Guides for families
Plain-language guides for every step of finding and paying for senior care. Start from where you are today, or browse every guide.
Where are you right now?
Leaving the hospital
Leaving the hospital
Decisions come fast after a hospital stay.
Worried about a parent at home
Worried about a parent at home
Small changes can be the first sign.
Memory is changing
Memory is changing
Care needs change as dementia does.
Figuring out how to pay
Figuring out how to pay
Most families combine several sources.
Choosing a community
Choosing a community
Check the care, the costs and the record.
Running on empty as a caregiver
Running on empty as a caregiver
Breaks and support help you keep going.
All guides
Types of care · 11 guides
- Memory care: a guide for families
- Assisted living: a guide for families
- Nursing homes: a guide for families
- Respite care: a guide for families
- In-home care: a guide for families
- Independent living: a guide for families
- Adult day care: a guide for families
- Hospice and palliative care: a guide for families
- Low-income senior housing: Section 202 and other options
- Assisted living vs. memory care
- Home health, hospice and personal care
Paying for care · 10 guides
- How families pay for senior care
- Medicare and senior care: what's covered
- Medicaid and long-term care: the basics
- VA Aid and Attendance and care for veterans
- Getting paid as a family caregiver, and tax help
- Long-term care insurance: the basics
- What happens to a parent's home when they need care
- When a parent's savings run out
- Public programs that help older adults with everyday costs
- PACE: all-inclusive care that helps people stay at home
Deciding and planning · 10 guides
- Signs an aging parent may need more help
- Touring senior living: a checklist
- Power of attorney and advance directives
- From the hospital to the next step in care
- Reading care inspection reports
- Guardianship and conservatorship
- Moving a parent to senior living: a guide for families
- Aging in place: a guide for families
- Activities of daily living: what they are and why they matter
- Managing a parent's money: agents, payees and fiduciaries
Caregiving, health and safety · 14 guides
- Caregiver burnout: signs and support
- The stages of dementia and changing care needs
- Preventing falls: a guide for families
- Older drivers: staying safe and knowing when to stop
- Elder abuse and neglect: signs and where to get help
- Communicating with someone living with dementia
- Loneliness and social isolation in older adults
- Managing medicines safely: a guide for families
- When a doctor finds dementia: first steps for families
- When a parent says no to help
- Finding free local help: Area Agencies on Aging and the Eldercare Locator
- Hearing loss in older adults and over-the-counter hearing aids
- Sundowning: late-day confusion in dementia
- Spot and stop scams
Not sure which guide fits?
Tell Leaf what is going on, and it will point you to the right guide and to care nearby.