By: Wendy Twine
When it comes to the aging loved one(s) in your life, whether it’s your parents, aunt or uncle, friend, etc. it can be a difficult time for all parties involved. I personally have had to face this with my own parents. My mother & father faced this reality of needing to be closer to their children (west coast verses east coast), when my father had multiple strokes.

I began to ask these questions: What is involved in moving someone who is partially immobile and not fully cognitive? Who is going to care for them? Where do I move them too? Do I move them or use professional movers? Is there a house to sell?

So what is involved when it comes to moving someone you love who is up in years? First of all, let’s ask the first question, are they mobile and cognitive? If they are, this helps greatly; if not, you are more challenged in your research.

In the case of my father, he had some limitations in both his mobility and his mental reasoning from the strokes. I had to think about how I was going to transport them to move closer to us. Can they handle a car or plane ride for just an hour or so; or will they be able to endure a cross country move?

This led me to the next question. Who is going to care for them? If your parents or love one can still move around with little or no assistance (like a cane or walker), you may be able to get away with having them be placed in a senior community, where they can live on their own (independent living); and they do not need the day in and day out of a caregiver.

If they need just assistance verses full nursing care (24 hours a day every day for all of their needs), there is a variety of ways this can be accomplished. There are professional facilities that will give your loved ones their own living area/apartment that is wired with pull cords/buttons in every room if there is a need for emergency assistance. They will also provide anywhere from one to three meals a day, laundry assistance, bathing assistance, housekeeping services and dispensing of medicine, if needed for additional fees.

Now let’s look at the next question, where will you move them? Well based on their needs will determine on where to do your search. Again, looking at what I recently went through with my own parents, we (brother & myself) decided that they can still live on their own with some assistance from afar (brother checking in on them and using someone like Medical Alert); because mom could still help with dad.

If you find that they are not in need of an independent living facility (living on their own) but what is called “Assisted Living” or “Nursing Care”, there is much to choose from. Also, if you find that your loved one needs lots of assistance and yet not full nursing care, you may want to check to see if the facility you are interested in offers the next level of care as well. Most of these facilities will offer all three of these areas of living or at least the first two levels: independent living, assisted living, and nursing care. If it is just the first two, then you have to think what you may need in the near future.

Once you find out what kind of care your loved one needs and where you will move them too, you have to decide if you will be moving them yourself or hiring a professional mover. There are many facilities that offer the DIY (Do It Yourself) trucks like U-Haul. These companies base their fees on size of truck, mileage, and if one way verses round trip to return the truck. The professional companies charge by moving on weekday verses weekend days, mileage, weight, and packing materials. You have to ask yourself is it worth paying a professional and saving your back and time? Or, solicit the help of family and friends to help on both ends. If you do it yourself, you will have to load it and unloaded all by yourself (hopefully with the help of family and friends), unlike the professional movers who do that for you.

Finally, is there a house to sell? If you have a house to sell you may want to solicit a Realtor®. Realtors® have a network of buyers plus other agents that help speed up the process of getting your home sold verses the FSBO (For Sale by Owner). One advantage of a real estate agent is that they can put your loved one’s home in the Multi-Listing Service and it goes out to not only the local agents but on the national sites as well for agents all over the country to see. There may be buyers interested from afar who want to move to your loved one’s area.

With these questions in hand, hopefully this will help you know what to do when the time comes to move the aging loved one in your life.

Disclaimer: Wendy Twine is a Real Estate Agent is Virginia and in North Carolina.

*Note: This content is for informational purposes only. Wendy Twine makes no warranties and bears no liability for use of this information. The information is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, tax or investment advice, or a legal opinion. Always contact your legal, tax and/or financial advisors to help answer questions about your business’s specific situation or needs prior to taking any action based upon this information.