One in Five Adults Responsible for Elder Care, New lawyers.com(SM) Survey Finds

NEW YORK, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- As the population of senior Americans continues to grow, adults already juggling mortgages, college funds and retirement plans are adding another responsibility: elder care.

New research shows that about one in five U.S. adults today (19 percent) is responsible for managing some aspect of the finances and/or healthcare of a family member age 65 or older. And with the number of Americans age 65 and older projected to more than double to 71 million by 2030(1), this percentage of caregivers could increase in the years ahead.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive(R) for LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell(R). The company's lawyers.com(SM) site is the most comprehensive and trustworthy online resource for finding lawyers.

"As America continues to age as a nation, younger generations are increasingly taking on aspects of care for their parents and grandparents," said Alan Kopit, a lawyers.com legal editor. "Plan ahead and help decrease the burden on your children as you get older by ensuring that you have critical legal documents like an estate plan in place."

The research also found that about one in ten U.S. adults is responsible for the financial support (11 percent) or daily care (11 percent) of an elder family member.

"Today, younger people may be faced with responsibilities they never expected at their age. In addition to managing their own families, they may be supporting an elderly parent or relative," noted Kopit. "If you find yourself in a precarious financial situation, turn to an attorney for help with credit counseling or bankruptcy options."

About the Survey

This survey was conducted by telephone within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of LexisNexis between March 1 and March 4, 2007 among 1,018 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, geographic region, and race were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.

With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided. With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 1,018 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples may be higher and would vary. However that does not take other sources of error into account.

About lawyers.com(SM)

Martindale-Hubbell(R) lawyers.com(SM) (http://www.lawyers.com/) from LexisNexis(R) is the leading lawyer directory on the Web, providing consumers and small businesses access to a free database of more than 440,000 attorneys and law firms nationwide. The lawyers.com service helps site visitors make a fast, informed decision when choosing a lawyer. More than one million searches per month are conducted through lawyers.com by consumers and business people in search of the right legal representation for their needs.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis(R) (http://www.lexisnexis.com/) is a leading provider of information and services solutions, including its flagship Web-based Lexis(R) and Nexis(R) research services, to a wide range of professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. A member of Reed Elsevier [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), LexisNexis serves customers in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/. To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://www.harrispollonline.com/.

(1) The State of Aging and Health in America 2007, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/aging/saha.htm.

  Contact:
  Laura Byrne
  Kaplow, for LexisNexis
  212.221.1713
  lbyrne@kaplowpr.com