You Can Ditch Your Empty Nest But Still Age In Place

When your youngest child grows up and moves out of the house you bought for the purpose of raising your kids, your McMansion no longer feels like home.  It only satisfies your need for a feeling of togetherness as much as an empty Happy Meal box satisfies your hunger.  Stay-at-home parents tend to dread this moment for years; many of them feel a sense of panic as soon as their youngest child takes his or her first driver’s ed lesson or sits for a senior portrait for the school yearbook.  If you and your spouse are both in the workforce, then the feeling might not be nearly as acute.  You work and week and fill your weekends with errands and meal preparation, and before you know it, your youngest child is home for a semester break.  Once you retire, though, you can no longer escape the fact that suburban sprawl is no place for retirees.  Moving to Florida is out of the question, because you are already in Florida.  For advice about an estate plan that involves leaving your empty nest but still staying in Central Florida, contact an Orlando estate planning lawyer.

Moving to an Affordable, Senior-Friendly Community Nearby

Aging in place, in the sense of remaining in the house where you have lived for decades and making renovations to accommodate your changing mobility needs, is only practical for some people.  You should do it if your mortgage is paid off and you are sure that you don’t want to sell it, but rather let your children inherit it or transfer ownership of it to your children, then staying in your house is the best choice; an estate planning lawyer can help you work out the financial details of this plan.

Chances are, though, that your adult children do not want to inherit a McMansion in Central Florida.  There is nothing tying you to your house except everything else.  Just what is that everything else?  It’s the optometrist who has the same breed of dog as you, the hairstylist who cuts your hair the way you like it, the doctors who have your medical records, and the Publix where you fill your prescriptions and know where to find all your go-to grocery items, not least among them those leaf cookies.  What if you could trade your house for something of a more manageable size and still keep everything else?  You can, and in fact, the AARP recommends it.  Florida is investing in building more senior-friendly communities, and moving to one close to your empty nest is a practical and affordable choice.  Staying in familiar surroundings is good for your health, and moving to a smaller house or condo is good for your budget.

Contact Gierach and Gierach About Estate Planning With Just the Right Amount of Sentimentality

An estate planning lawyer can help you plan to embrace some aspects of aging in place while moving to senior-friendly accommodations.  Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2023/future-of-aging-in-place.html