How Soon is Soon Enough to get a Life Care Plan?

A life care plan is a living, breathing, document that provides for you as you age. It is a tool that helps you plan for your future. In my opinion, it is never too early to have a Life Care Plan because it can always be changed and updated as time passes. Such plans are not a one-time, static document, but rather provide an opportunity to be shaped and changed as your health, life situation and circumstances change. We don’t believe that waiting until you are in crisis and absolutely need a Life Care Plan is a good idea.

Creating your Life Care Plan in a season of calm is best, so that your true wishes, desires, and goals can be incorporated into the plan. Life’s crisis moments and difficult seasons will come and go and it will be helpful to have your big picture goals and wishes fully outlined and clearly understood by your family, your Life Care Planning advocate and law firm team. Your team will work hard to ensure that your wishes and goals remain at the forefront of planning, even in those crisis seasons.

Our Bellomo & Associates team members have become huge believers in the Life Care Planning model and what the program offers to our clients and their families. There is no question that these plans go beyond the legal technical documents that a lawyer creates for you and that is exactly the point! Our lives and our health are not about documents. Our best lives and stable health don’t happen by accident, but rather through the process of creating goals and planning for our care and our family’s needs. A Life Care Plan can mean the difference between living independently with assistance in your home versus somewhere that you don’t want to live simply because you did not plan ahead. It’s never too early, but it’s also never too late. Although we don’t recommend the latter for the reasons mentioned above, late is better than never!

If you would like to learn more about our Life Care Planning program and our Client Care Advocate, Meg Motter, LCSW please reach out to our office at (717) 845-5390 or visit our website for more information, including dates for upcoming Life Care Planning Workshops.