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The Pros and Cons of Long-Term Care Insurance
May 14, 2012
Filed under: Elder Law,Health Care — admin @ 6:02 pm
Do you have long-term care insurance? SHOULD you have long-term care insurance? These are questions that currently plague many forty-, fifty-, and sixty-somethings, as well as some precocious thirty-somethings. We’ve been hearing and reading more and more about long-term care insurance in recent years, but we still don’t seem to have any kind of firm consensus about whether it’s a good investment—whether it’s a necessary investment—or not.
This recent article from CBS online, entitled Why Long-Term Care Insurance Is Important, argues that “LTCI is a tool that can help preserve and protect financial assets, provide flexibility to choose the type of care, offer the ability to choose where care is received, help to ensure high-quality care, and provide financial and emotional support for the family.” This article helps readers not only understand why LTCI might be important, but what are the important questions to ask when considering whether and which long-term care insurance might benefit you and your family.
Of course, not everyone thinks long-term care insurance is necessary. Another article, this one from the Wall Street Journal, provides both sides of the argument. The pro-LTCI writer argues that “For those who buy and keep their policy it is a no-regret proposition. No one who has paid premiums and receives their benefits from the policy regrets having paid those premiums.” You pay a small regular sum over the course of a few decades, and when the time comes you are saved from bankrupting your family by paying as much as $250 a day, often for months or more.
The opposition writer against long-term care insurance argues that the likelihood that you’ll need to use the insurance policy is exaggerated. “It may be more useful to learn that 67% to 70% of seniors who do go into a nursing home are discharged within 90 days, and that after two years, less than 6% of those admitted will still be there.” This is important information to have, but $250/day for even 30-60 days can quickly wipe out a significant portion of a retiree’s savings.
Whatever you choose, make sure you account for your decision in your retirement and estate plans. Talk about the decisions with your estate planner, your financial advisor, and especially with your children. Long-term care expenses can be significant, and it’s always best to be as prepared as you can possibly be.
The High Emotional—And Financial—Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease
March 19, 2012
Filed under: Elder Law,Health Care — admin @ 6:15 pm
Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects everybody it touches—husbands, wives, children and grandchildren—they all bear witness to their loved one’s slow demise.
Sadly, emotional stress is not the only stress that accompanies Alzheimer’s disease; those loved ones serving as caretakers may carry a huge amount of financial stress as well. The cost of caring for an Alzheimer’s patient can run anywhere from $64 a day to $77,380 a year, and because Alzheimer’s disease can be such a long-lasting disease (a person can suffer from Alzheimer’s for up to 20 years) the costs of care can end up being astronomical. It’s obvious that people can’t do it alone.
Long-term care insurance can be very helpful in paying for the costs of care necessary for a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s… if your loved one has thought ahead and purchased the policy before they or their spouse began suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Some people may not have thought ahead and hope that government programs will be able to help with the high cost of care. Medicaid can be helpful … if you fall in the right category and know how to navigate the complex system. (Medicare doesn’t cover the cost of long-term care.)
Unfortunately, learning how to navigate the system is not something you can do in an hour or two. Because your experience will depend on a number of unique factors we can’t give you an easy set of instructions to follow. The best advice we can give is to say that right now, the best way to navigate the Medicaid/Medi-Cal system is to find someone who knows the system to assist you. Most estate planning and elder law attorneys help their clients with these issues on a regular basis. If you want to ensure that you and your loved ones will be cared for no matter what the future may bring, don’t be afraid to ask your attorney for help.
Advice for Executors: How to Manage Final Medical Expenses
March 14, 2012
Most people die in a hospital; sometimes after a long and slow decline, sometimes after a quick and unexpected tragedy. If you are an executor of the deceased’s estate this is significant because it means that there are usually final medical bills to be paid. What most executors do not know is that these final medical bills are not necessarily just like all the other final expenses, especially when it comes to filing a final tax return for the estate; this article from SmartMoney.com explains why.
“…When a person incurs medical expenses and dies before they are paid, the executor of the decedent’s estate can elect to treat those medical expenses as if they were paid when incurred – as long as the estate pays the expenses within one year after the date of death. In other words, this election allows those expenses to be deducted on the decedent’s final Form 1040, even though they were not paid by the date of death.”
Many executors may not think of this because medical expenses can only be deducted if they exceed a certain percentage of the deceased’s adjusted gross income (7.5% to be exact); but health care being what it is, final medical expenses can quite often reach this point.
This sounds easy, but be careful if the deceased’s estate exceeds the $3.5 million estate tax exemption—you may want to look into other options. The article suggests that in this case it might be beneficial to “forgo the election and count the unpaid medical expenses as liabilities on the estate tax return.”
As the executor of an estate you may have more options than you are aware of when it comes to taxes, probate, and achieving the best results for the beneficiaries. If you are unsure about any of these—or other—issues, please contact our office, we can help advise you on all angles of the trustee or probate process.
Elderly Daycare Can Help Prevent Caregiver Burnout
March 7, 2012
Filed under: Elder Law,Health Care — admin @ 7:37 pm
Many of our clients provide care for elderly loved ones; some even providing constant, around the clock care. Care giving is a demanding, overwhelming, and often grossly underappreciated job. In addition to giving up their own time and interests, caregivers have to watch someone they love slowly regress and lose the ability to do even the most basic of tasks. Often, the senior being cared for eventually loses their ability to even recognize the people around them… including the person giving constant loving care. For all of these reasons, it’s very common for caregivers to experience depression and fatigue… caregiver burnout.
