Key terms for navigating elder care, legal planning, and family dynamics.

Legal & Financial Terms

Advance Directive — A legal document that specifies your wishes for medical treatment if you become unable to communicate them. Includes living wills and healthcare proxies.

Durable Power of Attorney (POA) — A legal document that authorizes another person to make financial or legal decisions on your behalf. “Durable” means it remains valid if you become incapacitated.

Healthcare Proxy — A type of advance directive that designates a specific person to make medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself.

Living Will — A legal document that outlines your wishes for end-of-life medical treatment, including life-sustaining measures, pain management, and organ donation.

Guardianship — A legal arrangement where a court appoints someone to make decisions for an adult who is unable to make decisions independently. Also called conservatorship in some states.

Medicaid — A joint federal-state program that covers medical costs for people with limited income and assets. Different from Medicare.

Medicare — A federal health insurance program for people 65 and older (and some younger people with disabilities). Does not cover long-term care.

Long-Term Care Insurance — Insurance that covers the cost of long-term care services, including nursing home care, assisted living, and in-home care.

Care Types

Assisted Living — A residential facility that provides help with daily activities (bathing, dressing, medication management) while allowing residents to maintain independence.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) — A licensed facility that provides 24-hour medical care from registered nurses and other healthcare professionals. Also called a nursing home.

In-Home Care — Professional caregiving services provided in the person’s own home. Can range from companionship and light housekeeping to skilled nursing care.

Adult Day Program — A structured program during the day that provides social activities, meals, and supervision for older adults while family caregivers work or take a break.

Respite Care — Short-term care that gives the primary caregiver a break. Can be provided at home, in an adult day center, or in a residential facility.

Hospice — Care focused on comfort and quality of life for people with terminal illnesses. Covers medical, emotional, and spiritual support for both the patient and family.

Caregiving Concepts

Caregiver Burnout — A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by the prolonged stress of caregiving. Symptoms include fatigue, withdrawal, irritability, and loss of interest in activities.

Compassion Fatigue — Emotional exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure to another person’s suffering. Unlike burnout, it can develop suddenly and is specific to helping professions and caregivers.

Respite Care — Planned or emergency temporary care provided to a person with special needs to give the primary caregiver a break.

Role Reversal — The psychological shift that occurs when adult children begin making decisions for parents who previously made decisions for them. Often accompanied by grief, guilt, and identity confusion.

Sandwich Generation — Adults who are simultaneously caring for aging parents and raising their own children.

Sundowning — Increased confusion, agitation, and restlessness that occurs in the late afternoon or evening, commonly seen in people with dementia.

ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) — Basic self-care tasks including eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and transferring (getting in and out of bed or a chair). Used to assess the level of care a person needs.

IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living) — More complex tasks including managing finances, cooking, cleaning, shopping, using the phone, and managing medications.