Long Term Care facilities (or nursing homes) in Florida range between $6,000 and $12,000 per month. The elderly population is living longer, and as a result, outliving their means. The rising costs of long term care can very quickly deplete a lifetime of savings and wash out what is meant to be a family legacy, or an inheritance for your loved ones. Oftentimes, families need to come together to pool resources to cover the monthly costs for Mom or Dad.
To put this into perspective:
If we take the average cost of $9,000/month x 12 months = $108,000 per year in long term care.
As you can see, coming up with this monthly cost could be exhausting on any family.
So what is the answer? Plan early for Medicaid.
Medicaid offsets the costs for those that qualify. However, the thresholds to qualify favor the impoverished. The key is to plan early because Medicaid has a five year lookback into your assets and transfers. Planning early will provide more flexibility in the strategies we can employ to protect a greater amount of your assets without penalties imposed by Medicaid. That is not to say that assets cannot be protected if you or your loved one is imminently facing long term care needs. There are various strategies that can be used to qualify for Medicaid in order to avoid having to come up with these costs out of pocket, as well as avoid having Medicaid seek recovery of those costs from your estate.
An attorney experienced in Medicaid can help immensely to protect your assets within the confines of the law in order to qualify you for Medicaid benefits when the time comes and alleviate the strain on the family’s resources.
How Not to Deplete a Lifetime of Savings on Long Term Care
Long Term Care facilities (or nursing homes) in Florida range between $6,000 and $12,000 per month. The elderly population is living longer, and as a result, outliving their means. The rising costs of long term care can very quickly deplete a lifetime of savings and wash out what is meant to be a family legacy, or an inheritance for your loved ones. Oftentimes, families need to come together to pool resources to cover the monthly costs for Mom or Dad.
To put this into perspective:
If we take the average cost of $9,000/month x 12 months = $108,000 per year in long term care.
As you can see, coming up with this monthly cost could be exhausting on any family.
So what is the answer? Plan early for Medicaid.
Medicaid offsets the costs for those that qualify. However, the thresholds to qualify favor the impoverished. The key is to plan early because Medicaid has a five year lookback into your assets and transfers. Planning early will provide more flexibility in the strategies we can employ to protect a greater amount of your assets without penalties imposed by Medicaid. That is not to say that assets cannot be protected if you or your loved one is imminently facing long term care needs. There are various strategies that can be used to qualify for Medicaid in order to avoid having to come up with these costs out of pocket, as well as avoid having Medicaid seek recovery of those costs from your estate.
An attorney experienced in Medicaid can help immensely to protect your assets within the confines of the law in order to qualify you for Medicaid benefits when the time comes and alleviate the strain on the family’s resources.
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