The Fear of Home Downsizing Home Downsizing.  Just the words tend to conjure up images and feelings of overwhelm to the point that a home owner freezes and does nothing. After more than 25 years of working with home owners (or their family members) that want or need to sell and move to a smaller home, apartment, or other senior living arrangement, I have witnessed numerous specific and personal needs a person has with the transition to senior living. Some of the items that need to be considered are timing, locating the right new home, apartment, or other senior facility, a move manager and/or moving company, selling the house youre currently in, including what to do with all the stuff in the house, and making this all happen with minimal stress. One of the first primary issues is timing.  If a person is just looking to sell a house and move to a smaller house or independent living community, this may be a one to three (or more) year process. Many home owners think about repairs and updates a house needs or should have done to get the house ready to put on the market, as well as taking care of all the stuff that may have accumulated in the house.   Finding the right new home, apartment, or apartment community may also take some time, especially if a person wants a ground level apartment, or one that takes pets, and in a particular part of town. If someone has a health emergency, then this timeline to find the right place to move to is pushed rapidly forward. Finding the right apartment or senior living community is also very important.  Sometimes the best communities or facilities are not always the closest or most convenient to family members, doctors, or other services that a person would like. It may be much more important to find a community or facility that provides the best care and services for your needs, instead of focusing solely on how close it is to family or friends. One issue I hear from sellers moving to senior living probably more than anything else, is what do I do with all this stuff.  If a person has lived in a house for 20, 30, 40 years or more, its understandable that a lot of stuff has accumulated. It most likely took a lot of years to accumulate the stuff you have, so dont feel you need to complete a project like this all at one time.   Taking small steps like starting with one room and labeling items that you know you want to keep or know you can part with is a start. Moving from where you are now to a smaller home or apartment is a big change, but if youve done some pre-move planning, it doesnt have to be stressful. Creating a floor plan of where you are moving to, so that you know what can be moved and where it will go, can help.  Knowing what you can and want to take with you can then help with parting with items that you know you dont want or cant take with you. Moving resources available range from those that just pick up and move furniture and items already boxed up, to companies that will do everything to move you, so that the only thing you need to do is literally get yourself to your new dwelling. Lastly, what to do with your house?  There are options.  Do you keep the house as an investment property?  Do you sell the house and use the proceeds to buy a smaller home or buy into a community?  Do you use the sale proceeds to invest as part of a retirement plan?  Do you sell the house and turn your equity into a monthly income stream? What you do with your house and how you sell will be determined by your specific situation and how best your house can help you achieve your goals. For all of the above items, the key to getting repairs and updates completed, getting the stuff taken care of, finding the right new home, apartment, or other senior living arrangement, and getting moved from point A to point B, is having the right team to assist you. Just know that there are local resources for each step of the process to help make the transition to a smaller home or apartment as stress free as possible. If youd like additional information about downsizing or downsizing resources, just call my office at (402) 450-0199. **************Ben Souchek is an author of the book Home Downsizing Secrets as well as the owner and founder of Home Downsizing Solutions by The Sierra Group, LLC, a company that specializes in helping seniors and their families transition to senior living by buying houses direct from sellers.  

Life After StrokeNearly 800,000 individuals in the United States have a stroke each year, and there are nearly 8 million survivors of stroke in the United States alone.  With increased awareness of stroke symptoms, fast response in calling 911, and new medications, more and more individuals are surviving a stroke each year.  Following a stroke, a person will typically recover in the hospital and then progress to other rehabilitation options, with the optimal goal to return home.  Once home, there may be more therapy and/or assistance required.  Eventually the therapy may stop as progress slows down, but recovery does not have an expiration date and will continue for the individual.  As such, there is the continued need for support and services.   Explore options with the hospital and rehabilitation staff regarding the types of programs and services offered in your community post stroke.  Ask the following:1.    Are there support groups in the community for the survivor of stroke?  For family members, caregivers/care partners?  2.    Are there community based wellness programs to help continue the improvement and independence being regained by the survivor of stroke?  Look for programs that address physical and cognitive wellness, along with social and emotional well-being.  Stroke can happen to anyone at any time.  So BE FAST in identifying a stroke and call 911.  Time is brain.  The acronym BE FAST relates to the following indicators of a stroke.  Balance = Sudden onset of dizziness or balance issues.Eyesight = Sudden changes, blurred vision or trouble with eyesight in one or both eyes. Face = Sudden weakness or numbness in the face, with one side appearing droopy.Arm = Sudden weakness or numbness of one arm.Speech = Sudden inability to speak or slurred/garbled/strange speech. Time = Call 911 immediately if you observe any of these signs.   This article submitted by Jeanette Boucher, OTR/L.  Jeanette is a Program Coordinator at the American Stroke Foundation and may be reached at 913.649.1776 or by email at jeanette@americanstroke.org  

