Tag Archives: Medicaid planning
Will Medicaid take my house if I can’t afford to pay for a nursing home?
Home ownership is the American Dream. People work hard all their lives to own a home, and it is often their most valuable and significant possession. So, when your health begins to fail and the need for long-term care arises, we often get this fear-filled question from our clients: will Medicaid take my house… Read More »
Benefits of a Hybrid Long Term Care Insurance Policy
You have probably heard about the astronomical costs of nursing-home care if you become seriously ill or injured. You might also know that Medicare would cover only a minimal amount of those costs. Private insurance doesn’t seem like a good bet either, if you’ve heard horror stories about skyrocketing premium costs and difficulties in… Read More »
Can adult children be held responsible for parents’ nursing home bills?
The astronomical expense of long-term nursing care is no longer news. Costs can run around $7,000.00 or more per month, depending on location. Hundreds of thousands of people presently need that kind of care and the numbers are rising. Ten thousand “baby boomers” a day turn 65, and it’s projected that seven of ten… Read More »
How to care for an elderly parent
As much as you may try, aging is something you cannot escape, and it affects all families. It can be challenging for adult children to imagine their parents as seniors and to understand and respond to the reality that each parent will age differently. Even if you are in the fortunate circumstance where your… Read More »
6 (Surprising) Myths About Long-Term Care
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, someone turning age 65 today will have a 70 percent chance of requiring some long-term care (LTC) service and support during the remainder of their life. In the case of women, the typical LTC need will last about 3.7 years compared to men who will… Read More »
6 Things to Watch Out For Before Signing a Nursing Home Contract
Suppose your mother can no longer make decisions for herself and she now needs nursing-home care. You are stressed and anxious. You’re now staring down a twenty-page, single-spaced nursing home contract. You wish you could flip straight to the last page and sign then and there, just to get it over with. Do not… Read More »
How to Manage Someone Else’s Social Security or Veteran’s Benefits
Let’s assume you have been appointed to help manage someone else’s social security benefits. As an example, let’s pretend it’s you forty-year-old nephew, Roberto. In the Social Security system, you’ll be called Roberto’s “representative payee.” The situation is similar if you’re appointed to help your elderly father, who has dementia, manage his Veteran’s benefit… Read More »
What is a Continuing Care Retirement Community?
There are three distinct living phases associated with a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). The first is independent living when a resident enters into the community with few if any disabilities requiring limited assistance. In this phase of independent living, community residents typically take advantage of the broad range of social, physical, and intellectual… Read More »
How to Protect Assets in a Second Marriage (The Right Way)
When people marry for the second time (or more), losing assets to pay for their new spouse’s serious illness is probably the last thing on their minds when they say “I do.” But that could happen. Current costs for long-term care facilities can run between $70,000 – $150,000 annually. Studies show that 70% of… Read More »
How to Avoid the Medicaid Penalty for Gifts
Michelle’s children were concerned that Michelle would need long-term nursing-home care in the near future. It was the holidays, and Michelle always got a lot of joy out of generosity. But her children also worried that her generosity could hurt her in the long run, because they had heard that people in Michelle’s circumstances… Read More »
