Older Adults Living Alone Still Need an Estate Plan

Takeaways

• The number of older adults living alone (solo agers) in the U.S. is rapidly increasing, making proper planning more critical than ever, especially since many lack immediate support.

• Living alone presents specific risks, including delayed care and amplified consequences when health issues or accidents occur, which can be made worse without legal decision-makers in place.

• Solo agers can use estate planning tools like a financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and a will or trust to formally name trusted individuals (friends, family, or professional fiduciaries) to manage their finances, make health care decisions, and handle assets if they become unable to do so.

More adults in the United States — particularly those in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s — are living alone than ever before.

Many seniors today are choosing to age in place and maintain their independence for as long as possible, even if that means going it alone, outside a traditional family support structure.

But independence has limits, and those limits can surface with age as physical and cognitive decline set in.

When health begins to slip and no reliable support system is in place, the risks of living alone become more apparent — and the consequences of having an estate plan that is not designed for solo aging become more serious.

A plan built around an earlier phase of life or a shared living arrangement may no longer hold up when someone is living alone and facing age-related challenges without household support.

U.S. Leads the World in Solo Agers

The ways Americans live have changed dramatically over the decades. Homes have grown larger while families have grown smaller. And what qualifies as a “family” today often looks much different than it did in the past, when multigenerational households were more common and the nuclear family was the norm.

The extended family living together is one social relic of the past that is making a comeback. But at the other end of the spectrum is the rise of the solo ager.

According to AARP, 21 percent of U.S. adults age 50 and older live alone, an “unprecedented” share that is growing fast.

In 1950, only about 9 percent of U.S. adults lived alone. Today, it’s more than one in five, and the likelihood increases with age.

• About 27 percent of adults aged 60 and older live alone
• Roughly one in three adults ages 55 to 74 live alone
• Nearly half of those aged 75 and older are aging solo
• After age 75, 43 percent of women live alone, compared with 24 percent of men
• The majority of Americans aged 80+ are expected to be solo agers by 2038

Globally, this pattern is far less common. In many parts of the world, extended family living arrangements remain the most prevalent. In the U.S., however, aging alone is increasingly the default.

This trend overlaps with fewer younger adults living by themselves, even though they report spending much more time alone than they used to. They also report higher levels of isolation and social disconnection than older generations, despite in many cases having larger social networks.

America is in the midst of what has been widely described as a “loneliness epidemic” that affects people of all ages.

Because “loneliness” is a subjective measure, the data on it can be somewhat confounding. For example, some studies show a “U-shaped” loneliness pattern that is higher in younger and older adulthood and lowest during middle adulthood. Other studies have found that middle-aged Americans are lonelier than older adults.

Living alone and feeling lonely are not the same thing. Loneliness is intertwined with factors like physical and mental health, depth of social connections, and a sense of life purpose. Still, the risks are real.

Research shows that some older adults — especially those dealing with major physical or mental health issues — report much higher rates of loneliness and social isolation than others.

Older adults who live alone are more likely to suffer accidents, miss medical issues, or struggle with daily tasks without immediate support. As a result, says KFF Health News, they tend to be hospitalized more often and face higher rates of adverse health outcomes.

Nearly four in 10 seniors living alone have some type of impairment, including mobility, cognition, vision, and hearing limitations, as well as difficulty managing daily activities. At least one-quarter of older adults with dementia live alone.

At the same time, there is evidence that older adults who live alone tend to be healthier, more cognitively capable, and more socially connected — precisely because they lack built-in support.

AARP polling reveals that there is not a clean divide between the freedom and autonomy of solo aging, which 35 percent said was the best part, and feeling lonely, something that 22 percent said was the worst part.

Whether living alone and feeling alone contributes to poorer health, or poorer health contributes to perceived loneliness and isolation, is difficult to unpack. These factors work in both ways and are often part of a self-reinforcing system rather than a simple case of cause and effect.

What is clear is that if something goes wrong and help is not immediately available, living alone can amplify the consequences. Small issues can become larger ones. Delays in care can turn into emergencies. Without a support system in place, the margin for error narrows.

