 70 years of combined professional experience working with elderly seniors and family caregivers.

Each of the podcasts covers one specific topic in layman's terms. After listening, you will have a clear understanding of each topic. Listening is easy; you'll never feel like you are being talked down to by the "experts."

The first 4 podcasts, each of which covers a very important topic, are free. To listen to one, simply click on its blue underlined title. To help you plan ahead, listen to Talking with Your Parents and That Crisis Phone Call. To help you understand two of the more important legal issues, listen to Taking Care of Healthcare Decisions and What is a Power of Attorney?

19 more podcasts have been released so far. They are:

When Crisis Strikes

Getting Organized:

Part I - When it's time to help a parent - How you know and how to get started
Part II - Developing an Extended Care Plan
Part III - Care Coordination - Making the Pieces Fit

Business Side of Caregiving:

Part I - Understanding Your Parents' Finances
Part II - Understanding Insurance Policies
Part III - Long-Term Care insurance

Medical and Health:

Part I - Understanding and Navigating the Healthcare System
Part II - Mental and Physical Wellness - Seeing the Big Picture

Distance Caregiving:

Part I - Long Distance Caregiving - You Can Do It!
Part II - Building a Support Group
Part III - Rural Caregiving
Part IV - Knowing When To Go

Housing and Support Services:

Part I - So Many Choices - An Overview
Part II - Living Independently at Home
Part III - Assisted Living

Death and Dying:

Part I - Planning for the Inevitable
Part II - Talking About Death With Your Parent
Part III - Practical Considerations About Death

You can listen to all 19 additional podcasts (plus all new releases in the future) for a registration fee of only $9.95. That's a one-time fee for unlimited access whenever you want — your registration never expires. HelpWithElders.com accepts all major credit cards. To begin, simply click on Register Now.

Caregiving – Finding the money for care at home

A variety of resources can help pay for care at home. We discuss these resources in some detail in our article 12 tips to help you find money (and free resources) for care at home.

Caregiver Tip #3

Are you caring for a parent or loved one?
Elder Issues can help.

Aging Parents and Elder Care has partnered with ElderIssues.com to provide you and other members of your family with a means of communicating, and organizing important caregiving information to support your parents during the aging process. It helps you provide the best possible care for your mom or dad more effectively, with less stress, even if you manage their care from a distance.

Their LifeLedger Online Service is an easy-to-use web service where families can put all of their support information in one place: contact numbers of doctors and other eldercare professionals, medications and dosages, discussion forums, a common calendar with appointment and activity reminders, and events such as birthdays and anniversaries. There is also a place to store medical, legal, insurance and other pertinent documents.

The ultimate goal is to help family caregivers improve the quality of life for their loved ones, to facilitate their safety, and to enable them to live as independently and as happily as possible. To learn more about how this online service can help you and your family, click on ElderIssues.com.