First, you must understand the financial situation of your older adult. As a caretaker one must update them on long term care cost and ensure they are up to date on costs. If you are already managing their finances understand what will be available for their long term care. 

     Second, you also need to take in account your own financial situation. In many cases caregivers give up their own job or use their retirement savings to pay for their parents or spouse’s care. Take into account how much you can contribute in both time and money without damaging your own financial future. These facts could motivate you to look into other options of paying before long-term care is actually needed. Doing this early has the benefits of avoiding solutions that hurt you due to time restraints. Even if you have a plan in mind it can always be beneficial to look at other estimates or additions. 

     Third, In order to be prepared one must look at best and worst case scenarios. This includes looking into any chronic conditions they currently have. Using this, determine how much care they will realistically need. Heath can change, but it can prove helpful to know when looking at long-term care facilities. Although exact figures will be harder to come across, estimates will at least give you ball park figures. 

     Fourth, Expert advice is often a critical component to dealing with the elder. An elder law attorney could help one get Medicaid benefits and protect assets for spouses or future generations. 

     Fifth, A discussion with your family will be a great way to discuss these financial options. The earlier this happens the better. It gives time for everyone to absorb the information and make decisions based on it. It also makes the discussion more calm and productive.