Meeting the cost of long term care for your family member requires careful planning
The cost of long term care for your family member is one of the biggest challenges faced by families. Most long term care costs are paid for from savings and investments, long term care insurance and finally by the government under the Medicaid program.
As your family member ages, she will likely need more care. She may need help with daily activities such as bathing or dressing. She may need supervision to keep her safe. This type of help is called custodial care and not covered by Medicare.
The first step after if becomes clear that your family member is going to need on-going long term care is to understand and document all the financial resources that your family member has and begin planning how you will pay for her care in the future.
If your family member has a signficant estate and wishes to leave a financial legacy to the family, early Medicaid planning is vital. There are attorneys who specialize in helping families manage the costs of long term care through Medicaid planning. Be sure to get two or three referrals from trusted professionals and check out the attorney's level of experience.
To begin building a plan to tackle the cost of long term care for your family member, answer the following questions:
- How much is your family member's monthly income?
- How much are her monthly expenses?
- What are her savings and investments?
- Does she have long term care insurance?
- Does she own a home?
- Does she currently have a reverse mortgage?
- Are there any family members who are willing and able (without impacting their financial security) to contribute money for her care?
With the help of a trusted financial advisor, you can develop projections of how long your family member's money will last. You can consider reorganizing your family member's portfolio to generate additional growth and income to meet the costs of her long term care..