Covering the Costs of Long Term Care

Jun 13, 2014

By Rick Law, Senior Advocate and Estate Planning Attorney at the Estate Planning Center at Law Elder Law in West Suburban Aurora, IL. Just off of the I-88 tollway.

When an individual is in need of long-term healthcare, people often turn to their own assets or savings to pay for such care.

Unfortunately, due to the high cost of care, it won’t take long for assets to be spent down and for funds that were originally earmarked for retirement savings to quickly disappear.

If not properly planned for, the need for long-term healthcare over a period of years can confront a family with three choices of means to pay for it. These choices include:

• The family can provide the necessary care informally (if they are able). However, doing so can come with serious costs to not just finances, but also to emotional and physical health.
• They can pay for care from an income stream. This, however, can come at a cost to both lifestyle and ability to meet continuing financial commitments – especially if there is a healthy spouse still responsible for regular household and other living expenses at home.
• They can pay for it with investments. If the illness or need for care lasts long enough, there could be a need to liquidate assets, potentially creating tax liabilities and jeopardizing the financial viability of the surviving spouse as well as children who may be depending upon an inheritance.

In addition to self-insuring out of one’s own assets to pay for care, many feel that their family will take care of them when the need for care arises. Yet as much as family and other loved ones intend to care for their elderly relative or friend, it can turn out to be quite difficult when the time comes. Over the past several years, societal changes have made it more difficult for family members to care for a loved one who is in need of long-term care. The economy has forced many families to split up and move apart, so often family members aren’t close enough to help take care of Mom or Dad.

If you’re ready to start getting your estate in order and secure your assets for the “worst-case” scenario, please give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free. We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family. Call now.

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees.

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney for the past 3 years in a row by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future. Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.