It is important to plan for how you will be able to afford long-term nursing home care, long before you ever need it.
No one wants to end up in a nursing home in the final years of their life. However, the people who need nursing home care do not have much of a choice in the matter. Some people are just going to need it.
The problem is that staying in a nursing home for any length of time is incredibly expensive. As the country ages, it is likely to get more expensive, since there will be competition for rooms. The government will actually pay for people's nursing home stays, but it is not exactly easy to qualify. Before the government will provide assistance, a person needs to have no assets or only have protected assets, such as a home that someone else is still living in, as the Brentwood Home Page discusses in "Long-term planning for long-term care."
There are ways around this problem. However, planning needs to be done well in advance. For some people, purchasing an insurance policy will be an option but long-term care insurance is expensive and not always available. Other people will need to get creative, so their assets can still be passed on to their heirs and the government will still pay for nursing home care.
Figuring out how this can be done requires the assistance of an elder law or estate planning attorney. The challenge is that it needs to be done at least five years before a person enters a nursing home. If you are nearing retirement, it would be a good idea to visit an attorney.
Reference: Brentwood Home Page (May 28, 2018) "Long-term planning for long-term care."
Suggested Key Words: Elder Law, Estate Planning
Comments