Long-term care is an essential part of estate planning for those who are no longer able to care for themselves or suffer from serious health issues.
Long-term care can be provided in many ways, and there are numerous options available when planning for the future of you and your loved ones.
Long-Term Care Issues in Estate Planning
Long-term care allows individuals to meet their daily needs. These include bathing, dressing, eating, and personal hygiene needs. Aging, disease, and other factors determine the level of care that’s required now and in the future.
Many long-term care providers offer in-home services while others consist of assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
Long-term care solutions can be costly, reaching over $20,000 a year in many cases. For more significant levels of care, the cost can be even higher. Also, health insurance plans may only provide coverage for these services for a limited time.
Planning for long-term care in your estate plan ensures that you or your loved ones receive the medical care needed for lasting wellbeing.
Strategies for Long-Term Care in Estate Planning
There are many ways that an estate planning attorney can help you plan for your long-term care. Funds can be allocated to cover the cost of future long-term care through the transfer of assets, trusts, and long-term care insurance.
Assets can be transferred to family members, who can then use those assets to cover the costs of your long-term care. A child may be able to claim a parent as a medical dependent in some cases, which may provide tax benefits.
Although the rules related to the transfer of assets can be complex, having the right estate planning attorney gives you the information you need to make right choices.
Trusts can be used to protect your assets and allow you to qualify for Medicaid to help cover long-term care costs.
Your trust can give trustees full discretion in addressing care costs as well as supplement any benefits that are already provided through public programs.
Long-term care insurance is another option that may help you cover the costs associated with future medical care.
The number of long-term care insurance providers may be limited, and the premiums may be high depending on the number of benefits you receive.
But the policies are continually improving and many are seeing the cost of long-term care insurance decrease. This has led to an increase in the number of seniors who choose this option when planning for the future.
Legal Considerations for Long-Term Care
An estate planning attorney can provide Medicaid planning services, which help you restructure your assets so that you maximize the amount that isn’t counted for Medicaid purposes.
This requires a comprehensive understanding of the laws and regulations related to Medicaid.
Using irrevocable trusts, upgrading your home’s equity, and the use of a funeral expense trust are some of the ways that estate planning attorneys can accomplish these and other objectives.
Longer life expectancies have led to a greater need for long-term care. This has also increased the cost of care services, and many people find it difficult to cover these costs over time.
The right estate plan can ensure that assets are available to secure the long-term care that you or your loved one needs. It makes it easy to navigate the complex rules related to long-term care coverage.
Long-term care planning protects your assets and maximizes their value so that your medical care needs are met in the future.
Kevin Tharpe
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