Plan While You Still Can Do you know what healthcare treatments you would and would not want if you could not speak for yourself? Have you considered what wouldhappen if you were no longer able to make decisions for your healthcare or finances? These are hard questions to think about but taking time to answer them and make them official is essential. To make your decisions knownand give power to those you choose, you need legal documents in place; specifically, a Healthcare Durable Power of Attorney, an Advanced Directive,and a Financial Durable Power of Attorney. A Healthcare DPOA allows you to document who makesmedical decisions about your healthcare. The person designated as your agent is authorized to speak ONLY if you cant speak for yourself. An AdvancedDirective is a document that states your wishes for medical treatments at the end of life. These documents are essential for making your healthcare wishesknown and avoiding a Guardianship during incapacity. You can prepare these documents with an Estate Planning or Elder Law Attorney, or there are freeversions of them available with the Center for Practical Bioethics. A Financial DPOA is a document that gives authority from oneperson (the principal) to another person (the agent) for the agent to act on behalf of the principal. These are much more technical and require theassistance of an attorney to ensure they are prepared properly. Creating a Financial DPOA is essential for you to ensure your finances are in the hands ofsomeone you trust. If this year has taught us anything, its to plan while you can. Talk to your attorney to get started.Disclaimer: This is not intended to be legal counsel. The choice of an attorney is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.This article was submitted by Aaron L. Love, JD, an attorney with The Love Law Group, LLC and may be reached at 816-554-3330 or by email at planning@lovelawgroup.com.

Whenever you think of lifes big moments, its hard to find one without Mom and Dad. Theyve been an unwavering source of comfort, inspiration and strength. So when its time to talk to your parents about assisted living, you might find yourself overwhelmed with emotions.Youre not alone. Many adult children face the arduous task of finding a safe place for their parents to age. However, you can make the transition a lot less stressful for everyone by following these 4 steps in planning for assisted living with your parents.1. Hold a family meeting.The choice to transition into assisted living is life-changing, which is why its essential for your parents and supportive family members to be involved in the process as much as possible. The best way to get the conversation about assisted living started is by holding a family meeting.Here are some tips on how to hold a family meeting about transitioning your parents to assisted living:Include everyone who will be part of the caregiving team for your parents. This could include family members, close friends, neighbors, their minister, or a paid caregiver.Prepare an agenda to keep communication successful and the group focused on supporting your parents. Be sure to stick to a clear timetable, so you dont overwhelm those attending the meeting.Choose a comfortable setting to keep tension low and positivity high. Find a location that has adequate seating and few distractions.Make sure everyone is heard. Moving your parents into assisted living can stir up emotions for everyone involved. People are more willing to talk about the situation if they feel they have a safe place to speak.2. Evaluate their needs.An in-person visit with their primary care physician is the ideal way to accurately evaluate the needs of your aging parents. Not only will you get a comprehensive evaluation of their functional abilities, youll get an assessment of their physical health, too.In order to provide the right level of care, their doctor will evaluate how well your mom or dad perform Activities of Daily Living, or ADLs . These are activities in which your parents engage on a day-to-day basis, such as:BathingEatingDressingGroomingOral hygieneClimbing stairsWalkingUsing the toiletYou also need to evaluate how well your parents perform Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, or IADLS. Adults need to perform these activities in order to live a successful, independent life. Evaluating IADLS is also a way to measure what level of care your parents might need when they enter assisted living. Examples include:CookingDriving or using public transportationDoing houseworkKeeping track of financesDoing laundryUsing the phone and looking up numbersManaging medications3. Create a sound financial plan for assisted living.After youve determined the level of care your mom or dad might need, its time to take a deep look at what your family can afford on a monthly basis. Most families use private funds to pay for assisted living. Your parents may be able to pay for this by combining their  personal savings, Social Security payments, pension payments and retirement accounts; they may also be willing to sell their home. In some cases, adult children may contribute some of their own funds to supplement their parents resources.You may be surprised to find out the average cost of assisted living is about the same as the cost of at-home care, which is when you choose to spend retirement in your home. However, aging in place comes with a big caveat: major home renovations.To live safely at home, your parents will probably need rooms in their home, like the bathroom and kitchen, completely reworked. This could end up costing more money and stress than originally planned.Talk to your parents about their finances and discuss the difference between aging-in-place and choosing a community that offers assisted living. That way, you can be sure youre choosing the right path for your parents retirement.4. Delight in exploring the possibilities.Assisted living communities are not the dreary and sleepy halls you may remember at your grandparents nursing home. Upscale assisted living offers unsurpassed care, services, and amenities that help your mom and dad thrive through every stage of their retirement.Housekeeping and laundry services eliminate many daily concerns,  scheduled activities help your parents stay social, and state-of-the-art fitness facilities keep them active. Theyll also have convenient access to lifes little luxuries like a hair salon, restaurant-style dining, and scheduled transportation for fun-filled shopping trips.While your parents are spending their retirement in style at a luxury community offering assisted living, you can rest easy knowing their health is always in caring hands.LIVE LIFE THE SANTA MARTA WAY WITH LUXURY ASSISTED LIVING IN OLATHE, KSDiscover Tuscan-inspired views, top-of-the-line amenities, and world-class cuisine at Santa Marta. Not only will your parents  be able to enjoy the fabulous amenities and services we offer, but theyll be able to receive  uniquely tailored care as their health needs change.To schedule a tour or learn more about our assisted living neighborhood and other senior living options, contact us online, and a senior living counselor will get in touch with you as soon as possible.