Depression and burnout does not have to be the plight of all caregivers, especially if you know the symptoms and how to combat them. The good news is that there are many preventative strategies which are readily available… the hard part for caregivers is valuing their own time and mental health enough to take advantage of them.
One of the best ways to avoid caregiver burnout is by making time for yourself periodically. Adult day service centers provide personal care, social activities, therapy and meals during the day while caregivers need to be away at work or even taking a much-needed break. If you have a parent who can no longer care for themselves during the day, adult day services might be a good solution for everybody involved.
There is a saying that hardships shared are halved, and joys shared are doubled; this is as true of care giving as it is for anything else. Many caregivers are reluctant to ask for help, but sharing the burden could save you from caregiver burnout. Don’t be afraid to reach out.
Will Medicare Provide for You in Your Golden Years?
February 8, 2012
Filed under: Elder Law,Health Care — admin @ 5:07 pm
Many retirees (or soon-to-be-retirees) have been living and saving under the assumption that Medicare would pay for a bulk of their medical costs during retirement, but a recent article in the Wall Street Journal reveals that counting on Medicare may not be the safest bet anymore. According to the article, one of the most important facts that retirees need to understand about Medicare is that “Medicare pays for very little long-term care, and you’ll still need significant savings to cover the rest of your medical expenses.”
This statement may come as a shock to those who fall in the soon-to-be-retired category simply because they likely haven’t had to give much thought to post-retirement medical costs yet; but they may be in for a rude awakening when the time comes to rely on Medicare. “Two-thirds of those on Medicare also said they pay the same, or more, for healthcare now than when they were working. They have been unpleasantly surprised by the cost of Medicare Part B premiums, what you pay for doctor and outpatient coverage, with 44% paying more than they had expected.”
Fortunately, our readers can become aware of this need to be more proactive about their own healthcare, and can start planning now. How you should plan will depend greatly on your age, your current rate of saving, and many other factors. Please contact our office (or your own trusted attorney or financial planner) today.
A Difficult Decision: Choosing a Nursing Home for Yourself or Your Loved One
February 6, 2012
Filed under: Elder Law,Health Care — admin @ 2:39 am
If and when the time comes to choose a nursing home—either for yourself or for a loved one—how will you know how to choose the right one? A person’s living situation often has a lot to do with how happy they are, so it is important to choose carefully and wisely. When you do begin the process of choosing a nursing home, you don’t have to go into it blind. Here are a few things to consider and questions to ask when you start your search:
A Matter of Money – Nursing care is an expensive prospect, so one of your first considerations when looking for a nursing home will be how much it will cost and how you (or your loved one) will pay for it. Fortunately, it is likely that the entire cost will not have to come out of your personal finances. The Medicare.gov website offers an overview of different strategies to pay for quality nursing care. Your elder law attorney can help you navigate these—and other—options.
For-Profit vs. Non-Profit – Not all nursing homes are created equal, and according to this recent article the choice between a for-profit or non-profit home can be one you’ll want to consider carefully.
Evaluate Staff and Policies – Taking the time you need to evaluate the staff and the policies of the homes on your list will quite possibly be the most important part of your decision-making process. This article from the “Our Parents” website provides a comprehensive list of questions to ask yourself, the nursing home staff, the residents, and more before you make your decision.
Location, Location, Location – Finally, we all know that location is everything, and this is true of nursing homes as well. Issues of location ranging from how close the home is to family and friends, to what kind of view can be seen from the windows can all be of the utmost importance.
Choosing a nursing home may well be one of the most difficult decisions you will ever make, so it’s best to go into it prepared. Don’t be afraid to get in touch with the professionals who can help you make the best possible decision for yourself and your loved ones.
New Year’s Resolutions: Taking Control of Your Health in 2012
December 21, 2011
Filed under: Estate Planning,Health Care — admin @ 4:26 pm
Without a doubt the most frequent and popular New Year’s Resolutions made each year have to do with health. People resolve to exercise more, to lose weight, to eat better, etc. But far too few people are aware that in addition being healthy in body and mind, there are steps you can (and should) take to protect your medical future and privacy as well.
1. Think about your medical future and put your wishes into writing. How would you like to be cared for in the event that you are incapacitated? How long (and by what measures) would you like to be kept alive if you were to be irrevocably injured or diagnosed with a terminal illness? Who would you like making these decisions for you if you were unable to make them for yourself? These are the issues addressed in an advanced healthcare directive or a living will—documents every adult should have not only for their own peace of mind, but for the peace of mind of their family and loved ones as well.
2. Execute a HIPAA to help protect your medical privacy. A HIPAA Authorization is the document that lets your doctors and other health care providers know who may receive information about your medical status and treatment. Not only does this protect your privacy, but it ensures that the people who should be informed about your medical status will have access to the information they need.
3. Consider your eventual long-term care needs and look into long-term care insurance as a safety net. There is no way to know for sure which of us will need long-term care, but as life-expectancy increases the chances that any of us will need long-term care increase along with it. You can plan for this eventuality and protect yourself and your family from being hit too hard by the expenses of long-term care by investing in long-term care insurance. There are a few options available for long-term care insurance, and our office can help you choose which plan might be best for you.
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