My father has Parkinson's. Dementia is slowly creeping in. He says he is in pain but his primary care physician does not believe in pain meds. I am his only caregiver and I am extremely overwhelmed by all the decisions to be made. I do not have POA. He is willing to give me Finacial POA but not full. I worry about how will I pay for his funeral.(God forbid) Where can I get advice on how to proceed with his care and his personal and financial matters?
I have just taken over all the financials for my parents [Mom recently passed and Dad doesn't want to fool with it at his age]. It all is so mindboggling. The key is to get everything organized.... I found keeping papers separate in 3-ring binders, such as bank statements in one.... medical via Medicare in another.... medical via secondary insurance in another, etc.
My problem was finding all those papers as my folks had the papers scattered everywhere, nothing was in order. I finally was able to get my name on Dad's checks so I could pay his bills, whew as I was using my own checking account and the costs were adding up big time and Dad was like molasses when it came to reimbursing me.
If at all possible ask your Dad about Power of Attorney.... both medical POA and financial POA. Otherwise, stress to Dad that what if something happens to him and he can't make a decision for himself.... then what? You wouldn't be able to help because you have no legal power. I found using the word "expensive" or "costly" would keep my Dad's attention to the conversation.