Hospice care can be very difficult for families to come to terms with, but can be a beneficial care option for those caring for a terminally ill loved one. The purpose of hospice is to provide comfort and quality of life for a terminally ill person. Hospice can allow the patient to remain at home and can provide ways to alleviate pain and make the person more comfortable. It is a great option for those who are seriously ill, who have exhausted their treatment possibilities, or who do not wish to continue treatment for a terminal illness.

In order to be placed under hospice, normally a patient must receive a prognosis from two doctors that the patient has six months or less to live. Since there is no way to be sure how long a patient will live, the patient must continue to qualify every 60 to 90 days.

A hospice team will work with other healthcare professionals, including the doctors a patient already has, to coordinate and provide treatment and care. Support for families and caregivers is another benefit of hospice care. The team can help train caregivers to provide care to a loved one. Medical equipment and medications related to the illness will be provided for those in hospice.

The hospice team comes to the patient wherever they may live. Hospice provides different levels of care including home care, but can also extend to in-patient care in a hospital’s hospice unit.

Respite care is a benefit of hospice for the family and caregiver. Caregivers are provided through the hospice program so that caregivers can go on vacation, rest, or take care of other matters. Hospice care addresses not only the physical needs of the patient, but also the spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being of the patient receiving hospice care.  Hospice offers bereavement follow-up and support for families as well.

Terminally ill patients do not normally have to pay for hospice care. Most hospice patients have their care paid for through Medicare and the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Veterans are eligible for hospice benefits provided through the Veteran’s Health Administration, and these benefits are also similar to the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Health insurance may cover some hospice benefits. This can vary among insurers, so it is important to check qualifications and coverage. If the patient has no other way to pay for hospice, it may be provided on a sliding scale or free of charge.

Hospice care is a beneficial option for helping families care for a terminally ill loved one. The loved one does not have to be moved unless their medical condition requires constant care. They are able to stay in their homes and receive care to keep them comfortable and their pain managed. It is nearly impossible for a terminally ill patient to be turned down for hospice care if they have six months or less to live. Payment options are always available and patients are rarely turned away.

If you have any questions about something you have read or would like additional information, please feel free to  contact  us.

The post Understanding Hospice Care appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

Hospice care can be very difficult for families to come to terms with, but can be a beneficial care option for those caring for a terminally ill loved one. The purpose of hospice is to provide comfort and quality of life for a terminally ill person. Hospice can allow the patient to remain at home and can provide ways to alleviate pain and make the person more comfortable. It is a great option for those who are seriously ill, who have exhausted their treatment possibilities, or who do not wish to continue treatment for a terminal illness.

In order to be placed under hospice, normally a patient must receive a prognosis from two doctors that the patient has six months or less to live. Since there is no way to be sure how long a patient will live, the patient must continue to qualify every 60 to 90 days.

A hospice team will work with other healthcare professionals, including the doctors a patient already has, to coordinate and provide treatment and care. Support for families and caregivers is another benefit of hospice care. The team can help train caregivers to provide care to a loved one. Medical equipment and medications related to the illness will be provided for those in hospice.

The hospice team comes to the patient wherever they may live. Hospice provides different levels of care including home care, but can also extend to in-patient care in a hospital’s hospice unit.

Respite care is a benefit of hospice for the family and caregiver. Caregivers are provided through the hospice program so that caregivers can go on vacation, rest, or take care of other matters. Hospice care addresses not only the physical needs of the patient, but also the spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being of the patient receiving hospice care.  Hospice offers bereavement follow-up and support for families as well.

Terminally ill patients do not normally have to pay for hospice care. Most hospice patients have their care paid for through Medicare and the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Veterans are eligible for hospice benefits provided through the Veteran’s Health Administration, and these benefits are also similar to the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Health insurance may cover some hospice benefits. This can vary among insurers, so it is important to check qualifications and coverage. If the patient has no other way to pay for hospice, it may be provided on a sliding scale or free of charge.

