A common concern for Americans is the cost of long-term care. Monthly costs can be more than $7,000, and nursing home expenses over the course of a few years or decades can easily wipe out an individual’s savings.
Determining what to do to be prepared for long-term care is only one step in the process. It’s also important to determine when to take certain steps in the long-term care planning process.
A huge concern for Americans in our contemporary society is the cost of long-term care (such as nursing home care) if long-term care ultimately proves to be necessary. With monthly costs of more than $7,000 in many cases, nursing home expenses over the course of years or even decades can wipe out a couple’s lifetime of sacrifice and savings.
This column has previously explained some of the tools used to preserve assets to provide a financial legacy for children and grandchildren despite needing expensive healthcare in our elder years. Those tools often include specific life estates, irrevocable “Medicaid” trusts and some gifting. The specific tools and how they are used change almost daily. In fact, in a couple weeks, I will be conferencing with several dozen colleagues from across the state to allow all of us to update our shared knowledge of how to best preserve and pass on family wealth in the face of potentially financially devastating healthcare needs in our clients’ later years.
Read more about long-term care planning in Lee’s article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: When should I act to protect assets from long-term care expenses?
Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: When should I act to protect assets from long-term care expenses?,” by Lee R. Schroeder, September 29, 2018
Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LLC in Putnam County. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at Lee@LeeSchroeder.com or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.