Secrets to Living Longer from Centenarians

A growing number of Americans are living to age 100 and beyond. In the U.S., the centenarian population has grown 65.8 percent over the past three decades, from 32,194 people who were age 100 or older in 1980 to 53,364 centenarians in 2010, according to new Census Bureau data. In contrast, the total population has increased 36.3 percent over the same time period.

A recent study, ”Demographics and Health Care Use of Centenarians: a Population-Based Cohort Study,” was published earlier this month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. It is among the first to examine centenarians in a large geographic population and the healthcare services they receive.

The population-based study of centenarians was conducted in Ontario, Canada, and used an estimated 1.8 million individuals 65 years of age and older. There were 1842 people in the group over age 100. This study found:

• The number of centenarians in the city of Ontario increased from 1069 in 1995 to 1842 in 2010, a 72.3% increase during this period.
• During the same time period, the 85-99 year age group increased from 119,955 to 227,703, an 89.8% increase.
• Of the 1842 centenarians, 6.7% were 105 years or older.
• Women represented 85.3% of all centenarians and 89.4% of those 105 years or older.
• Preventive drug therapies were frequently dispensed.
• In the preceding year, 18.2% were hospitalized and 26.6%were seen in an emergency department.
• More than 95% saw a primary care provider and 5.3% saw a geriatrician.

Understanding centenarians is important to inform strategies to improve the delivery of health services for many individuals who will approach or achieve this milestone in the future, the authors note.

What is it that keeps centenarians humming along decades longer than average? In recent years, results from studies of centenarians have begun to offer answers, and it looks increasingly like there’s no simple cause that confers extreme longevity. So, why not let some centenarians tell you themselves? See below for some telling quotes from centenarians (or those who are close):

• “Mind your own business and don’t eat junk food. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated, work hard, and love what you do”– Besse Cooper, 116 (died Dec. 4, 2012)
• “Have a good appetite, lots of friends, and keep busy.”– Bonita Zigrang, 108
• “My longevity is attributed to my long happy marriage. We did everything together. She was perfect in my eyes”– Gardner Watts, 98
• “Never run out of responsibility; if you don’t have one, find one. Find a cause and knock yourself out for it. It will enhance your brainpower, interest in life, and keep you alive longer. I’m alert because I work. Virtue is its own reward.”– Alyse Laemmle, 96
• “Take it easy, enjoy life, what will be will be. Sleep well, have a Bailey’s Irish Cream before bed if you have a cold–you will wake up fine the next morning.” – Helen Mulligan, 101
• “Don’t fight the day, just let it be. Get up and be positive. Avoid any and all drama; I don’t get involved with silly minutiae or difficult personalities; people respect me for that.” – Gussie Levine, 100
• “Try to understand the kind of person you are and accept who you are; but if you want to improve your situation, change it. Keep your eye on the stars and try to succeed at what you want to do.”– Hilda Berner, 97

Who are the oldest living centenarians? The U.S. based Gerontology Research Group keeps a list. Learn more here.

Not surprisingly, few centenarians are obese and few smoke or drink. Most seem skilled at handling stress and find ways to process problems quickly, brushing them away rather than dwelling on them. A study of centenarians from the state of Georgia found they were more emotionally stable, extroverted, conscientious, and active in the community than their shorter-lived peers.

When looking at centenarians, keep in mind that life span in the United States is not necessarily matched by increases in “health span,” or time spent living in good health. Longer life spans have been accompanied by a tremendous increase in the disease burden due to Alzheimer’s disease (source: Institute of Medicine study). Alzheimer’s is now the number 12 cause of disease burden in the US, and the forth leading cause of death. Its impact on health has become much more severe over the course of two decades; the number of years of life lost prematurely because of Alzheimer’s increased by 392 percent—far more than any other disease. Other wealthy countries have witnessed similar but not as dramatic increases.

Luck and genetics play roles in longevity, of course, but you can’t control that. If you want to better your odds of hitting 100, focus on what you can do, like eating healthy, exercising, and cutting down on stress. As you are taking care of yourself and enjoying your life, it is also a good idea to plan for your future and for your loved ones. Our firm is dedicated to helping protect seniors preserve dignity, quality of life, and financial security. If you have not done Long-Term Care Planning, Estate Planning, or Incapacity Planning (or had your Planning documents reviewed in the past several years), or if you have a loved one, such as your mother-in-law, who is nearing the need for long-term care or already receiving long-term care, call us at our Virginia Elder Law Fairfax office at 703-691-1888 or at our Virginia Elder Law Fredericksburg office at 540-479-1435 to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

