In addition to saving and prolonging lives, donated organs are used by medical researchers to study diseases and organ tissues that allow for the development of treatments for diseases.

There are many different types of care options. Different choices may become more relevant over time. If you’d like help finding care in your area, email hello@peacefully.com or call (657) 999-0791.

Add a joint owner or transfer on death to each bank and investment account and asset (e.g., car, real estate, business) to avoid probate.

Make sure your loved ones can fill out all of the important information about you after you pass for your death certificate and obituary.

Share the information of important contacts so that your family can: (1) make sure they know if something happens and (2) find other important documents (if anything was missed before)

It is important to document your healthcare wishes. The failure to document one’s end of life wishes beforehand can lead to unfortunate outcomes such as family conflict or unnecessarily aggressive and expensive end-of-life care. The common instinct to “do everything” to keep a loved one alive, can sometimes take over and skew one’s perspective. In these situations, clear instructions are incredibly helpful to both the physicians, the patient, and the family.

You need a legal estate plan to determine what happens to your property, who takes care of your kids, and who makes decisions for you if you can’t. It will also help you avoid probate, a costly legal process where the government gets involved in distributing your assets.

Gather and/or create important documents to make sure loved ones do not have to worry about making decisions or legal consequences immediately after you pass.

Although it may not seem like a significant health problem, anemic older adults are more prone to experience physical decline and require hospitalization. It is crucial for caregivers and older adults to be aware of this condition.

Ever wondered if you should consider setting up the power of attorney for yourself? Read here to find out more about this legal authorization.

Scammers are persuasive, it can be challenging to not doubt their words. They will call, email, and make various attempts to do so in order to gain your personal information or money. For instance, a scammer may contact you pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over alleged unpaid taxes. For additional information on other types of scams, see our page on the most common scams. Here's what to do if you believe you are a victim of a scam.

It’s a common concern to worry about older adults experiencing a scam. After all, scammers are continually deceiving people with offers. It is easy to fall into their trap without even knowing the risks. Scammers typically prey on older adults because of their vulnerability. In 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that there were over 92,000 older victims of fraud, resulting in a loss of $1.7 billion. This number increased by 74 percent compared to the previous year. Here are some helpful tips to prevent older adults and yourself from becoming victims of a scam.

Within the older adult community, depression is one of the most widespread disorders. Yet, it often goes undiagnosed and therefore untreated. In addition to symptoms and signs of depression that may hinder the normal functioning of daily life, individuals diagnosed with depression also experience a higher risk of developing other physical and mental illnesses.

While about 58% of the elderly population believe depressed spells are normal signs of aging, this is not the case. Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common mood disorder that results in serious complications. It is a medical condition that interferes with daily life and normal functioning, with symptoms that affect how one may feel and think, as well as alter sleeping and eating habits.

Because COVID-19 exposed to individuals, communities, and governments the fragility and interconnectedness of current elderly caretaking policies, there is more likelihood of certain demands being satisfied.

Many people might recognize mental health as a fairly recent societal topic that specifically plagues the younger generations, but neglect the fact that older adults suffer extensively from mental health concerns as well.

Psychology says older people selectively optimize their lives by prioritizing and choosing the goals they want the most and the relationships they want to maintain the most. Neuroscience says D1 receptors start to fail with age, leaving D2 receptors in charge of the brain, so to speak. Falling in love is not as easy, but staying in love is, and may even get stronger.

As a kid, you hate it when Mom tells you to go to bed. You wait for her to leave the room, then crawl under your covers and turn on a flashlight. As a high school student, you stay up late talking to friends, feet propped up on the kitchen table, much to the disapproving sighs of your parents. As a college student, you chug espressos in the middle of the night, working furiously on the next deadline. Procrastination doesn’t seem like such a good idea now, does it?

Over the years, the rising elderly population has faced increasingly high prejudice which sees them as hindering social productivity and dynamism.

Perhaps the most common complaint among older adults is failing memory. But what a lot of people don’t consider (but should) is that there are two sides to every coin. There are true memories and false memories.

Emotion is such a central part of life that we as humans often take it for granted. From the moment you open your eyes as a baby, you have some sense of happiness or sadness, fear or love. Even animals feel emotion, despite old wives’ tales that like to make it seem like emotion is uniquely human.

You’ve just received a piece of news that leaves you speechless. You wonder if you have heard your doctor correctly, and you might ask them to repeat themselves. Eventually, the truth becomes clear, the world seems to slip away and time suddenly stops. You take a deep breath, release it, and reconcile with the fact that you have been diagnosed with a disease/condition that will likely have severe impacts on the rest of your life.

Everyone’s felt some kind of stress in their lives before. From an upcoming quiz in school to moving across the world to start over your life, there’s nothing that’s too big or too small to be called “stress.” Everyone’s stress is different, and everyone’s stress deserves to be looked at.

Probably the biggest symptom of aging is memory decline. Everyone knows it, someone with it, or about it. Nothing in nature lasts forever, and our brains are no exception.

Doulas and midwives highlight a key aspect of women’s health that has been easily forgotten; that the mother’s needs extend beyond just child deliverance.

Just like the brain, terminal lucidity is a miracle that is just so mysterious. But maybe it’s comforting to know that even if we never really can understand this wonder of the human mind, it does let patients on the verge of dying the opportunity of one last goodbye.

This article will help you determine that difference, and also provide guidance on what to consider as you decide between these two distinct roles.

For big, important decisions, it is best to have documents clearly stating what you want in the event of a tragedy or accident. Here are three documents you may want to consider having on hand.

If you have decided to write your own will, or would like to look into what the process entails, here is a step-by-step guide to help you throughout the process.

To get your estate plan off on the right foot, consider consulting an estate planning attorney to help you get started. Here are a list of questions to ask potential candidates.

Here is a full list of what you should include in a death packet to make the handling of your affairs much easier for your loved ones.

For all humans to feel secure in the knowledge that they will be able to die in a compassionate manner, it is important that we define, and defend, “end-of-life rights.”

As you plan for end of life and complete post death tasks, you will likely need to work with an attorney at some point, either in elder law, estate planning and probate, or even medical malpractice. Here are some practical considerations to keep in mind while searching for the right lawyer.

Establishing advance care planning is essential to guarantee that providers and loved ones administer end-of-life care that is consistent with your preferences and values.

In the medical setting, a healthcare proxy (HCP) is an agent that a patient can appoint to make healthcare decisions on their behalf.

If you only had a short time left to live, what would your greatest wish be? How would you fulfill this wish?

Skilled nursing is high-level medical care that can only be provided by a licensed clinician or therapist at a patient’s home or in a facility.

Deciding which long-term care services are best suited for us depends on having a knowledge of those services, as well as a willingness and ability to pay for them.