Long-Term Care Planning—A Reality Check
For clients in their 60’s and 70’s, looking ahead to the potential need for long-term care is an important topic you should be discussing with your financial advisor and estate planning attorney. Like any other planning topic, education is the first step. Take the time to learn about the different ways people can receive care, and the different options available to pay for needed care. Then, make sure you do not reach conclusions based on what you hear on the radio or what your neighbor or your mother’s best friend did – look at your own family, financial and health situation, your own family history, and determine what type of plan is right for you. We have all seen and heard the ads encouraging people to plan before it’s too late and before they “lose everything” to the nursing home. Sometimes planning to protect assets is necessary and appropriate, but a threshold question is “Who are you protecting assets for?” Although it may feel selfish, when it comes to long-term care planning, you need to think of yourself first. Keeping control of your assets may the best way for you to ensure you will receive the care you need, where you want to receive it. For some people, long-term care insurance is an appropriate part of their long-term care plan. As with long-term care in general, education is the key before you reject long-term care insurance out of hand because it is “too expensive.” To get you started, read this article where our own Steve Samuel and local long-term-care insurance expert Tobe Gerard are quoted.
Senior Wellness Event—4/16/15 at Cardi’s Furniture Community Room in South Attleboro
What matters most to seniors in the US? Don’t miss a FREE and informative event with key industry experts in estate and long-term care planning, home care and assisted living facilities, rehab and skilled nursing facilities, durable medical equipment and much more! SSB’s Senior Associate, Pamela B. Greenfield, will present on critical estate planning documents for seniors. For more information click here.
Published April 2015