Evan H. Farr on Google +

Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Today, people in the United States come together to commemorate an important figure in the history of civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. MLK Day offers the perfect opportunity to remember a man who played an important role in freedom and equality.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for peaceful protest in response to the inequality and violence he saw. King spoke about equality, freedom and optimism in the future of America. Dr. King had many famous quotes. In honor of MLK Day, we will share several of them which hold true for seniors, and all Americans, still today:

• “Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.”
• “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
• “That old law about ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”
• “The time is always right to do what is right.”
• “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
• “We must use time creatively.”
• “Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”

 
We hope you are enjoying time with your family and friends this MLK Day and that you heed Dr. King’s advice to be positive, work hard, speak up for what you believe in, and use your time creatively, as you choose!
 
If you or a loved one is nearing the need for long-term care or already receiving long-term care, or if you have not done Long-Term Care Planning, Estate Planning or Incapacity Planning (or had your Planning documents reviewed in the past several years), please call The Fairfax and Fredericksburg Long-Term Care Planning Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. at 703-691-1888 in Fairfax or 540-479-1435 in Fredericksburg to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

Evan H. Farr on Google +

Two-thirds of Seniors Need Assistance

According to a recent study by the American Journal of Public Health, two-thirds of people 65 and older need help to perform activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, getting out of bed or a chair, walking and using the toilet. Most seniors are seeking help in the form of special devices, such as canes, scooters and bathroom grab bars or from another person, or are reducing their activity because of a disability.

The study included more than 8,000 Americans over the age of 65, about 500 of whom are living in a nursing home. Researchers divided participants into five categories, including people who are fully able; people who use special devices; people who have reduced the frequency of their activity but report no difficulty; people who report difficulty doing activities by themselves, even when using special devices; and people who get help from another person. Those living at home participated in interviews about their physical capacity and ability to carry out activities of daily living. They also were given tests to measure their physical and thinking abilities. Data for the research also came from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends study.

The findings were as follows:

• 31% of adults older than 65 were able to take care of themselves with no assistance.
• 25% were able to take care of themselves using some sort of assistive device, such as bathroom grab bars or a cane.
• 21% received help from other people.
• 18% reported having difficulty completing daily tasks even with accommodations.
• 6% of the study subjects scaled back on certain activities.
• 90% of seniors can feed themselves with no help, but barely half can bathe without some kind of assistance.
• 4% of people aged 90 or older didn’t need any help, compared to 45% of those aged 65 to 69.
• Women are more likely than men to turn to assistive devices, and whites and Asians are more likely to use assistive devices than blacks and Hispanics.
• People with lower incomes also are less likely to use assistive devices to counteract a disability.

According to Dr. Stanley Wainapel, Clinical Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, “a lot of things can be done, including making changes to the home, losing weight and using assistive devices. Doing things on your own and maintaining the ability to get around helps you be connected with others, and that’s a very important part of healthy aging.”

If you or a loved one need assistance with Activities of Daily Living or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (such as cooking,  cleaning, caring for pets, paying bills and managing finances), now is the time to start Life Care Planning and Medicaid Asset Protection. This type of planning can be started while you are still able to make legal and financial decisions, or can be initiated by an adult child acting as agent under a properly-drafted Power of Attorney, even if you are already in a nursing home or receiving other long-term care assistance. In fact, the majority of our Life Care Planning and Medicaid Asset Protection clients come to us when nursing home care is already in place or is imminent. Please call The Fairfax and Fredericksburg Long-term Care Planning Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. at 703-691-1888 in Fairfax or 540-479-1435 in Fredericksburg to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

Evan H. Farr on Google +

Explaining Grandma’s Alzheimer’s

Q. When I was a child, my parents took me to see my grandmother. I was very upset when she didn’t remember me or my sister and when she thought my dad (her son) was my older brother. Now I am faced with the same situation with my own children. My wife would like for us to visit her mom with Alzheimer’s. How can I prepare my children so their experience is better than mine was?

A. When children visit a grandma or grandpa with Alzheimer’s, they may become scared, confused, or upset, as you were. However, as the Alzheimer’s Society describes, honesty is the best route to take to prepare them for what to expect. Consider these tips to make the visit with grandma go as smoothly as possible:

• Talk with your children ahead of time about any changes they might see in Grandma since the last visit. Reassure them that it’s part of the illness and nothing to do with them.
• Set a time limit for the visit. Young children get tired;, so do grandparents. Also, if little ones make a lot of noise, or run up and down the halls, it can be too much for grandma.
• Enjoy  activities with grandma, such as listening to music, playing a game or reading stories.
• If  children feel uncomfortable or frightened during the visit, they might prefer sitting on a parent’s lap to an activity with grandma.
• Unless you are certain they can cope with and accept it, don’t leave young children alone or in charge at the visit.
• Emphasize that simply being with grandma and showing her love and affection is the most important thing that the  child or young person can do.
• Talk to children after the visit. Ask if they have any questions. Or help them understand why grandma might have become upset or confused during the visit.

