Alzheimer’s Resources
Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resources for North Carolina Families
Practical guidance for the legal, financial, caregiving, and everyday decisions that come with dementia.
When someone you love is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, there are suddenly a lot of questions.
What should we be doing now? Are the right legal documents in place? How will we pay for care? What happens if Mom can't stay home alone? What if Dad, who is the primary caregiver, gets sick? And how do we keep track of everything we're learning along the way?
You don't have to figure it all out at once.
I created The Happy Lawyer's Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center to give North Carolina families a place to start — and a place to come back to as things change.
Planning Is About More Than Legal Documents
As an estate planning and elder law attorney, I spend a lot of time helping families think about Powers of Attorney, trusts, long-term care, protecting assets, and who will make decisions if someone can no longer make them independently.
Those things are important. But families living with Alzheimer's have taught me that good planning has to go beyond the legal documents.
Someone needs to know which medications Mom takes and where the insurance information is kept. Someone needs to know that Dad really can't be left alone anymore, even though he'll tell you otherwise. And someone needs to know what happens if the person providing most of the care suddenly can't be there tomorrow.
There are also things no legal document will ever tell you.
That Mom loves Motown. That Dad gets restless around four o'clock. That she will refuse a shower but happily agree to “get ready for the day.” That he worked on cars his whole life and can still talk about his first one for an hour.
Those things matter, too.
That's why the resources here address legal and financial planning and the practical, everyday side of caring for someone you love.
Start Where You Are
Maybe the diagnosis came last week.
Maybe you've already been caregiving for years.
Maybe you're beginning to worry about the cost of long-term care, or you simply know your family isn't prepared if something changes.
Start with the resource that speaks to what your family is dealing with today. You don't need to read everything or solve every problem at once.
Use what helps. Share it with your family. Come back when you need something else.
Explore the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resources
North Carolina Alzheimer’s Planning Guide
An Alzheimer’s diagnosis can leave families wondering what needs to happen now, what can wait, and whether they are already behind. This practical guide walks North Carolina families through the important legal, financial, and long-term care planning issues to consider after a diagnosis, so you can focus on the decisions that matter most without trying to figure everything out at once.