The Cost of Long-Term Care: Are You Prepared?
The Cost of Long-Term Care: Are You Prepared?
Many families are surprised when they learn how expensive long-term care can be. Whether care is needed due to aging, illness, or an unexpected medical event, the financial impact can be significant if you are not prepared.
According to current estimates, just one year of care can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Assisted living may average around $42,000 per year, while skilled nursing care can exceed $90,000 annually. For those who require extensive in-home support, costs may climb even higher.
These expenses often catch families off guard. Many people assume Medicare will cover long-term care, but in reality, Medicare coverage is limited and typically does not pay for extended custodial care in assisted living or nursing homes. As a result, families often end up paying out-of-pocket unless they have planned ahead.
Why Planning Matters
Without proper planning, long-term care costs can quickly drain savings, retirement accounts, and other assets meant for your family. Taking steps now can help you:
- Protect your assets
- Maintain more control over your care options
- Reduce financial stress on your loved ones
- Prepare for unexpected medical needs
Estate planning tools such as living trusts, powers of attorney, and long-term care planning strategies can help create a plan that protects both your finances and your family.
Planning Ahead in Sarasota and North Port
At Life Planning Law Firm, P.A., we work with individuals and families throughout Sarasota, North Port, and surrounding communities to help them prepare for the financial realities of aging and long-term care.
Planning ahead today can make a significant difference tomorrow. If you want to better understand your options and create a plan that protects your future, it may be time to speak with an experienced estate planning and elder law attorney.
Schedule a Consultation
If you have questions about long-term care planning or protecting your assets, contact Life Planning Law Firm, P.A. to learn more about your options by calling 941-300-4136.
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10 Signs that Families Need Help
Due to the 60-month lookback period, many seniors desire to plan ahead for long-term care as part of their estate planning, looking far into the future. This is what we call “Pre-Planning.” If the seniors are healthy enough, we strongly encourage them to purchase long-term care insurance to provide a large amount of flexibility in their options for future living. Even if seniors are not eligible to purchase long-term care insurance at a price that they feel is affordable, the attorneys at the Life Planning Law Firm, P.A. often assist seniors in implementing plans that can go a long way toward protecting assets in case of future need for assisted living or nursing home care. Done early enough and if there are honest, reliable family members or others involved, such “pre-planning” can save a large fraction of the seniors’ assets. Part of what distinguishes the Life Planning Law Firm, P.A. from other law firms is our ability to assist seniors and their families with Crisis Planning. This ability is based on in-depth knowledge of the Florida eligibility rules, intensive study and experience with client cases in this field, and astute attention to the needs of seniors and their families in these urgent situations. Crisis Medicaid Planning typically occurs when the senior has received an extremely serious medical diagnosis, most commonly when hospital or rehabilitation facility medical personnel have determined that he or she cannot return home after rehab. At this point, the senior and family are facing extended nursing home time without Medicare coverage, starting at around $8,000 per month and certain to increase in the future. Every month that will pass will consume a substantial portion of the senior’s or couple’s life savings. It is easy to see a life savings of one or a few hundred thousand dollars being consumed in a matter of a few months or years. Even allowing the Community Spouse to retain the Community Spouse Resource Allowance will destroy the rest of the savings that the Community Spouse may need in order to live for years or decades into the future. Crisis Planning is essential to protect what can be saved under these drastic, adverse circumstances, where the costs of waiting even one month are very high.
Attorney Kevin Pillion has received Accreditation by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) that enables him to give advice to and file benefit claims for all Veterans. Accreditation refers to “The authority granted by the VA to those attorneys who meet the established standards.” The Department of Veterans Affairs stated purpose in requiring attorney accreditation is to ensure that claimants for VA benefits receive “…qualified assistance in preparing and presenting their claims.” With this certification, Attorney Kevin Pillion has the distinction of being one of only a few attorneys in Southwest Florida with a VA Accreditation. To receive Accreditation, Federal law requires an attorney to complete an application and continuing legal education requirements. An attorney must also establish that he is of good character and reputation. The privilege of accreditation carries with it the responsibility to maintain specified standards of conduct and comply with the laws that govern VA representations, as set forth in the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. The VA accreditation system is designed to ensure that lawyers who represent VA claimants have a thorough understanding of the VA health and benefit systems, so that they may provide quality assistance in the preparation, presentation and prosecution of those claims.
1. Relying solely on a will or a living trust A Will takes effect only upon your death, and a Living Trust, although preferable in some cases, will not protect your assets from Medicaid Recovery and Nursing Homes. 2. Relying on Medicare or health insurance Neither Medicare nor health insurance pays for the cost of long-term care in a nursing home. With the average cost exceeding $7,000 a month, without a Plan most families will quickly run through their life savings. 3. Transferring all assets to children or other relatives This almost always results in lengthy, unnecessary periods of ineligibility when Medicaid or other public assistance is applied for. And the tax consequences can be devastating. Often, it’s wiser to do nothing. 4. Placing all assets into joint ownership with another family member This is often regarded the same as a transfer and can result in lengthy disqualification periods. Or it may not shelter assets at all. It can also create unfortunate legal problems for families. 5. Selling the family home to pay for nursing home care This is almost never required. Yet many still believe that a person must sell his home to pay the nursing home. 6. Not taking Medicaid estate recovery seriously Medicaid can and does sell your home after your death to recoup benefits paid out on your behalf. 7. Applying for a guardianship This court-supervised method of dealing with a person’s incapacity is time-consuming, costly, burdensome, and restrictive. With proper planning, you avoid the need to go to Court. 8. Relying on family members to “do the right thing” when critical health care and financial decisions need to be made In the absence of a Plan to protect assets and other planning documents, this is an awful burden to place on the members of your family. 9. Not seeking the advice of a specialist in elder law and asset protection planning Medicaid and other government benefits programs are a highly complex area of the law; the law varies from state to state and even within a particular state. Very few attorneys and advisors know and understand the laws and rules that apply. 10. Doing nothing Unless you have no assets to protect or you are unconcerned about how decisions will be made in the event of your disability or incapacity, you should take steps now to protect yourself.
