Research Library

Senior Living Guides for Families

Practical explanations for the questions that often come up before a family is ready to choose a community.

Assisted Living Costs in Sacramento: What Families Should Budget For

Assisted living pricing is rarely one simple number. Families should ask for the base monthly rate, care-level charges, medication-management fees, community fees, deposi

Read Guide

Assisted Living vs. Memory Care: How Families Can Compare the Two

Assisted living and memory care can overlap, but they are not interchangeable. The right setting depends on the person's cognitive status, safety risks, daily-care needs,

Read Guide

How to Evaluate an Assisted Living Facility: A Family Tour Checklist

A beautiful lobby tells you very little about what daily life will be like. A useful tour looks beyond finishes and asks how the community operates when management is not

Read Guide

How to Read California Assisted Living Licensing Records

California licensing records can be extremely useful, but they need context. A complaint allegation, an unsubstantiated complaint, a substantiated finding, a deficiency a

Read Guide

What Happens to a Parent's House When They Move to Senior Living?

The house decision often arrives at the same time as the care decision, but families do not need to make both decisions on the same day. The useful first step is to under

Read Guide

Does Medicare Pay for Assisted Living?

For most families, the key distinction is between medical care and long-term custodial care. Medicare generally does not pay the ongoing room, board and personal-care cos

Read Guide