We have a client who is facing a dilemma that can best be described as heart wrenching. I’ll call her Wilma (not her real name). Wilma is a widow. She is retired with a reasonable income from her late husband’s military pension. She owns her own modest home, and does not have any large debts, just a few small credit card balances. And she has some cash in the bank, though less than $100,000. She has no living family members.

Wilma doesn’t have a Power of Attorney, Health Care Advanced Directives, Living Will, or Last Will & Testament in place. She didn’t plan for what she would do if she were unable to care for herself, which is where she finds herself today.

Two years ago, Wilma was visiting a friend in another county here in Pennsylvania and she took a tumble. She ended up in the local hospital for a brief stay. She was then transferred to a rehab unit. Her physical disabilities did not improve and she is now a resident in a nursing facility in a county far from her home. She is angry with her lack of progress and consistently wants to ‘go home.’

Wilma cannot afford to go home. And even if she could go home, her home is not designed to accommodate the wheelchair she now uses to get around. She did not make any arrangements with anyone to assist her in any way. She is alone with only an agent/attorney, whom she never knew before her misadventures began, to assist her. Planning would not have answered all of her questions, but planning may have put her in a better position than she finds herself in today.

Today, Wilma’s situation is sad. She will very likely spend her remaining days in the care of a facility that does its absolute best to care for their patients. I do not fault the facility at all. They are doing their best with the resources that they have to work with. But Wilma does not want to be there.

We can assist you in putting together a plan which can help prevent you from being in the position which Wilma finds herself. Leave a legacy that makes you smile when you think of how you will be remembered. Please contact Mateya Law Firm at 717-241-6500.