There is not one single, uniform type of long-term care for elderly individuals. Rather, such care comes in many different varieties. Some examples of the different types of long-term care are: assisted living facilities, adult day services, nursing homes, paid home care from hired caregivers and unpaid home care from friends, family members or other individuals.
Statistics indicate that unpaid care is rather common for long-term care recipients. It is estimated that around 80 percent of all long-term home care individuals receive is unpaid care from family, friends or other individuals.
What is drawing so many individuals to this type of long-term care? One thing might be cost concerns. Paid forms of long-term care can get quite expensive, so the costs for such care can sometimes be hard to meet, particularly without advanced planning.
While care from unpaid caregivers can have lower financial costs, it can have other costs associated with it. For one, it can sometimes cause stress for an unpaid caregiver, which can be tough on both the caregiver and the individual receiving care.
Also, such care has its limitations. Some elderly individuals have care needs so complex that they are beyond the ability of an unpaid caregiver to meet.
Thus, decisions of what type of long-term care to go with are often not simple ones, but rather ones that can be influenced by many different factors, including costs, care needs and family needs. This is one of the things that can make preparing for the possibility of future long-term care such a complex thing.
While long-term care planning can have its difficulties, it can also be quite important. Good advanced planning can help a person with being in a strong position when the time comes to make important long-term care decisions. Skilled estate planning attorneys can assist individuals with making preparations for the possibility of needing future long-term care.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - LongTermCare.gov, "Who Will Provide Your Care?," Accessed Nov. 16, 2015