Resources

One of the most frequently asked technology questions by Boomers and older adults is not that technical.

“They want to know ‘If I unfriend someone (on Facebook) would they know?’” says Tak Sato, founder of the Cleveland-based nonprofit Center for Aging in the Digital World, which offers technology instruction to those age 60 and over. “I always chuckle when I get asked that in class.”

While folks in their 50s and 60s represent one of the largest groups to embrace the digital world, Sato says that they need to “relearn” how to nurture online friendships.

“Social media mimics real life. The difference is that in real life, you curate your relationships one person at a time. With social media, you can curate (many) at the snap of your fingers.”

Millennials, who don’t recall a time without cellphones and instant communication, just accept technology as normal, says Sato, but even people in their 40s often must learn to shift their frame of reference to virtual.

“Until a few years ago, it was OK not to embrace the digital world. Now it is essential to use digital,” Sato says, noting that some companies and organizations only accept communication through email or a website.

For example, people often work into their 60s and 70s. To receive unemployment benefits through Cuyahoga County, everyone must register their work search information. For the first two weeks, the process can be done via phone, but after that, job seekers must report the information on the county website.

By the numbers

More than three-quarters of adults 50 and older own some type of computer, and nearly nine in 10 have a mobile device. Almost three out of four adults in their 50s own a smartphone, and over half have a tablet, according to a November 2016 report by G.

Family Matters

Long-Term Care

A Loving, but Often Confusing Decision

Long-term care continues to be one of the most misunderstood needs by most retirees and their adult children.

Long-term care (LTC) is a range of services and support designed to meet personal care needs, not medical needs.

These needs, also known among professionals as Activities of Daily Living, cover areas such as bathing, dressing, using the toilet, transferring (walking), caring for incontinence issues and eating. A common measure to determine when long-term care services are needed is when someone cannot perform two or more of those activities.

Who’s In Charge?

Learning about long-term care costs and services is necessary not only for the patient but also for family members. The reason? Someone has to decide who will act as Durable Power of Health and Durable Power of Attorney for the person needing long-term care. The loved one also needs a living will.

Everyone should have these documents completed before — not after — a major life event occurs.

Making wishes known and documented ahead of time can relieve family members facing tough decisions about care.

Because long-term care is not medical care, families likely will have out-of-pocket expenses. Long-term care insurance and similar policies can bridge the gap.

After age 65, there’s a 70 percent chance a loved one or yourself will need long-term care, according to the Administration on Aging. Most people cannot imagine themselves in this situation, which means that most people have no long-term care plan.

The average length of time for care is usually three to five years and can cost between $5,000 and $10,000 annually. Discuss long-term care with family members — where and how it will be provided and paid for.

Think carefully about who you designate for your Durable Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Health; if needed, these people will control your financial and health care decisions.

Summit DD Hosts Butcher Elder Law for

an Exclusive Workshop: Special Needs Trusts 101

Free event presents the essentials all families of persons with special needs should know

Tallmadge, OHIO – In honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Butcher Elder Law is partnering with Summit DD to present an exclusive workshop, Special Needs Trusts 101 on Tuesday, April 4 from 5 – 7 pm in the Multipurpose Room at the Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board, 89 E. Howe Road, Tallmadge.

Special Needs Trusts are documents established for the benefit of an individual who receives government benefits based on need, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid.

Should a person with an intellectual or developmental disability receive an inheritance or settlement, those government benefits could be impacted or jeopardized by receipt of unanticipated funds.

The free workshop will present the essentials of establishing a Special Needs Trust and how they can guarantee the stability of benefits for years to come.

Lead by Sam Butcher and Erin Eurenius from Butcher Elder Law, the program will cover:

• Who needs a Special Needs Trust
• What is involved in creating a Special Needs Trust
• Why it is different from other legal documents
• How funds from Special Needs Trusts can be used

The workshop is open to persons and families served by Summit DD as well as the general public. Space is limited and an RSVP is required in order to attend. Please call Ann Watt at Butcher Elder Law at 440.268.8284 or go to Eventbrite to confirm workshop reservation.

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