Prepare to Care – A Planning Guide for Families

AARP’s Prepare to Care planning guides are free, comprehensive workbooks that help families organize and navigate caregiving at any stage of the journey. Rather than leaving caregivers to figure things out under pressure, the guides offer a structured way to assess a loved one’s needs, gather essential information, and make a plan before — and during — a caregiving crisis.

The guide walks families through key steps: starting important conversations with a loved one and other family members, assessing needs across health, home, and finances, identifying and securing help, and attending to the caregiver’s own well-being. It even addresses the later phases — managing grief and planning for life after caregiving ends. A particular strength is AARP’s recognition that no two families are alike: the guide comes in versions tailored to different communities, including Spanish, Chinese, and Asian American/Pacific Islander editions, a version for military and veteran families, an LGBTQ-specific guide, and one focused on the caregiver’s own physical, mental, and emotional health.

This resource matters because so much caregiver stress stems from feeling unprepared and disorganized. A single, well-designed guide can replace scattered notes and anxious guesswork with a clear roadmap. The guides are completely free and easy to obtain: families can download them at aarp.org, request a printed copy, or call AARP at 877-333-5885 and select option 1. For Michigan families just beginning to plan — or wishing they’d planned sooner — Prepare to Care is an excellent foundation.