Our senior living and memory care blog team considered changing the title of this blog post to: “Legal Documents Every Adult Should Have”. The focus of this blog clearly is not limited to our beloved Hiram senior living community and our Hiram memory care community, however, on average, the urgency for senior and their families to heed the advice here is heightened. So, let’s get right to it.

One of the most challenging times for a family is when a loved one transitions from this life. Heightened emotions from grief can often bring the best and the worst out in others close to you. Knowing in advance what your loved one wants regarding funeral arrangements, finances, medical wishes, and how to distribute any assets and personal or sentimental items is a blessing and gift to those you love. There are legal documents that can help make wishes known and every senior should have in place. Having them in order will help give your loved one the confidence that their wishes will be honored, help alleviate stress and unnecessary family arguments, and ultimately save time and money.

We list five documents below that every senior should have. One of the highest value services you might enjoy (if you haven’t already) is to secure the services of an elder care lawyer who will work to protect both the senior and their family from legal perils. Whereas we don’t promote any lawyer or lawyer group, online search for such services should produce several resources for you to consider.

Here are the basic documents you should familiarize with and strongly consider establishing:

• Durable Power of Attorney


• Health Care Power of Attorney/Health Care Proxy


• Living Will


• Will and/or Trust


• Advance Directives

So, to be clear, we offer this with the goal to get you thinking about important elder legal care responsibilities. Please, if ever there was a need to seek the consult of knowledgeable professionals, in our professional opinion, senior legal consultation ranks right up there.

For more information, we openly invite you to contact us anytime here at Hiram’s Manor Lake Assisted Living & Memory Care.