The Alzheimer’s Association offers a four-part video series to help children learn about Alzheimer’s and to see how others like themselves are dealing with it. These would be ideal to watch with your children before visiting grandma.

• Part 1: What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?: Explains the facts about Alzheimer’s;
• Part 2: What Can I Expect and How Can I Deal With It?: Describes the changes that will occur and how children can learn how to keep talking and having      fun with the person who has Alzheimer’s;
• Part 3: Is it Me or Is It the Disease?: Also describes changes that occur in a loved one with Alzheimer’s and how to talk about them with friends and family;
• Part 4: How Can I Help and What’s Out There to Help Me?: Describes how children can make a difference in the lives of those with Alzheimer’s disease.

For more information, visit the Talking to Kids and Teens section on the Alzheimer’s Association website.

Our firm is dedicated to helping protect seniors and individuals with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia by preserving dignity, quality of life, and financial security. If you have not done Long-Term Care Planning, Estate Planning, or Incapacity Planning (or had your Planning documents reviewed in the past several years), or if you have a loved one, such as your mother-in-law, who is nearing the need for long-term care or already receiving long-term care, call us at our Virginia Elder Law Fairfax office at 703-691-1888 or at our Virginia Elder Law Fredericksburg office at 540-479-1435 to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

Evan H. Farr on Google +

Our Thirteen Most-Read Articles of 2013

From the sticker shock of long-term care to court cases involving filial responsibility, we covered a lot of ground in 2013. It was a year that included a 5.2 percent sequester and the release of a new DSM-5 manual that changed the definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder and eliminated the bereavement exclusion. We also saw several new and exciting studies about Alzheimer’s prevention, many new apps to help seniors stay healthy in body and mind, and the first enrollment period for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage. To celebrate the new year, we’ve ranked our most popular articles from last year based on open rate. Check out the list to see the year’s highlights and tell us what you’d like to see next year. As always, thank you for reading our newsletter and blog!

1. Important Elder Law Number Updates for 2014: With a new year, comes change.  Our top article uncovers some important elder law number updates for 2014. These Key Dollar Amounts can be found on our website.
2. Now this is SCARY! – Filial Responsibility Part 2: Currently 30 states, including Virginia, have “filial responsibility” laws that can be used by nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to seek reimbursement for unpaid bills from the children of nursing home residents if the nursing home residents cannot pay the bills themselves. This article is about a recent case in which a North Dakota man, Elden Linderkamp, had to pay $104,276.62 to a nursing home for his parents’ care.
3. Are Children Legally Responsible for their Parents – Filial Responsibility Explained: This article focuses on the case of Maryann Pittas, whose son had to pay $93,000 for his mother’s 6-month nursing home stay. An important point in this article is that Virginia’s filial responsibility law does not apply if the parent is receiving Medicaid.  This exception is crucial to understand and means that it is essential that adult children help their parents plan to receive Medicaid if these adult children don’t want to wind up being responsible for their parent’s nursing home care as happened in the Pittas case.
4. Ask the Expert: Gifting and the New Gift and Estate Tax Exclusion Numbers:  This article discusses how gift giving can be a risky venture for people who may need nursing home care within five years and reveals the gift and estate tax exclusion amounts for 2014.
5. Should I Give My Home To My Children?: It is completely understandable to want to transfer your home to your children to ensure that they are provided for later and so that the home remains in the family, but it isn’t always a wise idea. This article discusses the many misconceptions that lead parents to make the wrong moves, which may have disastrous consequences in the future.
6. Ask the Expert: Can I really save $11,000 annually if my planning is done earlier?: This article focuses on a recent study that shows that families who anticipate their needs, can save close to $11,000 a year in out of pocket expenses by planning in advance instead of waiting until a crisis.
7. Ask the Expert: Divorcing a Loving Husband to Afford Long-Term Care: You do NOT need to divorce your spouse who is entering a nursing home, and doing so might not even accomplish your goal. This article discusses other legal and ethical strategies that experienced Elder Law attorneys such as myself can help you employ to protect 100% of your total marital assets and 100% of your income, as the healthy spouse, and get your spouse on Medicaid if and when he or she needs nursing home care.
8. Capital Gains Tax Increases and Gifting to Lessen the Bite: There are a couple of provisions in the tax code that resulted in higher rates on income and investments for wealthier taxpayers and capital gains tax increases this year. To avoid a surprise capital gains tax bill when you file your tax return, this article contains some strategies to bypass capital gains or at least lessen the bite.
9. The End-Of-Life Conversation: What if it NEVER happens?: It’s not easy to talk about how you want the end of your life to be. But it’s one of the most important conversations you can have with your loved ones. This article discusses how you can get started.
10. Five Myths about Long Term Care Planning: Long-term care planning means developing your strategy and making decisions now for how you will handle things later, should the need arise for assisted living or nursing home care. This article looks at the myths that may be keeping some from planning for long-term care, and ways you and your loved ones can prepare for the future.
11. Ask the Expert: Isn’t Medicaid for Poor People?:  This article explains how Medicaid is NOT just for poor people; it  also benefits many middle to upper class seniors, primarily by covering the catastrophic costs of nursing-homes so families like your neighbors don’t have to deplete the assets it took a lifetime for them to earn.
12. Guardianship Revisited: a Serial 911-Caller and a Bigamist: When we think of legal guardianship or conservatorship, several scenarios typically come to mind: an elderly parent with dementia; an adult who has been severely injured and can no longer take care of himself; and, increasingly, young adults who are making unsafe, dangerous, or destructive decisions. This article describes the stories of two people, a serial 911-caller and a bigamist (Reese Witherspoon’s father), and how extreme measures, such as guardianship may need to be taken to protect them from themselves.
13. Deciding How to Distribute Your Estate: Most parents want to treat their children fairly in their estate planning, and many assume that means having their children inherit equally. This article discusses how there may be special circumstances to consider before the family pie is divided into equal parts.

