When you first walk into a Life Care Planning Law Firm, the atmosphere might feel a bit different than what you will experience when you enter an ordinary elder law firm. Ordinary elder law firms don’t have registered nurses, social workers, or other non-legal professionals on staff. That’s because they’re not equipped to assist families with care-related concerns.
Life Care Planning Law Firms are different. Thanks to the presence of an elder care coordinator (ECC), Life Care Planning Law Firms are equipped to serve as a one-stop shop. Most ECCs come to the role with a background in social work, nursing, geriatrics, case management, or occupational therapy, which makes them ideal project managers for an older adult’s long-term care journey.
The ECC is involved from the very first meeting with a prospective client, a time when most family caregivers are overwhelmed by their responsibilities, unable to see the big picture because they’re dealing with so many day-to-day issues. An ECC can assess the situation and recommend a plan of action that will help the client and their family reach their goals.
Though an ECC’s assessments and recommendations often vary widely based on each client’s unique situation, most cases have a few important things in common. Every client has care needs, and care costs money. The client’s personal needs and the high cost of the services needed to meet those needs create personal, legal, and financial challenges that can be devastating if not handled correctly. A Life Care Plan addresses each of those challenges in a coordinated way.
The ECC’s role in the implementation of a Life Care Plan is customized to meet the needs of the clients. It might include helping family caregivers find services to help the elderly loved one remain safe at home, or it might involve accompanying the family on site visits to help them select a long-term care facility for the client. Some families want their ECC to do everything for them, while others prefer basic guidance while they do the legwork. Most ECCs in Life Care Planning Law Firms are there for families as much or as little as they want.
Working with an ECC can make a real difference in quality of life for everyone in the family, saving time, money, and heartache. When you are a caregiver dealing with an older relative’s incapacity, you don't know what you don't know. You don’t know how to determine what your loved one needs or how to meet those needs. If you don’t have someone to guide and support you, you could spend thousands of hours reinventing the wheel, and no one has time for that.
One of the most rewarding parts of the ECC’s job comes after working with a client and his or her family to address the most immediate need. As one ECC said, “Once the dust has settled, family members will often tell me, ‘We don't know what we would have done without you. We never knew that Life Care Planning was even a thing or that elder care coordinators even existed.’ They are very grateful that they can come to one place to get everything done and not have to coordinate everything themselves.”