Long-term care planning: Think about your home

January 28, 2019
Kevin Tharpe

It doesn’t matter if you’re thinking about long-term care planning for yourself or a loved one, there are some key considerations that deserve your full and immediate attention. For example, here’s a question that always moves to the forefront: Could my home pose a problem as I age?

When you’re young and in good health, you don’t have any problem getting around your home. You know where everything is located, nothing gets in your way and you don’t have to concern yourself with safety issues.

However, as you age, this doesn’t always hold true. As you get older, daily chores begin to take a toll on your life. This can range from getting up and down the stairs to walking to and from the garage.

As you consider long-term care planning, it’s imperative to better understand how your home could impact you in the future. One of the best things you can do is make changes now, so you don’t get caught in a challenging situation later on.

There are many design changes you can make to your home, with the idea of allowing you to live a safer and more convenient life in the future. Some of the things you want to think about include:

  • Ways you can eliminate steps from your day-to-day life, such as by putting a bathroom and bedroom on the first floor
  • The creation of an open floor plan to reduce hazards
  • Wider hallways and doorways, which is particularly important when using a walker or wheelchair
  • Lowering light switches and other home controls for easier access

Some of these changes are easy to make. For example, you could hire an electrician to install new light switches.

Conversely, adding a bedroom or bathroom on the first floor may call for some serious rearranging, which can cost a good amount of money.

When it comes to long-term care planning and your home, the key to success is thinking in advance. By pinpointing potential problems, you can prevent them from holding you back later on down the road.

As you continue to plan for long-term care, don’t lose sight of anything that could impact your life in the future. Tackling all the most important details up front will give you peace of mind, since, in a manner of speaking, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

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Kevin Tharpe

With 25 years of experience, Kevin understands how estate planning, special needs planning, and government benefits programs work together. This is a crucial element of a thorough plan. He explains your eligibility for benefits programs and ensures that you do not make costly mistakes that may disqualify you or deplete your assets.

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