John's Elder Law Blog |
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April 19, 2012 Multi-generational Families
The April 17th NPR program, Morning Addition aired the beginning of a series following the lives of several American families. These families represent a trend in US households, the multi-generational household. The Great Recession created difficulties for a number of families and baby boomers, the so called sandwich generation, ended up in the middle. There is a growing trend in which these baby boomers have their aging parents move in with them and at the same time have adult children who have not yet ventured out on their own. The statistics are remarkable. Between 2007 and 2009 the total number of Americans living in multi-generational households shot up 10% from 46.5 million to 51.4 million. I can’t help but believe that part of the problem is the high cost of long term care for elderly parents and the natural desire to stay home for as long as possible, rather than going to assisted living or nursing home care. Many of these families might benefit from a consultation with an experienced elder law attorney to understand what programs are out there which might help finance this long term care. A link to the first in the NPR series is below. http://www.npr.org/2012/04/17/150003816/family-matters-meet-the-families
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