Double suicides are cases where both parties actively plan out their own deaths.
The majority of murder-suicide cases among the elderly involve a severely depressed husband who is caring for a wife with Alzheimer's disease, cancer or other terminal illness. The weapon used is almost always a gun, and there is no evidence that the woman anticipates what is about to occur. An analysis of elderly suicide rates overall offers answers to this question. Elderly suicides are cases where the elderly victim kills himself or herself alone and without assistance. Like murder-suicides, these cases are highest among Caucasian men and usually involve a gun.