Long-term care is something that is in many of our futures. Some estimates have the percentage of 65-year-olds who will end up requiring long-term care at some point in their elderly years at nearly 70 percent.
There can be some rather substantial costs associated with such care. Planning early for such costs can be important, as waiting too long to start one's long-term care cost planning may limit the options a person has available to them. Thus, it can be wise for individuals who are in their late-40s to mid-50s to give serious thought to long-term care planning, rather than putting such thought off until they are in their elderly years. Estate planning attorneys can assist individuals with the various different aspects of planning for long-term care costs.
One important thing to think about when planning for long-term care costs is what sources the resources to cover such costs will come from. Below, we will discuss three of the main types of such sources.
One is insurance. Long-term care insurance and a conversion of a life insurance policy to a benefit plan for long-term care are a couple of examples of the insurance coverage options that may be available to a person when it comes to long-term care costs.
Another source is government benefits, such as Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Whether a person is eligible for government benefits in relation to long-term care can be dependent on many things, such as the type of long-term care a person receives and what income and assets they have. Thus, when long-term care planning, it can be important to look into how the decisions one makes in the planning process could affect future government benefit eligibility.
Another source is one's personal savings and assets. Now obviously, the more of a person's assets and savings that are used for long-term care costs, the less assets and savings the person will have available to leave to loved ones when they pass away. A person may have particular assets that they want to make sure stay in the family and do not get lost to long-term care costs. Thus, one thing a person may want to look into when it comes to long-term care planning are their asset protection options.
Source: The Columbian, "Long-term care costs preparation should start early," Alex Veiga, Oct. 5, 2014