Estate & Asset Protection Attorney and Managing Partner, Shannon Pawley, provides insight into the growing number of unpaid caregivers tending to loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other cognitive decline and suggests ways to improve communications between the two.

DECATUR, GA, February 28, 2021: Shannon Pawley, Managing Partner of The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm, has posted a new blog on the law firm’s website entitled “How To Successfully Communicate With Loved Ones In Cognitive Decline,” in which Ms. Pawley provides helpful information for unpaid caregivers to learn how to communicate with their loved ones.

“Throughout the U.S.,” states Pawley, “there are more than 5 million people of all ages diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. There are many others who are experiencing age-related cognitive decline” She continues, “And there are more than 16 million unpaid family members and friends caring for those loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other dementias and forms of cognitive decline.”  https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures

Pawley points out that, “Unpaid typically means untrained. Unlike professional caregivers, most family members and friends are at a loss as to how to communicate with someone in cognitive decline.”

“As the signs of dementia begin to appear in a loved one,” says Pawley, “it can be confusing and difficult for family members to communicate with them. Until a diagnosis has been made, very often loved ones tend to get impatient with the one experiencing cognitive decline, which only adds to his or her growing state of confusion.” She continues, “Once everyone is aware of the specific condition, the most important thing for caregivers to master when living with and caring for a person in cognitive decline is patience. Easier said than done. And the only way to master anything is with a great deal of practice.”

 

The entire blog can be read at https://www.elderlawgeorgia.com/blog/how-to-successfully-communicate-with-loved-ones-in-cognitive-decline/

 

About The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm

The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm was established to serve the legal needs of retiring citizens. The Firm focuses its entire practice on providing strategies to protect independence, privacy, assets and taxes from the government. Victoria Collier and Shannon Pawley have grown their law practice by providing excellent customer satisfaction with personalized wealth protection plans.

 

About Victoria Collier

Victoria L. Collier, CELA founded The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm to serve the legal needs of retiring individuals. In our firm, WE BELIEVE that people should not have to lose everything they’ve worked a lifetime to earn and that every person is an individual who deserves respect and the highest quality of life possible, regardless of age or ability.  We also believe that privacy and protection are the keys to personal peace.

Victoria enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during Desert Storm, 1989-1995, and also served in the U.S. Army Reserves, 1Lt. 2001-2004, JAG Corps. Victoria is a national expert on the VA Wartime Pension for veterans and their widows who need additional assistance with activities of daily living and helping them qualify for and receive tax-free income from the VA to pay for it. Victoria graduated from Valdosta State University with a B.A. in Psychology and then University of Nebraska, College of Law. In 2014, Victoria was awarded with the Alumni Master Award from the University of Nebraska.

Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) through The National Elder Law Foundation and has been named as the only attorney in Georgia as “Fellow” of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Victoria was appointed by Governor Perdue to the Georgia Council on Aging, 2010 – 2016 and was awarded Dekalb County Veteran of the Year, 2013. She is the author of 47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors; Paying for Long Term Care – Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit. Victoria has co-authored several books: Blooper Episodes in Estate Planning, Don’t Go Broke in a Nursing Home, and Protect Your IRA: Avoid the 5 Common Mistakes. Most notably, Victoria co-authored the National Best Seller, The Road to Success, with Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

 

About Shannon M. Pawley, J.D., LL.M

Shannon is the firm’s Managing Partner.  Born and raised in the Tidewater area of Virginia to a tightknit family with strong military service roots, Shannon learned from an early age the value of hard work and the importance of social awareness to ensure you always leave a situation in a better place than how you entered it.  In her junior year of high school, Shannon served as U.S. House of Representatives Page during the 101^st United States Congressional Session in Washington, D.C.  This experience exposed her to numerous new cultures and worldly issues.  Walking away from her experience as a U.S. House of Representative Page, Shannon knew that she wanted to pursue legal studies and be able to assist others in obtaining the best results available in difficult situations.

Shannon earned her undergraduate degree at North Carolina Wesleyan College and pursued a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.  After obtaining her law degree and becoming a licensed attorney in Michigan, she continued her educational pursuit by acquiring a LL.M. (Master of Law) in Taxation from Wayne State University.

In her professional tenure, Shannon has represented the full spectrum of clients from international blue-chip companies to single parents.  While she prospered as a litigator, Shannon began to realize her natural talent was as a mentor by developing others in their practice and procedures.  That led her to focusing more on the operational aspect of the legal practice.  Prior to joining The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm, Shannon was the Vice President of Litigation Operations with a national law firm overseeing the litigation offices across the United States.

Through her partnership with Victoria Collier, Shannon has found a professional peer who shares her passion to assist others to age with dignity, grace, and independence.   Together, they strive to improve the life of each client they interact with while preparing both the client and their family for the difficulties that come with aging.  Shannon is licensed to practice law in both Georgia and Michigan.  In addition, she is a VA Accredited Attorney.

 

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