How to Self Insure for Long Term Care (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about using your own money, what we call legacy assets, to self-insure for long term care. This week I’ll walk you through an example of how that can work. Mary is 73 years old. She has high blood pressure, for which she takes
Do You Know What’s in Your Long Term Care Insurance Policy? (Part 2)
Last week we were talking about Bob and his dad, Jim. Jim had always told Bob that he had long term care insurance to cover the cost of his care. However, now Bob was discovering that the policy isn’t what Jim represented it to be. As I explained last
Do You Know What’s in Your Long Term Care Insurance Policy? (Part 1)
Bob’s dad, Jim can no longer stay in his home alone. His dementia is advancing and Bob is now ready to move Jim to an assisted living facility. Jim had always told Bob not to worry about how to pay for care if he needs it because he has
Retitling Assets to Healthy Spouse to Qualify for Medicaid (Part 2)
Last week we were discussing Mary’s dilemma. Her husband, George, has Alzheimer’s Disease and is going to need some care at home. Mary is concerned that soon he will need nursing home level care and she wants to preserve their primary home and their second home.
Little Known Law May Help Seniors Needing Long Term Care (Part 2)
Last week we were discussing a little known law that can be a boon to seniors. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 contains provisions that allow individuals to use their annuity cash value to purchase long term care coverage. Let’s look at an example of how that can work.
When Disputing a Bill can Cause You to Lose Medicaid (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about Sheila’s call. Her husband Sam needs nursing home care and they have very little to spend down, approximately $33,000. Sheila would be able to keep the rest, not a whole lot for her to live on. But, she would need to act quickly and
How Mom’s Estate Plan Did More Harm than Good (Part 2)
Last week we were discussing Sue’s call to our office. Her brother, John, is 65 and disabled, living in senior housing. He now needs aides to assist him and she told me his income is $1900. But, then she told me about the trust that Mom had set up for
Medicaid’s Spend Down – Don’t Get Caught Short (Part 2)
Last week we were discussing Jeff’s difficulties spending down his mom’s remaining assets, not getting caught with too much at the end of the month to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to cover the private pay rate. So how does one avoid this Medicaid “trap”? As we approached the final
Medicaid’s Spend Down – Don’t Get Caught Short
We had been working with Jeff to prepare for an eventual Medicaid application to be filed on his mother’s behalf. Much of that work involved reviewing the 5 years of records, Medicaid’s look back period. But we also needed to coordinate the spend down as we were nearing the target
Long Term Care Planning – Should I Wait and See?
I consistently emphasize that we can achieve the most favorable results for our clients with the benefit of time, meaning we want to work with clients as far as possible before they reach crisis mode. I know, however, that there is a general resistance to taking action. Long term care