My mother prepared for retirement, but a dementia diagnosis wiped out her savings. I had to scramble to figure out her care.

My mother prepared for retirement, but a dementia diagnosis wiped out her savings. I had to scramble to figure out her care.

The author (left) had to care for her mother's finances after a dementia diagnosis.Courtesy of Ala LandinMy mother saved for retirement but did not account for health issues such as her dementia diagnosis.I quickly had to sort her finances, living arrangements, and healthcare.She had to spend down her savings and sell her home to afford care, and eventually go on Medicaid.When my mom retired, she owned her home and had "enough" saved in her savi…