Based on the US Census Bureau, over 51 million Americans are currently aged 65 or older, and the number is bound to increase while medical and technological advancements are allowing seniors to live longer than ever before.
The increasing needs of the US aging population are contributing to an increase in federal government senior aid programs. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to a point when the measures put in place to cater to the aging population are overwhelmed.
An elder law attorney can ensure that your long-term plans meet your needs
All seniors have different needs as far as long-term plan is concerned. Thus, to ensure that they are well catered to, measured needs to be put in place to make sure that their needs are met.
One of the best ways to facilitate the process is by contacting an Elder Law Attorney. However, some seniors don’t know who an elder law attorney is, neither are they aware of the help they render. For this reason, we’ll be highlighting some common ways in which an elder law attorney can help seniors. However, before we delve into that, let’s digress a little.
Long term care: a necessity for seniors
Long-term care is deemed a necessity for seniors. Thus, if you are a senior, or about to become one, it makes sense to make plans regarding long-term care. While drafting out the necessary long-term care plans, you should also consider how to pay for whatever plans you intend to draft. In this article, I have listed a few major ways to pay for long-term care.
However, before we delve into that, let’s consider what long-term care is.
What is long-term care?
Long-term care can be defined as a panoply of personal, social, and medical services designed to assist individuals who are plagued with functional or cognitive limitations in their ability to carry out self-care including other activities.
With the rapid growth of our older population, long-term care has turned out to be a significant component of the U.S. health-care system. Health care services are offered in many locations, such as private homes, adult day-care settings, residential care/assisted living facilities, including nursing homes.
Long-term care aims to help you retain your lifestyle as you age. Medicare, Medicare supplement insurance, including health insurance you may have at work usually don’t cover long term care expenses.
Main ways to pay for Long term care
Below are some of the main ways to pay for long term care:
- Life Insurance cash value: Depending on your policy’s term and value, it is feasible for some life insurance policies to be changed into an income stream to help settle the expenses of your long-term needs.
- Home equity: For a lot of individuals, their house is their biggest investment. A reverse mortgage could provide you with a source of tax exempted monthly cash advances. Before you consider this option, ensure you fully understand the fees and interest rates, including other conditions that comes with this option.
- Selling your home: Why sell my precious $250,000 home, you are thinking. One effective strategy is to sell your larger house and buy a less expensive home. However, there is another cool option you may want to examine. You could sell your home to an adult child and then pay them rent, or if finances allow, the child could gift you the value of the rent, up to $15,000 for each year, with zero tax requirements
Do you need an Elder law attorney?
If you need an elder law attorney for matters regarding your elderly loved one, don’t hesitate to call our office. Or if you are a senior and you need help with applying for Medicaid, you can also contact us for assistance. In addition, in the event that your assets and income are above the threshold, signaling your ineligibility for Medicaid, you can contact us if you wish to set up a Medicaid Asset protection Trust. However, you must have the Medicaid look back period in mind. This means that, after placing your assets in this trust, you are to wait for the next 5 years before applying for Medicaid to avoid any form of sanction.
