Solo Agers Planning: How a Care Manager Can Help Your Estate Plan Work When You Need It Most

Solo agers planning involves more than deciding who will inherit your assets after death. If you are aging alone without a spouse, nearby children, or close family members who can regularly assist you, your plan should also address who will help during periods of illness, incapacity, or cognitive decline. For many such people, a care manager can become an important member of the team that helps ensure an estate plan functions as intended. Effective planning often combines estate planning with long-term care planning so that both legal and practical needs are addressed before a crisis occurs.

In Washington, DC, many older adults have built successful careers and strong social networks but have family members scattered throughout the country. As a result, the people appointed as trustees, agents under powers of attorney, and health care decision makers may live hundreds or even thousands of miles away. While those individuals may be willing to serve, distance can create practical challenges when immediate assistance is needed.

Planning Requires More Than Legal Documents

Most people understand the importance of creating legal documents such as:

• A revocable living trust.
• A durable financial power of attorney.
• An advance medical directive.
• A HIPAA authorization.
• A last will and testament.

These documents are essential because they identify who has authority to act on your behalf.

However, authority alone does not solve every problem.

An agent under a power of attorney may live in California. A health care agent may live in Florida. A trustee may be fully capable of managing finances but unable to regularly monitor your well-being.

The question many people face is not simply who has legal authority. The question is who will help those decision makers understand what is actually happening if a crisis occurs.

Who Is a Solo Ager?

A solo ager is an individual who expects to age without substantial day-to-day support from a spouse, adult child, or nearby family member.

Some of these people never had children. Others are widowed, divorced, estranged from relatives, or have family members who live far away.

Most of these people rely instead on trusted friends, neighbors, and what is often called a family of choice.

These relationships are often deeply meaningful, but they can also create unique planning challenges.

A friend may be willing to serve as a health care agent but may not have the time, training, or proximity to coordinate complex care needs.

This is where a care manager can play an important role.

What Is a Care Manager?

A care manager, sometimes called a geriatric care manager or Aging Life Care Professional, helps older adults navigate the practical realities of aging.

Depending on the circumstances, a care manager may:

• Assess care needs.
• Coordinate medical providers.
• Attend appointments.
• Arrange home care services.
• Monitor changes in health and functioning.
• Evaluate housing options.
• Assist during hospitalizations.
• Coordinate transitions between care settings.
• Advocate for an older adult’s goals and preferences.

A care manager does not replace your attorney, trustee, or health care agent. Instead, the care manager helps coordinate and monitor the day-to-day aspects of care which traditionally is not considered by most estate planners.

Estate Planning Addresses Authority; Care Managers Help With Implementation

Recently, our Maryland/DC Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys hosted a program discussing how care managers can improve outcomes for elder law clients.

One theme that resonated with me as a CELA was that elder law attorneys and care managers often focus on different aspects of the same problem.

Attorneys focus on the legal framework:

• Powers of attorney.
• Advance medical directives.
• Trusts.
• Medicaid planning.
• Fiduciary appointments.

Care managers focus on the human realities of aging:

• Safety.
• Care coordination.
• Housing decisions.
• Family dynamics.
• Social isolation.
• Quality of life.
• Day-to-day functioning.

Both perspectives are important.

The legal documents identify who has authority to act. The care manager can help those decision makers understand what is actually happening on the ground.

The Care Manager as the “Boots on the Ground”

One of the greatest benefits of a care manager for my clients is the ability to provide local support when decision makers live elsewhere.

Consider a person living on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Her closest friend lives in Chicago and serves as her health care agent. Her successor trustee lives in North Carolina.

Those individuals may be excellent choices. However, neither is in a position to regularly:

• Visit the home.
• Attend medical appointments.
• Observe changes in memory.
• Evaluate safety concerns.
• Coordinate caregivers.
• Respond quickly to emerging issues.

A care manager can become the local “boots on the ground.”

The care manager may be able to observe changes in functioning, communicate with providers, coordinate services, and keep surrogate decision makers informed so they can make better decisions.

The care manager does not replace the decision maker. Rather, the care manager helps support the decision maker.

Solo Aging and Long-Term Care Planning

Estate planning and long-term care planning are closely connected for people aging alone. While estate planning documents identify who has legal authority to act, long-term care planning focuses on how care will actually be delivered if assistance becomes necessary.

A care manager can help bridge the gap between legal authority and practical implementation as the professional who coordinate services, monitor well-being, and keep decision makers informed.

Good Planning Can Reduce the Burden on Everyone

One of the most common concerns I hear from my clients is:

“I do not want to be a burden.”

This concern is particularly common among individuals who intend to rely on friends and neighbors rather than traditional family members.

Many people in this situation worry about asking too much of the people they care about.

A care manager can help reduce that burden.

Instead of expecting a friend to manage every aspect of care, the care manager can assist with:

• Information gathering.
• Care coordination.
• Communication with providers.
• Monitoring changing needs.
• Identifying appropriate resources.
• Helping implement recommendations.

This allows loved ones to focus more on maintaining meaningful relationships and less on navigating care facilities and complicated health care systems.

Preparing for Dementia Before It Becomes a Crisis

Many people are particularly concerned about dementia.

The challenge with dementia is that planning opportunities may diminish as cognitive abilities decline.

This is one reason why planning should occur long before assistance is needed.

Establishing relationships, selecting decision makers, and identifying professional resources before a crisis can significantly improve outcomes.

A care manager can help identify changing needs, communicate concerns to trusted decision makers, and assist with implementing a plan as circumstances evolve.

Building a Team That Works Together

The strongest plans are rarely dependent on a single person.

Instead, successful planning often involves a coordinated team that may include:

• A Certified Elder Law Attorney.
• A trustee.
• An agent under a durable power of attorney.
• A health care agent.
• Financial advisors.
• Accountants.
• Care managers.
• Friends and neighbors.

Each person has a different role. Together, they help create a support structure that can adapt as needs change over time.

Solo Agers Planning Is About Aging With Independence and Support

For most of my clients, the greatest planning challenge is not death. It is preparing for the possibility that assistance may be needed during life.

A well-designed estate plan does more than transfer assets after death. It creates a framework for managing the legal, financial, and practical realities of aging.

For my clients who want to maintain independence while avoiding unnecessary burdens on friends and family, a care manager can become an invaluable member of the planning team—providing local support, coordinating care, and helping trusted decision makers carry out the plan when it matters most.