BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a "major assault."
It is hard enough to be a caregiver for elderly parents when there are multiple siblings to help.
Sometimes, there is only you.
Just ask Michael Hausknost. The financial planner from Long Beach, Calif., is helping his 90-year-old mom, Eva, as she moves from an assisted living facility into one that specializes in memory care.
Hausknost's dad passed away many years ago. His mom's other relatives are thousands of miles away in Europe. Eva has no money at this point apart from Social Security checks.
That means that everything to do with Eva's care, from emotional to financial, falls squarely on her son.
“There is no one else,” says Hausknost, 60. “It’s literally just me.”
It is a situation more and more face, as only children cope with the challenge of caring for aging parents.
That is because family size is shrinking, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In fact, the latest numbers from 2022 reveal that 19% of American women ages 40-44 have only one child – the highest percentage ever recorded in that category. By contrast, it was 9.6% in 1976.
“Only children are showing up left and right asking me about these issues,” says Joy Loverde, an eldercare consultant and author of “The Complete Eldercare Planner.” “Everything is on the line for them, especially their own careers and financial stability.”
Here are four ways only children can prepare.
If it is only you to care for elderly parents, without any sibling help, then you need to start thinking about how you will handle it as soon as possible.
“I started planning for (this) 20 years ago,” Hausknost says. “I knew that there was longevity in my family, that my mom wouldn’t go anywhere soon, and had no means herself, so I saved accordingly.”
Good thing, too: His mom’s current arrangements are running around $6,000 a month for the “bare minimum” of room and board, with other tasks (like administering medications) driving the price up from there.
If your parent has nothing and you have no choice, as with Hausknost, that is one thing. But impacting your own family’s financial future is the last thing you want to do.
“If you start dipping into your own pockets, you might be disqualifying them from state and federal programs by stepping up and paying for everything,” Loverde says.
Instead, be thoughtful and creative about using your parents’ own resources first – whether that be their own savings, insurance like long-term care policies or the family home.
There are a lot of options including selling a house and downsizing, taking out a home equity loan or line of credit and entering into a reverse mortgage.
If you are your parent’s safety net as an only child, it may be tempting to give up your career to become a full-time caregiver.
But removing yourself from the workplace, even if just for a few years, can have very damaging long-term consequences – and once you leave the office in midlife, it can be tough to go back.
Plus, staying at your job means you can possibly use benefit programs – which could include eldercare assistance, family leave, counselling, flexible schedules and other useful perks.
“Find out from your employer what is available if and when you have to take on that role and talk to them even before there is evidence that help is needed,” Loverde says.
Being an only child does not mean you have to handle all these complex issues alone.
First, consider if friends or other relatives – cousins, aunts, uncles – who also care deeply about your parents are able to help with time, money or both.
Second, assemble a professional team to help navigate the challenges ahead, including a financial planner to chart the money path and an estate lawyer for important documents like power of attorney or healthcare proxies.
Third, get involved in support groups, so you don't have to figure out caregiving entirely alone. A great starting point for resources of all kinds: The “Eldercare Locator,” a public service from the Administration for Community Living.
Says Hausknost: “Even if you are an only child, it’s foolish to think you can do it all yourself.”
(Editing by Lauren Young; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a "major assault."
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Members of a Canadian group representing families of those killed when Iranian officials shot down Flight PS752 in January 2020 say they are not sorry to hear of the death of Iran's president.
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.