Hospice care is a beneficial option for helping families care for a terminally ill loved one. The loved one does not have to be moved unless their medical condition requires constant care. They are able to stay in their homes and receive care to keep them comfortable and their pain managed. It is nearly impossible for a terminally ill patient to be turned down for hospice care if they have six months or less to live. Payment options are always available and patients are rarely turned away.

If you have any questions about something you have read or would like additional information, please feel free to contact us.

The post Important Thing You Should Know About Hospice Care appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

It is essential to bring up a parent’s aging expectations and set goals together even though initial discussions may be uncomfortable. Often, an exploration into a parent’s future thoughts about health, finances, and residential plans can make the difference between reacting to a crisis or following an  established plan
 that can bring both the parent and their children peace of mind. The sooner an identified caregiver begins a dialogue, the better the outcome for all involved.

It is common for an older parent to try and shield loved ones from some of their harsh realities – whether financial or health-related – because they are reluctant to accept help, embarrassed by their finances and don’t want to be a burden, or are hiding some critical health information. Even in the best of health circumstances an older parent’s ability to remain independent and manage their life can be challenging. Family caregivers are essential to the experience of aging in America and while individual care needs vary there are some general topics to address when helping an aging parent.

Safety issues are paramount. If there are assets and retirement plans in place, do not allow an aging parent to become financially vulnerable. In the most  recent report  released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) more than 2 million elderly Americans were defrauded out of more than 750 million dollars in one year. Get educated and learn systems that can protect parental assets. Physical safety must also be addressed to prevent accidental falls in the home. Technology can be adapted into the home to have environment lighting controls and other comforts that can keep a parent safer. Driving is also a topic that needs to be discussed. At what point is it best to remove a parent from behind the wheel to avoid unintended accidents that can be costly both financially and health-wise.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are the basic foundation of day to day functioning. IADLs include chores such as managing finances, transportation, home maintenance, shopping, and meal preparation. ADLs include eating, bathing, getting dressed, toileting, transferring and continence. The level of need in the described activities generally determines the sorts of care and housing arrangements a parent, caregiver, and family must consider.

Health and medical issues are pervasive as a parent ages. Many elder parents suffer from chronic conditions requiring medications, management, and monitoring. A caregiver may notice new health concerns that will need attention and routine visits to physicians to diagnose any new medical conditions. Dementia and other serious chronic illnesses can cause a parent to lose their ability to manage their health decisions or oversee their medical care. A medical power of attorney becomes necessary in the event a parent is no longer able to make sound decisions. All of these legal and financial issues that address health directives must be documented with the necessary legal paperwork. Legal designations such as a will, trust, and power of attorney are also essential to have in place. When the time becomes necessary, this documentation affords a designated power of attorney, and medical power of attorney the right to act on a parent’s behalf without the time-consuming need to address the courts for permission. Very often a caregiver is assigned these legal designations. Planning for a parent’s inevitable future decline, emergencies, and end of life care goes a long way to helping reduce stress, hassles and sometimes expense.

Housing issues are at the forefront of successful aging. Is a parent able to age in place, particularly with the aid of technologies that simplify their day to day living? If they are not, what sort of environment is best suited to their current needs? Do they need to move in with a family member or might they require assisted living? If so, is that financially viable? How does housing address the parent’s quality of life? Beyond the basic needs, a caregiver and family should want a parent to thrive, not just survive. It is essential to learn what matters most to the parent and what they would be willing to compromise on if the need arises. A parent’s desire for social connections, autonomy, dignity, and purpose must be considered to ensure a positive quality of life.

