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March 19, 2010
Rabbi Berel Wein: The Divine is in the details
JWisdom.com Stewards of sacrifice with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Why Obama is waging war on Israel
March 18, 2010
Cal Thomas: Israel's New Enemy: America?
JWisdom.com Love me not? with Rabbi David Aaron (5 minutes)
Jonathan Rosenblum: Washington Throws a Tantrum
March 17, 2010
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Orwell, Santayana, and Me
Jonathan Tobin: How Many Lives Is Biden's Pride Worth?
March 16, 2010
Steven Emerson: Combating Lawfare
JWisdom.com How to perform a miracle with Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair (4 minutes)
Anne Bayefsky: Behind Obama's Dangerous Overreaction on Israel
March 15, 2010
The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Father's obligations toward minor children
JWisdom.com Moody, Grumpy, Irritable Children with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Judith Graham: Get the whole picture before a CT
March 12, 2010
Rabbi David Aaron: You CAN have Heaven on Earth
JWisdom.com Manufacturing mediums with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (4 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: The march of the Red-Green brigades
March 11, 2010
Glenn Garvin: Conspiracy theories, why people believe them and how they spread
JWisdom.com For Yourself, Not By Yourself with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer : Turn leftovers into tasty New England hash
Paul Richter: Biden promises 'viable Palestine' is in the offing
March 10, 2010
Paul Greenberg: Death Checks In
JWisdom.com How To Get A (Real) Life with Rabbi Warren Goldstein ( EXTENDED EPISODE)
Paul Richter: Israel exerts soverign right to its capital as Biden looks on astounded
Richard A. Serrano: 'Jihad Jane' indictment alleges threat from within U.S.
March 9, 2010
Wesley Pruden: Joe's Israeli adventure
JWisdom.com Free To Be (Responsibly) You and Me! with Rabbi Naftali Brawer ( 8 MINUTES)
David G. Savage: Supreme Court to rule on free speech in case of soldier's funeral
March 8, 2010
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Make a fuss about those who cuss?
JWisdom.com Finding or Losing Yourself? Here's How! with Rabbi David Aaron ( 5 MINUTES)
Steven Emerson: America must learn from the UK about the future of Islamist subversion
March 5, 2010
Rabbi Berel Wein: Golden Calf still with us --- except it has multiplied
JWisdom.com The Limits of Eternity with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 4 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: Biden's lost cause
March 4, 2010
Alan M. Dershowitz: How About A Real Campaign Against Abuses?
JWisdom.com Using Things, Loving People with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff ( 7 MINUTES)
Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel's Everything's Relative
March 3, 2010
JWisdom.com Grasping The Name of Your Life Game with Rabbi Warren Goldstein ( 8 MINUTES)
The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta : A cowboy's recipes for really good grub
March 2, 2010
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Someone's there
Diane Toroian Keaggy : Have we misunderstood Michelangelo?
March 1, 2010
JWisdom.com Whole in One with Rabbi David Aaron ( 5 MINUTES)
Michael Muskal: Hillary meets with Israeli official, discusses gefilte fish dispute
Feb. 26, 2010
Rabbi Francis Nataf: The Megilla of Spring
JWisdom.com A Biblical Secret for a More Powerful You with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: When rhetoric rules the roost
Feb. 25, 2010
The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: When walking away from your mortgage is both economically sound and makes ethical sense
JWisdom.com The Second Most Important Question in Your Life with Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh ( 5 MINUTES)
Seema Mehta : U.S.-Israel relations raised in California's Senate race --- by conservatives
Feb. 24, 2010
Rabbi Avi Shafran: The gift of the ‘prayer bomber’
Steven Emerson: Why Religious Freedom Commission is under attack
Feb. 23, 2010
Dennis Prager: Government, Yes! The Divine and Parents, No!
JWisdom.com The Last Laugh of Enlightenment with Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair ( 5 MINUTES)
Anne Applebaum: Prepare for war with Iran --- in case Israel strikes
Feb. 22, 2010
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Is it not refreshing Tiger Woods' career has crashed and burned so dramatically?
JWisdom.com Esther and the third Truth with Rabbi David Aaron ( 9 MINUTES)
Kelly Brewington: Going smoke-free may raise diabetes risk
Feb. 19, 2010
Rabbi David Aaron: Is the Divine beyond us or within us?
JWisdom.com Olympic Faith with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: Israel and the West are perpetrators of a myth that endangers the Jewish State
Feb. 18, 2010
Cal Thomas: Who is Rashad Hussain?
JWisdom.com A Wedding Disaster to Remember with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein ( 3 MINUTES)
Feb. 17, 2010
JWisdom.com Think your life is messed up? with Rabbi David Aaron ( 11 MINUTES)
Greg Logan: 'Greatest Jewish sporting event of all time since David versus Goliath' may be postponed because of bar mitzvah
Feb. 16, 2010
Anya Martin : Boy's 'cerebral palsy' fixed with diet
JWisdom.com Feet On The Street Spirituality with Gavriel Aryeh Sanders ( 8 MINUTES)
Marty Peretz: Let Europe Mind Its Own Business. It Brings Nothing To The Table Save For Mischief
Feb. 15, 2010
Herb Geduld: Lincoln and the Jews
JWisdom.com Are Our Children Really Ours? with Rabbi Mordechai Becher ( 5 MINUTES)
Susan King: 'Wolf Man' reflected writer's wartime Jewish experience

