Preparing for your long term care is something that you want to start doing as soon as possible. The more time you have to prepare, the more options you’ll have available to help ensure you will have the care you need. Take some time to look through the important things you can do today to help prepare for yourself for the possibility of long term care in your future.
Knowing the Costs
One of the first things you’ll want to do is look into how much long-term care facilities can cost on average in your state. This will help you get an idea of how important it is to start planning for these types of expenses as soon as possible. While every case is unique, a nursing home will run around $9,000 per month ($108,000 per year). Assisted living communities can cost around $5,000 per month, and in-home care can run as much as $6,384 per month for full-time care. At these rates, you can use up even very substantial savings quickly.
Plan for Medicaid
Medicaid is the most commonly used program when it comes to helping people get the long-term care they need. Unfortunately, Medicaid will only kick in once you have used up most of your other assets. With proper Medicaid planning, however, you can protect many of your assets so you can enjoy the benefits of this program, without losing everything you’ve worked hard for throughout your life.
Long Term Care Insurance
If you are still relatively young and in good health, you can often sign up for long term care insurance at a very affordable rate. There are some great plans out there that will help to cover a significant portion of the expenses while fitting into your budget comfortably. The sooner you look into this option, the more affordable it will be.There are now many hybrid products that will convert to life insurance if the policy is not used for long term care.
Protect Your Savings
Long term care facilities can eat through your savings very quickly if you’re not careful. This can leave you with very little left over to pass down to your loved ones when the time comes. Using the right asset protection vehicles, such as trusts, you can keep your life savings safe from the costs of long term care.
Work with A Professional
Whether you take the steps listed above, or you want to perform other actions to prepare for your possible long-term care needs, it is not something you should handle on your own. Having a good attorney with experience in estate planning will help to ensure you are ready for whatever comes your way. Let us help. Contact ProActive Legal Care to schedule a consultation today.
