Helpline: Tips on “getting your affairs in order” when living with dementia

Feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of writing or updating a will? Want to better understand things like power of attorney and enduring guardianship? Help is at hand! This episode breaks it down so you can start planning with confidence. 

Dementia Australia also has a webinar on ‘Future Planning’ you can watch online and other resources to help get your affairs in order. 

If you’d like tailored support, you can contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. You can call 24 hours a day or request a callback, start a webchat or send an email. 

You can also listen to this longer episode of Hold the Moment to hear more stories of people planning their lives after diagnosis. Hearing how they’ve tackled their affairs might just help you get started! 

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Hold the Moment is a podcast from Dementia Australia, produced by Deadset Studios. 

Follow Dementia Australia on Facebook and Instagram and find support resources online. 

This episode was hosted by Jim Rogers and Kristin, a National Dementia Helpline Advisor. It was produced by Luci McAfee. Executive producers are Grace Pashley and Kellie Riordan. 

The National Dementia Helpline is funded by the Australian Government. 

Dementia Australia and Deadset Studios acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. 

Dementia Australia acknowledges and appreciates the support of the Australian Government for this initiative.

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
- Planning for your futurewith dementia can be daunting,
but after my diagnosis ofyounger-onset Alzheimer's,
I wanted to make sureI have things in place
and my loved ones are looked after,
and my affairs are in order.
I'm Jim Rogers, this is Hold the Moment,
a podcast from Dementia Australia
full of stories aboutlife after diagnosis.

(00:30):
Dementia Australia havesome really great resources
on their website around this.
There's a webinar on future planning
that you can sign up for.
We also have a whole podcastepisode on this topic
you can download right now.
If you are in need of someoneto talk to about it all,
you can call the NationalDementia Helpline.
They're available 24-hours aday, every day of the year.

(00:54):
You could speak to anadvisor like Kristen.
- It can feel really overwhelming when
someone tells you to getyour affairs in order,
like what does that even include,
and how am I supposed to havethat all done right away?
The most important thing to know
about getting your affairs in order

(01:14):
is it's important for youto get across what you want,
and who you want to be theone to help you with that.
And it doesn't all have to be done today,
you can break it down into pieces,
and talk to people that you trust
to help you do each ofthese steps along the way.
It's always okay to bringa support person with you

(01:37):
to any appointment or anyquestions that you've got.
There might be a point in theappointment where the person
that you're talking to,such as a solicitor,
wants to speak just to you to make sure
that you are getting what youneed from the appointment,
and you are getting what you want.
But that doesn't mean that youcan't bring a loved one along

(01:59):
with you to help make sure thatyour questions are answered,
and to help prompt anythingthat you might want to ask
but haven't remembered in the moment.
When you're preparing to goand meet with your solicitor,
it can be helpful to think ahead of time
the kinds of questionsyou might want to ask,

(02:21):
and especially when you're starting
to think about the futureand the medical decisions,
it could be helpful to talk to your GP
to see what kinds ofquestions could be helpful
to ask your solicitor,
and you could write those down,
and bring a list with you when you go.
It's really up to you
who you want to tell about these things.

(02:43):
There might be some reallyimportant people in your life
that you feel it's importantto involve in knowing
about what's going to happen,
and it might be tricky tostart that conversation.
You could call the helpline to have a chat
about getting startedin that conversation.
Other times, you might feellike you don't want to let

(03:03):
other people know aboutwhat your plans are,
and that's why it's importantto reach out to a solicitor
and to get the legalpiece of things completed.
It can be really tricky tostart the conversation about
how you want things to gofor the end of your life.
There's always a piece ofgrief involved in that,

(03:26):
and it can feel like you're worried about
making other people sad, maybebe a little sad yourself,
and that might happen in theconversation, and that's okay.
But it's also importantthat things go the way
that you want them to.
And the way that that's best done is
by being really clear about what you want,
and the people who loveyou will appreciate

(03:48):
how clear you've been, because then,
they're going to be ableto do what you want.
If you're interested in learning more
about the topic of future planning,
and getting your arrangements in order,
Dementia Australia hasa webinar about that
called Future Planning.
You can find the webinar onDementia Australia's website,

(04:09):
dementia.org.au
- And if you've got anyquestions about anything
you've heard on this episode,
just contact the NationalDementia Helpline on 1800 100 500.
Their trained advisors areavailable 24-hours a day,

(04:30):
every day of the year.