Finally, the management of family dynamics and relationships often brings many challenges and painful emotions to process. A caregiver deals with relationship stresses that can include physical exhaustion, financial depletion, and emotional burnout. A caregiver is only as useful to a parent as they are to themselves. While setting boundaries can be difficult, establishing frameworks that designate acceptable norms are healthy for all involved. A caregiver who puts their well being in jeopardy will also affect their ability to care for a parent. Some strategies for wellness in a caregiver’s life include: joining a support group, asking family members for help, learning to say no when needs outside established boundaries arise, and allotting time for themselves.

There is much to consider. Planning can become complicated as human emotions and relationships are involved when setting forth caregiving expectations and parent aging plans. We help families navigate the aging process and plan for how to find and access appropriate care.  Contact our office  today and schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post Helpful Tips You Can Utilize in Caring for an Elderly Parent appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

It is essential to bring up a parent’s aging expectations and set goals together even though initial discussions may be uncomfortable. Often, an exploration into a parent’s future thoughts about health, finances, and residential plans can make the difference between reacting to a crisis or following an established plan that can bring both the parent and their children peace of mind. The sooner an identified caregiver begins a dialogue, the better the outcome for all involved.

It is common for an older parent to try and shield loved ones from some of their harsh realities – whether financial or health-related – because they are reluctant to accept help, embarrassed by their finances and don’t want to be a burden, or are hiding some critical health information. Even in the best of health circumstances an older parent’s ability to remain independent and manage their life can be challenging. Family caregivers are essential to the experience of aging in America and while individual care needs vary there are some general topics to address when helping an aging parent.

Safety issues are paramount. If there are assets and retirement plans in place, do not allow an aging parent to become financially vulnerable. In the most recent report released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) more than 2 million elderly Americans were defrauded out of more than 750 million dollars in one year. Get educated and learn systems that can protect parental assets. Physical safety must also be addressed to prevent accidental falls in the home. Technology can be adapted into the home to have environment lighting controls and other comforts that can keep a parent safer. Driving is also a topic that needs to be discussed. At what point is it best to remove a parent from behind the wheel to avoid unintended accidents that can be costly both financially and health-wise.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are the basic foundation of day to day functioning. IADLs include chores such as managing finances, transportation, home maintenance, shopping, and meal preparation. ADLs include eating, bathing, getting dressed, toileting, transferring and continence. The level of need in the described activities generally determines the sorts of care and housing arrangements a parent, caregiver, and family must consider.

Health and medical issues are pervasive as a parent ages. Many elder parents suffer from chronic conditions requiring medications, management, and monitoring. A caregiver may notice new health concerns that will need attention and routine visits to physicians to diagnose any new medical conditions. Dementia and other serious chronic illnesses can cause a parent to lose their ability to manage their health decisions or oversee their medical care. A medical power of attorney becomes necessary in the event a parent is no longer able to make sound decisions. All of these legal and financial issues that address health directives must be documented with the necessary legal paperwork. Legal designations such as a will, trust, and power of attorney are also essential to have in place. When the time becomes necessary, this documentation affords a designated power of attorney, and medical power of attorney the right to act on a parent’s behalf without the time-consuming need to address the courts for permission. Very often a caregiver is assigned these legal designations. Planning for a parent’s inevitable future decline, emergencies, and end of life care goes a long way to helping reduce stress, hassles and sometimes expense.

Housing issues are at the forefront of successful aging. Is a parent able to age in place, particularly with the aid of technologies that simplify their day to day living? If they are not, what sort of environment is best suited to their current needs? Do they need to move in with a family member or might they require assisted living? If so, is that financially viable? How does housing address the parent’s quality of life? Beyond the basic needs, a caregiver and family should want a parent to thrive, not just survive. It is essential to learn what matters most to the parent and what they would be willing to compromise on if the need arises. A parent’s desire for social connections, autonomy, dignity, and purpose must be considered to ensure a positive quality of life.

