One of the most common concerns we address is the cost of long-term care and the aspect of qualifying for medicaid and spend down. Common questions are “How can I be sure I have enough money to pay for long term care?” and, “How do I know if my parents have saved enough money to pay for long term care?”
It is important to sit down with your advisory team now rather than later and have a meeting to review your financial picture. Unfortunately there is no magic number to aim for when saving for long-term care, as such, you should also work closely with an attorney that is well versed in Medicaid rules and regulations.
There are many tools in the toolbox to save funds for a spouse or for additional forms of care that Medicaid may not provide that an elder law attorney can propose. In order to effectively advise our clients on the best planning tool for their circumstances, we must know how much time they have until all of their assets are gone. Therefore the first step is always to review your net worth, income, and expenses with your advisory team. This will enable you to discover how much time your assets will provide you with care if you were to simply privately pay for it. Several scenarios should be examined to evaluate the many factors that could affect the time it takes for your assets to be spent down. These factors range between family to family but commonly encompass the following:
- What if my spouse were to pass away?
- What if we were to sell our house?
- What if we were to rent our home?
- What if my health care needs were to rise?
Again, your attorney and financial advisor can work together to evaluate these scenarios. Once we know how much time we are looking at under the many different scenarios, we can then begin to evaluate what the best tools and solutions are for someone to save assets. If you or a loved one is worried about long term care, don’t wait. Typically, the sooner one begins planning, the more options they have at his or her disposal. Schedule an appointment with a member of our team to begin your evaluation today.
Our attorneys are here to help you plan and strategize for the future of you and your loved ones.
