Cleveland, Ohio estate planning and elder law attorney, Daniel A. Baron, offers the following information on the definition of ADL’s and IADL’s and how to plan on Long Term Care as part of your Estate and Medicaid Plan:
As we are all well aware, there is only one alternative to aging. If you are fortunate enough to live a long life, that is wonderful; however it may not be as healthy as we anticipated. There may come a time where you will need assistance with one or more of Activities of Daily Life (or ADL’s). These activities include the following:
- Dressing
- Bathing
- Toileting
- Feeding yourself
- Caring for Incontinence
- Getting in and out of your bed or chair (aka transferring)
Another form of assistance which you may need as you age and/or become incapacitated is known as Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). These types of activities are not as unobtrusive as your Activities of Daily living, however they are things which you cannot live your life as you have been accustomed to and you will need to seek the help of others to assist you.
These activities are:
- Housework
- Dealing with your financial matters
- Keeping medications current and taking them properly
- Shopping for meals and other household necessities
- Using communication devices
- Caring for your pets
- Responding to emergency alerts
Whether you need assistance with ADL’s or IADL’s these activities are considered unskilled Long Term Care needs and are not covered by Medicare. For this type of Long Term Care you may need to reach out to your family, friends, neighbors, or community organizations to enlist their help. If you are not fortunate enough to have someone volunteer to help you will these matters which are not covered by Medicare, these would have to be paid by you; so the time to start planning for this care is now before you become unable to take care of yourself or your loved one.
For more information on reviewing your goals for Long Term Care as part of your Estate Planning, contact Daniel A. Baron of Baron Law at 216-573-3723.