Finally, the management of family dynamics and relationships often brings many challenges and painful emotions to process. A caregiver deals with relationship stresses that can include physical exhaustion, financial depletion, and emotional burnout. A caregiver is only as useful to a parent as they are to themselves. While setting boundaries can be difficult, establishing frameworks that designate acceptable norms are healthy for all involved. A caregiver who puts their well being in jeopardy will also affect their ability to care for a parent. Some strategies for wellness in a caregiver’s life include: joining a support group, asking family members for help, learning to say no when needs outside established boundaries arise, and allotting time for themselves.

There is much to consider. Planning can become complicated as human emotions and relationships are involved when setting forth caregiving expectations and parent aging plans. We help families navigate the aging process and plan for how to find and access appropriate care. Contact our office today and schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post Helpful Tips You Can Utilize in Caring For an Elderly Parent appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

The truth is that thoughtfully designed housing for senior adults is not being created on a scale that reflects the growing need and the need is palpable. Many aging adults don’t even want to project that one day they will no longer be able to live in their current home. When asked about their forward living plans it usually consists of some variant of “the plan is to die in my home.” Sadly, it is impossible to script your passing and while you might hope it happens gently in your home it is more likely that an adverse event, such as a fall, will change everything and you will require some level of care. The Social Security Administration estimates that if you turn 65 today, you will live to 84.3 if you are a man, and to 86.6 for women. Added SSA: “And those are just averages. About one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one out of ten will live past age 95.” ( https://www.thestreet.com/story/13640644/1/inside-the-nation-s-looming-senior-housing-crisis.html ) Those numbers of longevity represent staggering costs when you consider the likelihood that those oldest years will require the most significant care.

That “significant care” costs serious money. According to “A Place for Mom,” the average national cost for a private assisted living facility is almost $4,000 per month. If you want private nursing home care that cost increases to more than $6,000 per month, depending on where you live. If you compare these costs with the fact that nearly 50% of adults aged sixty-five or older have just enough income to afford basic expenses you can intuit it is a recipe for disaster. The only thing left is to spend assets pay for care. That is not a good option for several reasons. First, you will likely run out of assets quickly due to the current costs of care. Second, you would be unable to leave a legacy to children or continue to provide for a spouse after you are gone.

That is why the understanding of aging is facing a paradigm shift – many companies that design and build for retirement communities want the word “senior” dropped altogether. Innovative technology companies and non-profits are sounding the alarm and changing the discussion from challenge to opportunity, from health care to health, wellness, and lifestyle, and bringing entrepreneurial ideas to create a positive change. It is a step in the right direction but it does not change the current reality – there is a shortage of affordable senior housing and there is a continuing increase in need for senior residency.

What is your housing reality and future? Do you have a plan in place to handle the changes that most likely will affect you and your living environment? It is important to have this discussion with your family, and with a professional elder law attorney. Proactive planning is in your best interest. Contact our office
today and schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post Housing Market Disparities in Middle to Low Income Senior Citizens appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

The importance of making end of life preparations cannot be stressed enough. Many put off making these plans thinking there is always time. The sad reality is that none of us are guaranteed time. Others may be bothered by the thought of death itself and allow this to paralyze them when it comes to making plans and getting their affairs in order for the end of life. However, most of these same people have wishes and thoughts about where and to whom their assets are distributed. Many of them also have ideas about what they do and do not wish to have happen when their life ends. Lack of preparation and planning means that these wishes likely will not be honored. In addition, it causes additional strain and stress on the people who are left to sort out the affairs. An example of this is the story of Debbie.

Debbie was a teacher who had been retired for several years. She was aging alone. She never married and had no family around. She did have a small circle of friends. After retirement, Debbie’s health progressively declined and she had more and more difficulty caring for herself. After a few years, Debbie passed away in her home.

Previously, she had conversations with a handful of her friends telling them her wishes for the possessions and assets she had. Because of these conversations, these friends each thought she had made the proper preparations to ensure these wishes would be followed. Unfortunately, Debbie had none of the necessary end of life documents that would allow her wishes to be followed. Her friends were left to try to piece together a puzzle that only many missing pieces. Her burial was prolonged and what she did have after paying expenses to settle the estate and bury her will not end up where Debbie wanted. This scenario can, however, be avoided.

