Long Term Care Planning
Long Term Care Planning is a very specialized area of Elder Law. The issues surrounding the illness and care of a loved one are probably more important than the issues surround the death of a loved one. With the cost of nursing home care in Washington State now at more than $5400 per month, a long term illness can wipe out all of your hard earned savings and leave a spouse in a very precarious position.
Long Term Care for an ill parent or spouse can range from In-home care to Group Home care to Assisted Living and then to Nursing Home care.
On February 8, 2006 the US Congress passed a sweeping set of laws which are designed to make every person with a long term illness destitute. Essentially, those laws were a mandate that any person with 'excess resources' or 'excess income' to pay their own way in a long term care facility. Once a person has 'spent down' their assets and income to the 'level of destitution' only then will the State help fund the cost of long term care.
This means that a spouse may not be left with enough money to be able to stay in their home. This also means that a single person can have no more than $2000 in the bank. This also means that the State will place a lien on the family home and possibly foreclose that lien which will result in the loss of the family home. These are issues which must be dealt with proactively, because waiting until the onset of an illness to plan will place you squarely at the mercy of the state rules.
In order to responsibly be proactive, you must plan well ahead of an illness. By 'well ahead' the rules state 5 years ahead. If you or a loved one does not have this amount of time, then there are still strategies that we can employ so that you or your spouse does not become destitute. But, those strategies fall far short of what we can accomplish with proper time.
If you want to know the whole truth about Long Term Care Planning, then I urge you to download the Free Consumer's Guide to Long Term Care Planning. Study it for yourself and if you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
We also offer the option to attend one of our Trust Seminars. Call us to register. There is no obligation.