🧾 Financial Planning Checklist for Dementia (General)

For Patients, Families, and Caregivers

💡 Why Early Planning Matters

• Start financial and legal planning as soon as possible after diagnosis
• Involve the person with dementia in decision-making
• Early planning helps:
    • Protect assets
    • Avoid legal complications
    • Reduce caregiver burden
    • Ensure care aligns with the person’s values and wishes

🧭 Step-by-Step Financial Planning

✅ Step 1: Talk About It Early

☐ Have open, supportive conversations with loved ones
☐ Involve the person with dementia in all decisions while they retain capacity
☐ Identify trusted individuals to help with finances and care

✅ Step 2: Organize Financial Information

☐ Gather key documents:
  • Bank accounts, credit cards, loans
  • Income (Social Security, pensions, retirement)
  • Real estate, vehicles, other major property
  • Insurance policies (health, life, long-term care)
  • Monthly bills (utilities, subscriptions, rent/mortgage)
  • Legal documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney)
📄 Use this worksheet (PDF)

✅ Step 3: Set Up Legal Documents

☐ Ensure documents are signed while the individual has capacity:
  • Durable Power of Attorney (finances)
  • Advance Health Care Directive (medical decision making) 
  • Estate Planning (Living Will, Trusts to manage property, financial assets and to name beneficiaries)

👨‍⚖️ Estate planning can be done independently using standardized legal forms with sites like RocketLawyer, however most individuals will consult an “elder law attorney” for complex assets or to find loop holes to protect assets prior to nursing home placement. For example: If you file for financial hardship, then half of social security gets reserved for the spouse, rather than taken by the nursing home. 

👨‍⚖️ Transferring property and other financial assets to a trust is important to happen PRIOR to assisted living or nursing home placement. 

👨‍⚖️ An advance health care directive DOES NOT need to involve a lawyer. It can be done for FREE by having a witness sign the document. 

👨‍⚖️ A free advance health care directive template with step-by-step guide by state is here: https://prepareforyourcare.org/en/advance-directive-state/ca

✅ Step 4: Understand and Plan for Care Costs

☐ Include both current and future expenses:
  • Medical care (doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital stays)
  • Home help (aides, adult day programs)
  • Residential care (board and care, assisted living, memory unit, skilled nursing)
  • Other costs (transportation, supplies, legal fees)
☐ Explore support from:
  • Medicare & Medicaid
  • SSDI
  • Veterans’ benefits
  • State/community programs

✅ Step 5: Choose People You Trust

☐ Designate family/friends for legal and financial roles
☐ Choose a health care proxy and power of attorney
☐ Consider hiring professionals (e.g., elder law attorney, financial planner)

✅ Step 6: Protect Against Scams & Abuse

☐ Monitor accounts for unusual activity
☐ Use automatic bill pay
☐ Limit access to large cash or credit
☐ Add a trusted contact to financial accounts
☐ Consider freezing credit to prevent identity theft
🔗 FTC Scam Alerts

✅ Step 7: Simplify Daily Money Tasks

☐ Use automatic deposits/payments
☐ Consolidate accounts
☐ Provide small, manageable spending cash (if appropriate)

✅ Step 8: Review and Update Regularly

☐ Review plans annually or after major life changes
☐ Confirm documents reflect current wishes
☐ Update contact info/access for banks, insurers, etc.

✅ Step 9: Create a Care Budget & Emergency Fund

☐ Estimate future care needs
☐ Build a monthly care budget
☐ Set aside emergency funds for unexpected expenses or housing changes

✅ Step 10: Communicate with Loved Ones

☐ Hold a family meeting to share the financial and care plan
☐ Ensure everyone understands their roles
☐ Sign consent forms to allow communication with providers and institutions

🧾 Financial Planning Checklist for Advanced Dementia

For Caregivers and Decision-Makers
(When the individual can no longer manage or participate in financial decisions)

⚠️ Before You Begin

☐ Confirm that the person no longer has legal capacity to make financial decisions (a physician’s letter may be needed)
☐ Locate any existing legal documents (POA, advance directive, will, trust)
☐ If no documents exist, prepare to pursue legal options such as guardianship or conservatorship

