Legal-Ease: What to do when my parent is losing mental capacities

It’s difficult to watch parents lose their mental strength. Often, the loss of capacity to make decisions happens over time rather than overnight. Many parents will have good days and bad days.

A good day is an opportunity to have a loved one sign powers of attorney if that paperwork isn’t already in place.

It is incredibly difficult to see someone we love lose the mental strength that the person used to raise us.

Recognizing a family member’s or our own gradual loss of capacity to make decisions (often starting with less ability to make complex decisions) is valuable. Seldom do people immediately go from completely mentally competent to completely mentally incompetent. An overnight change in mental competency can happen, but instant changes in mental health conditions are not very common.

Read Lee’s full article in the Lima News about what to do when a parent is losing mental capacity here: Legal-Ease: What to do when my parent is losing mental capacities

Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: What to do when my parent is losing mental capacities,” by Lee R. Schroeder, March 16, 2019

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LLC in Putnam County. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at Lee@LeeSchroeder.com or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

Posted in Estate Planning and tagged .