Should adult children move their aging parents into their home? Do elderly parents want to move in with their adult children? According to a Gallup Poll released in 2012 a quarter of elderly parents said yes; 34 percent said no. The largest group, 38 percent, said they weren’t sure.
However, according to AARP Pew Research Center analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, approximately 51 million Americans, or 16.7 percent of the population, live in a house with at least two adult generations, or a grandparent and at least one other generation, under one roof. Yet according to AARP, the Pew analysis also reported a 10.5 percent increase in multigeneration households from 2007 to 2009. And a 2012 survey by national home builder Group found that 32 percent of adult children expect to eventually share their house with a parents.
Geriatric Care Manager’s can assist through a geriatric assessment ,a home safety evaluation and a quality of life assessment. After considering all the possible issues the geriatric care manager can help the family and the older person make the best decision. They can assess the elder’s feeling, present needs and also future care. An independent assessment is much more objective than the adult child’s opinion. But the GCM can also help the adult child and his or her family figure out whether this move is the best decision by assessing their needs and capacity to care now and in the future.. The major issues a GCM will consider in your assessment would be
- Legal issues
- Tax issues
- Space Limitations and availability
- Remodeling costs if needed
- Adaptations to the adult child’s home now and in the future as the older parents ages further
- Family dynamics now and in the past
- Amount of care the older person will need in the present and the future
- extended family support and care
- socialization of elder
- Cost of that care
- Caregiver strengths and weakness of the adult child now and as the parents ages further
- We will cover all of these and more in the next series of blogs