✅ Step 1: Establish Legal Authority

☐ Use Durable Power of Attorney (if previously signed) to manage finances
☐ If no POA exists and capacity is lost, consult an elder law attorney about:
  • Conservatorship (court-appointed financial decision-maker)
  • Guardianship (court-appointed for personal/medical decisions)
☐ Apply to be a Representative Payee (SSA) or VA Fiduciary if managing benefits

✅ Step 2: Secure and Monitor Financial Accounts

☐ Notify banks and financial institutions of legal authority (POA or court order)
☐ Add yourself or other trusted individuals as authorized account managers
☐ Set up automatic payments for bills
☐ Close or freeze unused accounts to prevent misuse
☐ Monitor accounts for fraud or unauthorized transactions

✅ Step 3: Review and Organize Assets

☐ Create a list of all financial resources:
  • Checking/savings accounts
  • Retirement accounts (IRA, 401k, pension)
  • Real estate and property
  • Insurance policies
☐ Track income sources:
  • Social Security, SSDI
  • Pensions, annuities
  • Rental or investment income

✅ Step 4: Budget for Current and Long-Term Care

☐ Estimate monthly costs for:
  • In-home care or aides
  • Adult day programs
  • Assisted living, nursing home, or memory care
  • Medications and medical supplies
☐ Include legal, transportation, and personal expenses
☐ Build or adjust a care budget based on available assets

✅ Step 5: Access Benefits and Financial Assistance

☐ Apply or re-verify eligibility for:
  • Medicaid (long-term care support)
  • Medicare (medical coverage, limited SNF stay)
  • Veterans’ benefits
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
☐ Contact local Area Agency on Aging for free benefit counseling

✅ Step 6: Manage and Protect Property

☐ Secure the individual’s home and valuables
☐ Make arrangements for property upkeep or sale if needed
☐ Review homeowner’s/renter’s insurance and ensure it’s active
☐ Keep documentation of any major asset decisions

✅ Step 7: Prevent Financial Exploitation

☐ Limit who has access to money or sensitive information
☐ Set up fraud alerts or credit freezes
☐ Use prepaid debit cards or low-limit accounts for caregivers (if needed)
☐ Monitor caregiver or facility billing and contracts
☐ Report suspicious activity to Adult Protective Services or law enforcement

✅ Step 8: Maintain Records and Communicate

☐ Keep copies of all legal and financial documents
☐ Document financial decisions made on the person’s behalf
☐ Maintain a communication log with banks, insurers, and benefit programs
☐ Update other family members or stakeholders regularly

✅ Step 9: Plan for Final Expenses and Estate

☐ Locate and review the person’s will or trust
☐ If no will exists, know that estate will be handled under state intestacy laws
☐ Review funeral or burial pre-planning documents
☐ Consider setting aside funds for end-of-life expenses

🛠️ Legal & Financial Tools Explained

✅ 1. Durable Power of Attorney (POA)

• Allows a trusted person to manage finances
• Must be signed while person still has capacity
• Most flexible and commonly used legal tool

✅ 2. Conservatorship / Guardianship

• Court-appointed if no POA exists and person lacks capacity
• Requires legal process and doctor’s evaluation
• Involves ongoing court oversight
  👨‍⚖️ Used only if planning was not done early

✅ 3. Representative Payee / VA Fiduciary

• Manages Social Security or VA benefits
• No access to other financial accounts

🔗 Apply via SSA
🔗 VA Fiduciary Program

✅ 4. Joint Bank Accounts (Use with Caution)

• Allows shared banking access
• Risks: legal liability, disputes, loss of control
• Not a substitute for POA

✅ 5. Revocable Living Trust

• Manages assets and avoids probate
• Successor trustee can manage funds after incapacity
• Only covers assets titled in the trust

✅ 6. Professional Help

Elder Law Attorneys – Legal documents, Medicaid planning
🔗 Find Elder Law Attorneys – NAELA

📚 Helpful Resources