End of Life

I want to die with dignity and protect my family. Here's my advance directive to voluntarily stop eating and drinking (VSED) in the event of future dementia or other incapacitating irreversible condition.

I can't abide the idea of subjecting my family to the emotional strain (and financial drain) of my long slide into demented oblivion. There's are ways to prevent that scenario from happening.

When an at-home spouse dies before a nursing home spouse, how does that affect Medicaid? Learn how to maintain Medicaid eligibility after the death of a spouse.

I saw the play "Freud's Last Session" about an imaginary conversation between the ill and aging Sigmund Freud and the up-and-coming writer C.S. Lewis. It rekindled my own thoughts about assisted suicide.

Learn the basics of filing a final tax return for a recently deceased loved one.

Painful legal battles amongst family members over Kasem’s care overshadowed his final years of life, highlighting the importance of obtaining legal documents and having clear conversations about end-of-life issues sooner rather than later.

Advance directives are useful for end-of-life care planning, but there's another tool that goes one step further. POLST forms enable terminally ill elders to turn their future care preferences into explicit medical orders for doctors and first responders.

New bills and recommendations look to pay doctors and patients to chat about end-of-life care plans and advance health care directives.

Roger Ebert had one of the strongest voices in Hollywood, even after he lost the ability to speak. Discover his guidance for re-claiming your true voice.

Despite the benefits of palliative medicine, many terminally ill seniors only receive hospice care for a few days or weeks before passing away. Why is it so difficult for families to seek comfort care for dying loved ones?

The day that you call hospice is not the day that you give up on your loved one. A former hospice nurse dispels common misconceptions surrounding end-of-life care.

The death of one parent often exposes the care needs of the surviving spouse. Unfortunately for many adult children, the funeral of one parent becomes a time for planning for the long-term care of the surviving parent.

The myriad emotions that arise when a family member is dying are difficult enough under normal circumstances, but the holidays tend to complicate things even further. Allowing yourself to both celebrate and grieve will help make the most of this time with the people you love.

If you’re struggling with nursing home visits, it’s important to identify what’s holding you back so you can find ways to move past these factors and give your loved one the attention and support they deserve.

It's a scary time when your loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. You know dementia will eventually rob your loved one's memories and then his or her life, leaving you to wonder, "How long does it take to die from Alzheimer's?"

The risk of depression in the elderly increases with other illnesses and when ability to function becomes limited. Improving detection and treatment of depression is an important step in reducing suicide risk among older adults.

Grief doesn't just strike once a person dies. In fact, the grieving process can begin when a loved one is first diagnosed with a chronic condition or terminal illness. Learn how to recognize and cope with anticipatory grief.

I was mesmerized by "The Roosevelts," a documentary by Ken Burns about TR, FDR, and Eleanor. Since I've been thinking about my own last years, I wondered which of them handled their own final years best.