When you serve as your elderly parent’s guardian in Florida, you usually have to help make important decisions. At some point, you may need to decide whether your parent is still capable of living alone.
There are many signs that a senior no longer able to live alone. Caring.com says that your parent may be unable to keep up with basic housekeeping tasks, such as controlling clutter or cleaning a bathroom. Your father or mother may also need to live with someone if he or she no longer goes outside to get the mail or the newspaper. Additionally, you may want to find a different living situation if your parent has difficulty getting dressed or managing a medication regiment, or if your mother or father has not recovered well after an illness.
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if your elderly parent truly needs to live with someone else or if he or she simply needs more assistance. It is a good idea to walk around your parent’s home to see how he or she lives every day. As you go through the kitchen, you might notice that your mother or father has more takeout boxes than usual or many frozen dinners. You may want to ask if your parent no longer feels capable of cooking. Sometimes a senior may also have too many jars of mayonnaise or another food item, and this might suggest that your parent is having trouble remembering things. It is also a good idea to look at the plants to see if your parent is watering them regularly.
If a senior no longer cooks or cleans the house, you may sometimes think he or she is still capable of living alone. However, it is important to speak to your parent to see if he or she has trouble moving around the house or remembering information. Sometimes small things can be indicative of larger problems, and you may want to begin making plans for what will happen when your mother or father can no longer live alone.
This information is intended to educate. It should not be used in place of legal advice.