If you or your elderly loved one have not made end of life preparations, make time to do so as quickly as possible. An elder law attorney can help guide you in what you should be doing, and can make sure the proper documents are in place to carry out your wishes regarding your health, care you want (or don’t want) to receive, and who should receive your money and possessions.

The first key document to be sure you have is a will or a living trust. A will allows you to specify where your money and possessions should go upon your passing. It also allows you to choose an executor of the estate. The executor will take care of managing the estate, paying debts, and distributing property as specified. A will only takes effect upon your death.

A living trust does everything a will can do, but also allows for you to choose someone to manage your assets if you become incapacitated because it is effective during your lifetime. A living trust also provides privacy, as it is not subject to court proceedings that become open to the public like a will is. There are numerous other advantages to a living trust that can be explored with the help of an attorney.

A living will and health care power of attorney are two additional documents that take effect while you are alive. A living will specifies your wishes for end-of-life medical care. For example, you can specify whether you want to be kept alive by artificial means if you are in a terminal state. A health care power of attorney provides for someone to make health care decisions for you, in case you aren’t able to make decisions yourself.  Both of these documents outline your wishes about medical treatment and care when you can’t make them for yourself, so it’s important to seek legal guidance to make sure these documents are drafted properly.

A financial power of attorney should be in the plan as well. A financial power of attorney names an agent to handle your finances in the event you are no longer able to.  An agent can open and close bank accounts, write checks, and sell property if you choose to allow them the authority to do so. Like the health care power of attorney, the financial power of attorney should be created with legal advice to make sure your wishes regarding your finances are properly documented.

Having an estate plan is necessary for you to have a say in what happens if you become sick and cannot make decisions for yourself, and to determine what happens with your money and your belongings after death. An estate plan also helps those who are left to deal with the estate to do so in a more simple and straightforward manner.

If you have any questions about something you have read or would like additional information, please feel free to contact
us.

The post Why It’s Important For Seniors to Make End of Life Preparations Early? appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

Roughly half of all Americans don’t have a will, so if you’ve already taken this vital step to protect your assets and successors then congratulations are in order – you’re already ahead of the curve. While a will is a necessary document that every person who owns assets should have, it is still a relatively simple document that may not cover everything you want it to. You may want to consider creating an estate plan
that involves the use of a living trust, plus other important documents like a power of attorney for finances and health care directives.

To over-simplify it, an estate plan is a more comprehensive way than a will to instruct how your estate is to be distributed after your death, and how your assets should be managed if you become disabled and unable to make financial or health care decisions. Estate plans can save you and your successors substantial amounts of money in court costs, legal fees, and taxes. Consider the following items when creating an estate plan:

Do you have/are you expecting children/grandchildren?
This is one of the most important factors to consider when creating an estate plan. Beyond appointing a guardian to take care of minor children, you may also need to appoint a conservator who will manage the assets your successor(s) will inherit when they reach the age of majority.

You may have assets that already contain a beneficiary designation such as a transfer on death (TOD) account. If not, then your will may be used to instruct who will receive such assets.

Minimize probate and maximize privacy.
An estate plan that uses a living trust will allow your heirs to move through the administration process as quickly and efficiently as possible. With only a will, a process called probate must be used at your death. Information brought forward in probate court is public knowledge and all of the terms of your will plus the assets you own will become part of the public record. Also, probate can be very expensive. Even an uncontested probate could take longer than a year to pass through probate court and attorney’s fees and court costs can start to add up. Constructing an estate plan with an attorney before probate can help avoid most of these costs and loss of privacy.

