I'm Getting Older Myself

Legal and financial steps when your spouse needs care: powers of attorney, family leave, what Medicare and Medicaid cover, how Medicaid protects the spouse at home, and the 2026 federal figures.

What changes when you care for a spouse or partner, what research does and does not show, how the relationship shifts, and what help is available, including respite, counseling, and helplines.

The documents LGBTQ+ older adults and chosen families need for end-of-life planning: health care proxy, HIPAA authorization, financial power of attorney, funeral directive, will, beneficiary forms, and where to get help.

How Medicaid factors into long-term care planning, and why timing matters if this is relevant to your situation.

A step-by-step checklist for the first months after an early dementia diagnosis: legal documents, money and fraud protection, care costs and benefits, care wishes, and where to get free or low-cost help.

Why it's worth thinking about your own home's suitability for aging in place well before it becomes urgent, and what's actually worth prioritizing.

A retirement checklist that is not about money: Medicare timing, your will, beneficiaries, a health care proxy, a financial agent, long-term care, and where your family can find your papers.

Whether now is the right time to start your own Final Day Plan, and why waiting for a specific trigger like illness or advanced age isn't actually necessary.

Why parents are often better positioned to start the conversation about their own aging, and how to approach it before a crisis forces the issue.

What is worth organizing in your 50s: papers, a health care proxy, a financial power of attorney, a current will, beneficiary names, and where your family can find everything.

The personal, less formal care preferences worth documenting for your family, beyond the legal paperwork - what actually matters to your quality of life as you age.

A neutral explanation of medical aid in dying: what it is, what it's called and why the name is disputed, how it differs from euthanasia, palliative sedation, VSED, and refusing treatment, who uses it, and the main arguments of supporters and opponents.

What's actually worth prioritizing differently in your 50s and 60s, when planning ahead is still a choice rather than a scramble.

A starting point for thinking about your own aging directly, rather than only through the lens of caring for an aging parent.

A dated list of where medical aid in dying is legal in the United States as of October 14, 2026: each jurisdiction and year, the newest laws and effective dates, Montana's court-based status, pending legal challenges, why counts differ, and how to check your state.

Who is eligible for medical aid in dying and how the process works: the common legal requirements, what the New York process looks like step by step, what differs from state to state, safeguards, whether participation is voluntary, cost and coverage, and what to do if you don't qualify.