Recently we found a very helpful article on a website called Senior Care Advice. This article can be extremely beneficial to you if you’re among the 2.7 million grandparents in America who are raising their own grandchildren. You can access this article by clicking here.
The article is called “Four Invaluable Resources for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.” It answers questions every grandparent in that situation needs to know, including:
- What documents do you need to have readily available?
- How do you access public benefits you may be entitled to?
- What laws and resources apply to your state of residence?
- What are some important tips that make a grandparent a better “surrogate parent”?
(The access to public benefits is particularly important since, as the article reports, one in five grandparents raising grandchildren lives below the poverty line.)
As the article makes clear, taking your grandchildren into your home to live requires major adjustments. “Grandfamilies” (as the article calls them) face a unique set of special challenges that make their situation particularly difficult. For one thing, grandchildren often come to live with their grandparents in a time of family crisis, with little or no opportunity to plan. This can put pressure on the grandparents’ income and knock their carefully-made financial plans askew. Grandparents often have to lay aside their own financial dreams and plans, frequently returning to the workforce or reducing their savings at a critical time in their lives.
In other words, grandparents raising grandchildren need all the help they can get. That’s why this article is a beneficial resource. The final section of the article, “Tips for Raising Grandchildren,” contains particularly helpful suggestions. When faced with the stress of returning to the role of parents, grandparents have to learn to acknowledge their own feelings and take care of themselves. They need to focus on creating a stable environment for their grandchildren and encouraging open, honest communication – including communication with the parents, which can be a challenge depending on family dynamics and your particular situation.
If this topic applies to you, we suggest the website www.helpguide.org which lists other tips to make the experience of raising your own grandchildren more manageable.
Involving your family in your retirement plans is one of the keys to a successful retirement. Here at Aging Options we have helped thousands of people plan for their senior years in a way that helps them maintain independence and live the kind of life they choose. We help retirees plan for their financial health, review their housing choices, arrange their legal affairs and determine their health care options – all part of what we call a LifePlan.
How can you begin the process? We invite you to come to one of our free LifePlanning Seminars held in locations throughout the area. Click on the Upcoming Events tab for dates and times. Of course if you prefer to meet with us in person, we welcome the opportunity. Contact our office and we’ll gladly arrange an appointment. It will be a pleasure to work with you as you plan for a safe, secure retirement.
(Originally reported at www.seniorcareadvice.com)