Consider your digital information.
One thing that’s often forgotten, but necessary in today’s digital age, is what happens to your online information after you die? Many of our day-to-day activities are conducted online and this may present issues for your family after you die. For example, if you invest or bank online, it can be an incredible hassle for your heirs to decode your online financial life. Consider storing your passwords in a safe place and then give access through a power of attorney to someone you trust who will be able to help your family manage your online footprint. An estate planning attorney will be able to sit down with you and go through your online accounts and help you decide which ones will need attention in the event of your death or disability.

Location and size of your estate.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 doubled the size of the federal estate tax exemption to $11.2 million for a married couple. That means unless your estate is larger than $11.2 million, you may be exempt from paying federal taxes on it. However, depending on where you live you may be subject to state-level estate taxes. There are currently 17 states, and the District of Columbia, that impose some sort of estate or inheritance tax.

There are many other factors to consider when constructing an estate plan, some of which can be complicated. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our office if you wish to meet with an estate planning attorney to discuss how best to protect your legacy.

The post Do You Need More Than Just a Will to Have a Solid Estate Plan? appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

Senior care is being re-envisioned with the advent of artificial intelligence. There is a need to provide an ever-increasing aging population with consistent and competent health aides. In the United States the healthcare industry employs over 4.5 million nursing aides and orderlies
and home health aides and personal care aides , and yet it is not enough to address the future needs of the American elderly. New solutions are being developed for animatronic artificial intelligence and the more standard device driven artificial intelligence to meet the demand.

The National Science Foundation has provided a one million dollar grant to Brown University and Hasbro Inc. to develop furry animatronic cats and dogs coupled with artificial intelligence to assist seniors in their daily lives. The project’s team is tasked with designing a smart companion within three years that is capable of helping older people with the simple yet sometimes challenging tasks of everyday life. The project is called ARIES (Affordable Robotic Intelligence for Elderly Support), and in addition to providing support for daily tasks, the smart companions will also provide comfort and joy for older adults, particularly those with mild dementia problems.

Some of the goals of the ARIES project include sensor systems that allow the smart companion to identify and track important objects in day to day living such as keys, glasses, pillboxes and can also remind the individual of essential tasks and events and even enhance their safety. Communication between the smart companion and the senior will be fully developed so that gestures such as a nudge, or a purr can guide the user toward a misplaced object or be a reminder that it is time to take medications.

The current animatronic model of cat or dog retails for a reasonable 100 dollars, but when artificial intelligence is added into the product, the costs can skyrocket to five or six thousand dollars. As with all technology over time the market for smart companions will become more competitive and thus more affordable. Beyond task driven assistance these smart companions provide some stress relief and companionship to the senior reducing the problems of social isolation and loneliness.

The startup Intuition Robotics Ltd. has more than twenty million dollars in venture capital funding of which Toyota AI ventures
is a major investor and has launched ELLI.Q , an “aging companion.” This artificial intelligence elder care robot uses machine learning and vision enabling ELLI.Q to make suggestions to its senior friend, recommending entertainment and activities in addition to monitoring the overall wellness of the senior in their environment. ELLI.Q is a more robust system than the currently available “Okay Google” Assistant or Apple’s “Siri” as it has the added benefit of vision and capability to tailor information to the needs and schedule of the senior it supports.

There are many other examples of corporate research and development into the applications of artificial intelligence to benefit the aging population. As these systems become more prevalent in senior care, ethical questions will have to be addressed as well as technological ones.

For instance, if an elderly care robot is reminding their senior to take their medication and yet the senior refuses to comply with the instruction, what happens next? Without a system to contact a human nurse counterpart, the patient could merely ignore the reminder. What if the patient has dementia and immediately forgets what they were instructed to do? Will the smart companion have redundancies to address this or will that feature make a senior confused and take their medication twice? What would happen in the scenario if a diabetic patient is told not to have a high sugar content food but they ignore the warning? Will there ever be a time when a remote caregiver uses an automated robot to restrain an older adult? What are the moral and legal precedents for this type of artificial intelligence/robotic interaction and what happens if someone is hurt because of it?