Jewish World Review August 6, 2007 / 22 Meanachem-Av, 5767

Quarreling siblings jeopardize parents' care

By Jan L. Warner & Jan Collins


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: Our mother, 76, and father, 83, are in failing physical and mental health. Although I live closest to our parents and see them regularly, my two brothers — who live in other states — and I can't seem to agree on what is the best course of action to take. I believe that they need assisted living because they are leaving the stove on and not keeping clean, etc. My brothers want them to stay at home and think I should be available to handle things even though I am working. My husband believes that this is selfish because they don't want our parents' money spent in order to inherit it.


These conflicts are causing arguments and disruption in our family relationship, while our parents continue to suffer. My brothers and I even met with a lawyer to try to come to an agreement. But after 30 minutes, the lawyer lost control of the meeting and asked all of us to leave. My parents are very wishy-washy and won't sign a power of attorney. Their neighbors are concerned about them and call me at least once a day when Dad gets out of the house and wanders through the neighborhood. I clean up on Sundays, but their home is a wreck by Tuesday. I am at my wits' end, and no one has any suggestions about how to break the logjam. Do you?


A: In working with elderly individuals and their families on a plan for long-term care, it is important to understand that there are numerous unique concerns for the planner, some due to the intra-family dynamics like yours. To be effective, the issues should be assessed and addressed as early as possible in the planning process because all long-term-care planning is filled with conflicts.


The family must remember that providing the best care for the elderly person at the best price is the goal of the planning process. This, unfortunately, is not always clear and causes squabbles within the family, which can be avoided if family members are educated and understand that someone must be in charge. Here, that duty has fallen to you based on the facts you give.


Assuming your parents are able to participate in the planning process, they should be allowed to do so. Some of these conflicts include whether to preserve assets for beneficiaries (such as disabled children or a community spouse) or to use all assets to fund long-term care. And, if they are capable, a determination needs to be made as to whether your are comfortable with giving up control of assets and, if so, to whom. If not, alternate planning ideas should be discussed.


Another area of conflict is quality of care versus cost of care. Certainly, everyone wants the best care available for family members; however, as with any commodity, the more you get, the more it costs. Should your parents stay at home? Do they need residential care? Can a nurse and sitters come into the house to help? Can you continue to assist with their care? Do they need a nursing home?


Ideally, your parents and the children should determine what care can be afforded and still meet other financial needs based on their unique circumstances. But your situation does not allow for this type of negotiation.


Your parents and your siblings need to face the question of their needs versus their desires. Almost no one wants to be moved from home, but some people need to be in a facility. The perception of the elderly person's health and the ability of the family to care for him or her may be very different from the true facts.


Taking the NextStep: It would appear to us that your first order of business is to hire a lawyer with sufficient background in this area to take the bull by the horns and assure that an appropriate plan is implemented that is in your parents' best interests. In our view, given the stances of you and your brothers, the first lawyer meeting was doomed from the start and should not have taken place. If necessary, and it may well be, guardianship and conservatorship actions could be in the offing. Your parents should be evaluated by a geriatric care manager, and you should hire a lawyer to attempt to resolve the issues with no more input from your siblings.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JAN L. WARNER received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina and earned a Master of Legal Letters (L.L.M.) in Taxation from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a frequent lecturer at legal education and public information programs throughout the United States. His articles have been published in national and state legal publications. Jan Collins began co-authoring Flying SoloŽ in 1989. She has more than 27 years of experience as a journalist, writer, and editor. To comment or ask a question, please click here.

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