Thank you for making these our top stories of 2013. We promise many new and exciting things to come in 2014! We also hope you will consider taking the advice that these articles offer. Please consider attending one of our seminars in Fairfax or Fredericksburg. As always, if you or a loved one is nearing the need for long-term care or already receiving long-term care, or if you have not done Long-Term Care Planning, Estate Planning or Incapacity Planning (or had your Planning documents reviewed in the past several years), please call The Fairfax and Fredericksburg Long-Term Care Planning Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. at 703-691-1888 in Fairfax or 540-479-1435 in Fredericksburg to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

Evan H. Farr on Google +

Can You Actually Die of Boredom?

Patients in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility are often limited in their mobility as well as in their contact with the outside world, which can often cause feelings of isolation or depression. Spending long days watching television or waiting for the next meal can be a mundane and boring existence for them.  However, family members (even those who are far away), can help alleviate the boredom and improve the mood of a loved one in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility.

Our Public Relations Director, Renee, has a dad who is currently in a rehabilitation/skilled-care facility that is 750 miles away from her. He mentioned to her recently that he is feeling bored. To help alleviate his boredom, she came up with a few ways to make him feel more at home there and less isolated from his family:

• To give him something to look forward to, she and her young children call him every night at the same time. He loves to hear the voices of her 9 and 5 year old children. He knows the call is coming after dinner and before he goes to sleep, and has mentioned to her mother how happy he is to receive the call.
• Before he entered the facility, he loved watching YouTube videos of his favorite music and shows. Renee’s mom left a tablet at the facility so he can do so whenever he wants to and play his favorite games, such as Angry Birds.
• Renee also puts together care packages for her father with things to remind him of his favorite comforts, including a mini slot machine, similar to the one he has at home. She included his favorite cake (after the nurse said it was ok), t-shirts of his favorite sports teams, and pictures of the grandchildren. She plans to send something regularly to lift his spirits.

Renee’s mother visits every day for several hours and has found that exercise is also helping to play a role in enhancing not only his mood, but also his overall feeling of well-being. While many seniors and nursing home residents are not be able to participate in a traditional exercises, there are stretches and chair exercises that can be modified to work with many facility residents.

By participating in exercise programs, the extra movement as well as the camaraderie and companionship found in a small group setting, facility residents, such as Renee’s dad, could alleviate their sense of boredom and isolation. Forging relationships with those around them can be a comforting and rewarding experience for any person, regardless of their age or physical abilities.

If you or a loved one is nearing the need for long-term care or already receiving long-term care, or if you have not done Long-Term Care Planning, Estate Planning or Incapacity Planning (or had your Planning documents reviewed in the past several years), please call The Fairfax and Fredericksburg Long-Term Care Planning Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. at 703-691-1888 in Fairfax or 540-479-1435 in Fredericksburg to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

Evan H. Farr on Google +