The future of artificial intelligence application in senior care is intriguing but practical applications are currently limited. While the basic capabilities for in-home companion products are functional, provide oversight, and are ready for the marketplace, the more complex artificial intelligence smart systems are still in development. The increasing aged population will continue to drive the necessity for these smart systems.

If you have questions about what you have read, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  Give us a call at (866) 456-9668 – we would be happy to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post The Benefits, Ethics, and Future of Artificial Intelligence Used for Seniors appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

The smart personal assistant revolution is moving forward at a breakneck pace. It took approximately 30 years for the cellular telephone to begin outnumbering people on the planet, but smart personal assistants are projected to outnumber humans in half of that amount of time by 2021.

The technology-research firm Canalys expects 100 million smart speakers (smart personal assistants) will be installed worldwide by the beginning of 2020 and also estimates the number of smart assistant compatible devices will reach 1.6 billion in the US that same year. The numbers are staggering.

It is precisely because of these numbers that manufacturers of smart personal assistants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple are pushing sales of their devices. Not only does a smart personal assistant allow for corporate monetization post-purchase from user data collection it is on the forefront of taking over your everyday space whether that be your home, car, or office.

The corporation that garners the biggest market share with their smart assistant technology will lock in app developers, appliance manufacturers, and consumers into their company’s proprietary platform also called the ecosystem which ensures frictionless interoperability. Home automation and lighting is forecast to make up 49 percent of the market segment, followed by home security and surveillance (18 percent), audio and video entertainment (13 percent) and “other” appliance segment (20 percent).

The smart personal assistant, with its voice technology, is a significant boon to US seniors as more baby boomers are opting to age in place and smart voice technology simplifies remaining at home. There are the obvious uses for a smart assistant like calendaring events, medication reminders, home environmental controls, age-appropriate learning activities, and much more. Some of the newer applications of voice technology are pushing smart personal assistants into newer realms like digital therapist, companion, and caregiver. For the senior who is living at home and alone, these are wonderful new developments.

Research in the field of prosody, the patterns of stress and intonation in a language, are making smart assistants capable of detecting depression, loneliness, anxiety, joy, and anger to name a few. Initial research of emotion enabled artificial intelligence focused on emotion detection through facial expressions but quickly turned to the spoken word. Vocal signatures carry an incredible array of information from how you string the words in a sentence together, to tone, depth, rhythm, pitch, resonance, pronunciation, tempo, and more. These vocal features are then analyzed to suggest a person’s mood and subsequent best action practice for the senior.

A medical doctor with a smart personal assistant in their office can more readily pick up on identifiers that suggest patient depression.

A smart car speaker in a semi-autonomous car can make informed judgments about the safety of handing over the controls to the driver based on vocal characteristics indicating stress or confusion.

A smart personal assistant might pick up on loneliness in a stay at home senior and offer suggestions of music or other activities to engage the senior and lift their spirits.

The smart personal assistant is also “someone” an elderly person can tell their troubles to without shame, recrimination or judgment.

The smart assistant is programmed so that it never gets tired, never becomes distracted or bored with the content of “its person.” It is a bit like a therapist allowing the senior to get out all of their frustrations about growing old and losing their physical and cognitive abilities; even expressing fears for their future.

While smart personal assistant technology is currently not able to provide all of the benefits of a professionally trained human caregiver, therapist, or companion it is readily available, overall inexpensive, and can help alleviate the problems of too many seniors with too few attainable human caregivers to meet their needs. The technology may also outpace its human counterpart in the not too distant future if current research and development is any indication of success. The market forces for profit will continue to drive the expansion of the smart personal assistant and its associated products allowing for newer market segments and more importantly the ability for stay at home seniors to live their best quality of life.

If you have questions about what you have read, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  Give us a call at (866) 456-9668 – we would be happy to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post The Age of the Smart Personal Assistant appeared first on Faloni Law Group.