As reported in the May 20, 2014 edition of The Advocate, caring for your aged spouse is more stressful than caring for an aging parent. One of the reasons is probably that your parent is 20-30 + years ahead of you. When your parent is declining at age 80, you are still a relatively robust 50 to 60 something. When your spouse gets to be that age, you are often not far behind.
At age 70, caring for a 70 year old is a different burden altogether. For these reasons, many couples purchase long term care insurance that is designed to pay for caretakers when one spouse is no longer able to care for him or herself. Some of these policies have features that enable spouses to recover some portion of their premiums if the policies are cancelled or no longer needed because a spouse has died suddenly.
In Louisiana, if you are divorcing and have purchased such a policy, you should discuss with your attorney whether or not it is subject to division as community property.