About this guide

Why this guide exists

When a parent needs care, or dies, families are handed a pile of forms, deadlines and phone calls, usually at the worst possible moment. Most of what you need to know is public, but it is scattered across dozens of government sites, court pages and fine print. This guide puts it in one place, in plain English, in the order you are likely to need it.

Who is behind it

This guide is written and kept up to date by one person. Aging Family Guide is an independent project published by Harimedia LLC.

It is independent. It is not connected to any government agency, law firm, care company, insurer, bank or religious organization. No one pays to be mentioned or recommended here.

Our promises

• Free, always. Every page and every tool is free, whether or not anyone contributes. There are no paywalls and no "premium" features, ever.
• No ads, no affiliate links, no sponsored content. When the guide names an organization, it is because it is useful, not because anyone paid.
• No accounts, no tracking, no cookies. There is nothing to sign up for. This site does not use analytics or any third-party scripts.
• What you type stays with you. Checklists, notes, contacts and trust answers are saved only in your own browser, on your own device. See Your privacy.

How the information is researched

• Official and primary sources first. Figures and rules come from the IRS, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and state courts, statutes and agencies. Each page lists its sources at the bottom.
• Every figure is dated and sourced. Tap or click any dollar amount or deadline to see where it comes from and when it was checked.
• Reviewed at least once a year. Many figures change every January (tax limits) or every fall (Medicare). The website warns its author about anything more than 12 months old.
• "Check your state's rule" instead of guessing. States differ a lot. When a state's rule has not been checked against an official source, the guide says so and links to that state's courts, rather than guessing.
• "Last reviewed" at the bottom of each page is the date that page was last read through and checked as a whole.

What this guide is not

This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. It is not a law firm, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone. Laws differ by state and change over time. For your own situation, talk to a licensed attorney, CPA, financial advisor or doctor. When to hire a professional explains who does what and how to find affordable help.

About the trust builder

The trust builder fills in plain-English revocable trust documents from your answers, on your own device. It is based on the common parts of a simple revocable living trust. It is meant for simple family situations, and it screens for the situations where a do-it-yourself trust often goes wrong, recommending an attorney instead.

The templates have not been reviewed by an attorney. Please read every word, and consider having an attorney in your state review the documents before anyone signs.

Corrections and contact

Found a mistake, a broken link or an outdated figure? Please write to contact@agingfamilyguide.org. Tell us the page and what looks wrong; a link to your source helps a lot. Suggestions for new topics are welcome too.

We cannot give advice about individual situations by email. For that, please see When to hire a professional.

Supporting the guide

The guide is free and will stay free. If it helped your family, you can chip in to help pay for the research, the yearly fact-checking and the website itself. How support works.