Who Takes Care of Solo Agers?

How did I end up alone at this stage of life? Who can I call for help? Who can make decisions for me if I’m unable? How long can I care for myself, and what happens when I can’t?

These are among the questions older adults living alone, whether by choice or by circumstance, are increasingly asking as the “gray revolution” in America drives the rise of the solo ager.

While some of these questions are more abstract and existential, others are direct and practical. From an estate planning standpoint, they raise issues around safety, support, finances, and long-term care.

• Thirty-nine percent of solo agers say they have no one to call when they’re sick and confined to bed, 55 percent have no one with whom to discuss medical decisions, and 43 percent have not identified a health care decision-maker, according to research from Bethesda Health Group.
• A survey from the Society of Actuaries found that just 37 percent of solo agers have a medical power of attorney and only 31 percent have a financial power of attorney, even though 87 percent express concerns about potential changes to their physical and cognitive abilities.

Gaps in planning can lead to gaps in care that worsen with age. Aging in place and solo aging may be choices, but not having an estate plan, or named decision-makers who can step in when needed, can leave solo agers subject to state law and court decisions for some of life’s most important decisions, including:

• Who is authorized to make medical decisions in an emergency
• Who can access bank accounts and pay bills if capacity is lost
• Who manages property, investments, and ongoing financial obligations
• Whether a court-appointed guardian or conservator is needed
• Who is responsible for arranging care, housing, or placement in a facility
• How assets are located, secured, and distributed after death

Exactly who will take care of a growing solo ager population is a topic for debate — one that the co-director of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University calls “the million-dollar question” in a recent Wall Street Journal article.

Part of the answer is that solo aging Americans have an outsized role in taking care of themselves. That role begins with an estate plan that recognizes their unique position and specific vulnerabilities.

Estate Planning Basics for Solo Agers

Estate planning is essential for everyone. But for solo agers, a plan takes on added importance, and a lack of planning can have even more dire outcomes. Their plan should focus on a few basics that account for the absence of an automatic support system.

• Naming someone to step into financial control. A financial power of attorney allows a trusted person to manage money matters if capacity is lost, either slowly or suddenly. This person is authorized to pay bills, access accounts, handle insurance, and keep obligations current. Even basic financial tasks can require court involvement when there is no power of attorney.
   
• Designating a medical decision-maker. A health care proxy or medical power of attorney ensures that someone has the legal authority to make medical decisions when a person cannot communicate their wishes. For solo agers, this fills a gap that would otherwise default to family members who may not exist or may not be appropriate because of physical or emotional distance.
   
• Documenting care preferences in advance. Advance directives spell out preferences for treatment, end-of-life care, and other medical decisions. They provide guidance when rapid decisions need to be made and reduce uncertainty for whoever is tasked with making them.
   
• Establishing a clear plan for assets and responsibility. A will — or, in some cases, a revocable trust — ensures that one’s money and property are distributed according to their wishes and that someone is formally responsible for carrying out those instructions. Trusts can also provide continuity in asset management if incapacity occurs.
   
• Making assets and information accessible. An estate plan can break down if no one can find the documents and instructions needed to carry it out. A clear record of accounts, property, and key documents, along with directions on how to access and implement them, helps ensure that the person stepping in can act decisively and effectively.
   
• Choosing the right people (and naming backups). A plan’s effectiveness depends on who is chosen to carry it out. That may be a trusted friend, a professional fiduciary, or a combination of both. What matters is that the person is willing, capable, and legally authorized to act.
  
  These considerations may be different for those living alone than for those living with or near family. Professional fiduciaries may make more sense for solo agers. Naming a backup helps prevent gaps if the first choice is unable to act.

Aging Alone, With Help

A clear division of responsibility in an estate plan gives solo agers assurance that someone can reliably offer support and guidance, not only in daily life, but at the end of life or when their life changes unexpectedly.

Whether you have a strong support system or are navigating life on your own, everyone grows older, and everyone needs an estate plan to manage the transitions of aging.

Aging solo doesn’t have to mean going it alone. A local estate planning attorney can help.