Whether you’re concerned about your own health issues in older age or are now taking care of parents with issues, you might be under the impression that Medicare is in place to cover the vast majority of needs. This is not true, and it can come as an unwelcome surprise when you’ve already counted on it in your mind.
LTC expenses can be significant. And if you don’t know how they’ll yet affect you, it’s easy to push that off as something to worry about in the future. But by the time the future arrives, most people haven’t done any planning and instead are self-funded.
Self-funding with LTC means that any income or savings you personally own gets tapped into first as a means of paying for your care. Given that the expenses for LTC can run from $50,000-100,000+ per year, this can be a substantial portion of your savings.
If only one spouse needs LTC, this also means that the other spouse is at risk of not having enough assets left behind to care for themselves. This can turn into a downward financial spiral that is difficult if not impossible to stop without some Medicaid crisis planning.
But you don’t have to wait until someone is in need of a nursing home to plan ahead for the possibility. Instead, you can set aside time to speak to an estate planning lawyer today to learn more about your options with LTC and to discover strategies you can put into place today to make a big difference. Talk to a lawyer today to learn more and get started.