When the client-elder is married, the husband and wife seldom have the same needs at the same place at the same time—a circumstance that certainly makes planning for both of them challenging. In our planning, we will identify our client’s caregivers. They are vital to meeting the quality of life and care needs of our client and they often need support as well.

Individuals who need long-term care often have family and friends who help them. In most instances, these caregivers are related to the individual – a spouse or a child. Sometimes the caregiver lives with the individual, sometimes caregiving consists of an occasional visit.  A recent study conducted for the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP estimates there are 44.4 million caregivers who provide unpaid care to another adult. Almost six in 10 of these caregivers either work or have worked while providing care. And 62% have had to make some adjustments to their work life, from reporting late to work to giving up work entirely. Although a woman taking care of another woman is the most common, this is not just a woman’s issue. Almost four in ten caregivers are men, and 60% of them are working full-time.

The study defined caregivers as people age 18 and older who help another adult with at least one of the Activities of Daily Living or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living on an unpaid basis. These activities range from helping another manage finances, shop for groceries, or do housework to helping another get in and out of beds or chairs, get dressed, get to and from the toilet, bathe or shower, or eat.