Family and children / Chapter 17

Elderly at home

13 items~41 min read

Scope: money and personal freedom. When you have elderly family at home, most trouble is not running out of money. It is failing to talk things through and get papers signed in advance. Pressure ulcers from long-term bed rest, cataract surgery, fractures from an elder walking a dog, and a hospital check when memory gets worse: these four are counted in mortality terms and are not compared with the other entries in this section.

While the elder is still lucid, name a future guardian in writing

UpdatedGrade ABig benefitMoneyLow costLittle timeSome willpower

While the elder's mind is still clear, spend a few hundred yuan at a notary office on a written document that names who will be their guardian later. …

Make a will, and remember that a later will replaces an earlier one; a notarized will no longer ranks ahead

UpdatedGrade ABig benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeSome willpower

The law recognizes 6 kinds of will, and each kind has steps that must be completed. The kind you write yourself must be written by the person from start to finish, signed, and dated with the year, month, and day. …

Keep the elder's money in a separate account, and set a two-person rule for large spending

Grade BBig benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeSome willpower

People who scam elders often start with small gifts and warm concern, build up trust, then take a large sum. They also often say "do not tell anyone." …

Give the elder a line they can always use: “I need to go home and talk with my family”

Grade BMedium benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeNo willpower

Sales pitches and fraud rely on pressure on the spot, so you pay before you have time to think. …

Do not touch any "invest in elder care" pitch that makes the elder pay first: a card, a bed, an elder apartment, travel elder care, and selling elder products are the same illegal fund-raising

Grade ABig benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeSome willpower

Elder-care labels that make the elder pay first and promise a return are all the same scam. Common ones are buying a card, buying a bed, buying an elder apartment, travel elder care, and selling elder products at a meeting. …

Except insurers’ housing reverse mortgage insurance, avoid all other “housing-for-pension” pitches; never mortgage the home to buy wealth products

Grade BBig benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeSome willpower

The only legitimate housing-for-pension arrangement is insurers’ housing reverse mortgage insurance (住房反向抵押养老保险), and it is still a pilot. …

If an elder at home is bedbound long term or severely disabled, apply for long-term care insurance at the yibao office where they are enrolled; it is not paid only to the elderly

UpdatedGrade ABig benefitMoneyFreeSome timeNo willpower

Long-term care insurance pays care-service fees and generally does not pay cash directly. If someone at home is severely disabled and has been so for half a year or more, apply at the yibao office where they are enrolled. …

If someone at home is bedbound long term, treat pressure ulcers as the first enemy: an electric air mattress, turning on a schedule, and a daily look at the places where bone sticks out

UpdatedGrade BBig benefitLifespanLow costLots of timeHigh willpower

For elders who already had a pressure ulcer before hip-fracture surgery, the chance of dying within 30 days was about 20% higher. Switching to an electric air mattress cut new pressure ulcers by about 60%. …

If cataracts already affect walking, get an ophthalmology workup for surgery; if both eyes are affected, do not delay the second eye too long

Grade BMedium benefitLifespanHigh costSome timeNo willpower

In women aged 70+, having first-eye cataract surgery sooner cut falls over the next year by about 34%; fewer people fractured bones. The number who fell at least once did not drop. …

When an elder walks the dog, hold the leash in the palm, do not wrap it around the hand, keep the leash short, and train the dog not to lunge forward on the leash

Grade BSmall benefitLifespanLow costSome timeSome willpower

In the United States, fractures among people aged 65 and over while walking a dog were about 1700 in 2004 and about 4400 in 2017. …

Before sending an elder to a nursing home, check that it is registered with the civil affairs bureau and sign a written agreement; the deposit is at most 12 months of bed fees and must go into a dedicated bank account

NewGrade ABig benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeNo willpower

A legitimate nursing home has to register with the civil affairs bureau and sign a written agreement with you. The deposit is at most 12 months of bed fees, and service fees may be collected at most 12 months ahead. …

If a parent of an only child is in hospital, check whether your province's regulations give the child care leave; if they do, apply to the employer in writing with the hospital certificate

NewGrade BMedium benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeNo willpower

Some provinces set care leave so an only child can look after a parent in hospital, and the number of days differs by province. Henan is at least 20 days a year. Fujian is at most 10 days. …

When an elder's memory keeps getting worse and daily life starts to slip, take them to a memory clinic or neurology for one check, and first rule out depression, medicines, and poor hearing or vision, causes that can be changed

NewGrade BSmall benefitLifespanLow costSome timeNo willpower

Memory that keeps getting worse is not necessarily just muddled old age. First check for depression, medicines that do not suit them, and poor hearing or vision, causes that can be changed. Very few cases can actually be cured. …