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Tim Alles
Jordan Bush
Chris Shourds
Previous Newsletters
April 2021 Does My Estate Plan Have An Elephant In The Room? (Part I)
March 2021 How Can I "Trust" My Trustees?
February 2021 What Do Tiger Woods' Tweets, and Your Social Media Content
Have to Do with Estate Planning? (Part II)
January 2021 What Do Tiger Woods' Tweets, and Your Social Media Content
Have to Do with Estate Planning? (Part I)
December 2020 What Are Estate Taxes And Why Do They Matter?
November 2020 What Life Events Should Trigger an Estate Plan Review?
October 2020 My Child Is A Spendthrift. What Can I Do To Protect Their Inheritance?
September 2020 What Is the Difference Between Estate Planning and Elder Law?
August 2020 Estate Planning After a Divorce - What Does It Mean for Your Estate Plan?
July 2020 What Should You Expect From Your Trustee?
June 2020 Should You Pass Your Assets Through A Trust Or A Will?
May 2020 Important Issues To Consider For Your Estate Plan
April 2020 Important Estate Planning Considerations During a Pandemic Crisis
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When Should Long-Term Care Planning Begin?
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Have you received the
dreaded call in the middle of the night that your parent fell and broke their
hip or shoulder? Did it trigger a stressful discussion with your loved ones
about moving out of the family home and into an assisted living facility? Are
you waiting until this happens, or have you thought about planning for it?
These are the kinds of questions that millions of adults, who find themselves
sandwiched between responsibilities for their parents and children, are
struggling to figure out. Is medical care for your parents needed at home, in
assisted living facilities, or in nursing homes? What about their own care? How
will it get paid?
When we think of estate planning, we likely
think about executing a will or creating a trust to protect our estate and take
care of our family members after we pass away. Yet, it’s equally important to
ensure that loved ones are properly cared for as they age, and that long-term
planning has been addressed.
Long term care expenses can quickly deplete an estate.
Hard-earned assets and property can end up going to a nursing home instead of to
beneficiaries.
The good news is that choosing the right
long-term care options can help protect your estate, and make sure that you and
your loved ones have the care you need.
Long-term Care Insurance
This is a type of insurance policy that
provides coverage for the costs of long-term care should you need it in the
future. The premiums can be costly, and there are many different options for
coverage. It is important to
carefully review these options, ideally in your younger years, since premiums
can increase significantly as you get older.
Once you decide on a policy, make sure to let your estate planning
attorney know.
Asset Protection and Benefits
Planning
Both state and federal governments provide
options for public benefits to help cover the costs of necessary medical care
for older adults or adults with special needs. The downside is that you cannot
qualify for such benefits if you have too many assets or property.
In certain cases, you may be able to use
public benefits to cover long-term care costs without jeopardizing your entire
estate. A plan for long-term care
and asset protection may involve:
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Creating irrevocable trusts
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Medicaid planning
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Veteran’s benefits planning
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Planning for the needs of a well spouse
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Medicaid asset recovery
Find the Long-Term Care Plan
that Works for You
Discussing your options for asset
protection and preservation with an experienced elder law and estate planning
attorney, might be the difference between preservation of wealth and depletion
of assets. Planning for long term care can protect your hard-earned wealth, give
you peace of mind, and take care of the people you love.
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