Maybe you have to move to a nursing facility or perhaps you need the assistance of a home health aide. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Why? Because, you’re prepared! How? You came to our office to plan. One of the planning strategies is long term care insurance. As an elder care attorney, in Maryland we cannot sell insurance products, like long term care insurance. Consequently, we are completely impartial about these products. Therefore, if you obtained a long term care insurance policy years ago you that your finances are in order. Funding your long term health care doesn’t have to…
Medicare does not pay for long-term care, except for 100 days of rehabilitation in a nursing home. Nursing home care falls primarily to Medicaid, the jointly funded state and federal program. The program now is shouldering 40% of the country's long-term-care spending, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. To be eligible for Medicaid in Maryland, can have no more than $2,500 in cash and investments. (Spouses are allowed to keep a home, a car and up to approximately $110,000.) In the past, regulators looked at any gifts you made up to three years before applying for Medicaid. However, in 2006,…
While long-term care insurance can be a good way to pay for a nursing home stay or a home health care worker, it doesn't come cheap. Annual premiums vary significantly, depending on your age, health, and the type of policy, but policies can run as high as $5,000 per year. You do not need to pay that much, however. The following are some ways to reduce your costs. Shorter benefit period. The most significant cost-saving step you can take is to not purchase a lifetime policy. Unless you have a family history of a chronic illness, you aren't likely to…
Some of the largest long-term care (LTC) underwriters are asking state regulators for large increases on some policies this year. The current ultra-low interest rate environment is a key reason for the rate hikes. Low rates have cut sharply into the investment earnings that insurance companies depend upon to fund benefit payouts. Investment returns fund up to 60 percent of the funds used to pay benefits, according to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). Another factor is the rising longevity of policyholders, and their tendency to hang on to their policies. Insurers expect a certain percentage of…
At the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC we assist clients who are faced with the possible placement of a spouse or parent in a nursing home. We counsel clients in navigating the complex and confusing Medicaid rules and regulations which pertain to nursing home care. Consequently, we assist in long term care planning to best situate your loved one for possible placement in a nursing home. Furthermore, we aid and counsel them in securing maximum financial protection and in preserving assets for the spouse who will remain at home and in applying for Medicaid eligibility. We also help…
But the purchase can turn into a nightmare if the insurance company refuses to pay for your care. One long-term care insurance company in particular, Bankers Life and Casualty, is gaining a reputation for not paying claims. A recent report by CBS News highlighted some of the problems Bankers Life customers have been experiencing. The report recounts the story of 93-year-old Timber Harwood, who paid long-term care insurance premiums for years. When he needed home health care after a serious fall, the insurance company gave his family the runaround, repeatedly claiming for almost a year that hundreds of pages of…
Unfortunately, most people do not plan for the nursing home, until the crisis occurs. As an elder care attorney I see this situation time and again. Therefore, it is important to educate my clients on the options they have available. The nursing home is a strong possibility for most Americans. People are now living longer than they ever have before. Consequently, for most they cannot care for themselves. Therefore, you will need some form of long-term care, usually, the nursing home. We, if the need occurs, help you plan for how to make this possibility happen. Medicare does not pay…
LTCI protects your assets and income from the costs of care, as pays for a caregiver in your home or helps pay for the assisted living facility. The MAPT protects assets, like your home and your life savings, but it does not protect your income (pensions, social security, interest, dividends, etc.). The MAPT has no positive effect in terms of providing care. However, in the event LTCI is unavailable to you for medical or financial reasons, the MAPT is a wonderful tool. With the MAPT in place five years before you go into a nursing home your assets are protected….
A mistake in elder-law estate planning is failure to regularly review the plan. At a minimum, each client's estate plan should be reviewed every three years to determine whether changes in the client's personal life, such as health, assets or family history (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, etc.) might require changes to the plan. Similarly, changes in the law may lead to changes in the plan. It is unrealistic to expect a plan established today to be effective 10, 20, 30 or more years in the future. Over time, clients may want to change their backup trustees or plan of distribution….
Baby boomers are seeking out communities with culture, activities and events and turning to college towns, urban environments and smaller towns with vibrant downtowns in lieu of continuing care retirement communities (“CCRC”) The research to date indicates that boomers desire to stay involved and participate in life during their retirement years. Consequently, CCRC’s should change their approach and what programs they offer to Boomers rather than the Depression Era and the GI generation. The boomer generation wants to live among other generations they don't necessarily want to be segregated. However, this country is not prepared to manage the existing generation…
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