by Bill Miller | Apr 6, 2020 | Blog, Estate Planning, Long-Term Care
Long-term care, should you require it as you age, is a significant expense. Depending on where you live, the cost of a skilled nursing home can be well over $100,000 a year or more, and this is for a semi-private room. Medicare only pays under certain circumstances and in limited amounts, which surprises most Older Americans and their loved ones to learn. Further, if you have savings and investments, you might not qualify for the public benefits programs that can help you pay for the care you need such as the Alabama Medicaid program.
If you have not thought too much about long-term care, you are certainly not alone. Even if you are well-off enough to think you do not really need to put money aside for such costs, you do not know what is going to happen in the future, and most families cannot accurately predict how much it is going to cost.
A study published by the Department of Health and Human Services shares that 48 percent of all Americans over the age of 65 will need long-term care outside the home for up to one year. Nineteen percent will need it for up to 24 months, and more than 21 percent between two and five years.
For most of us, we want to create an estate plan that is focused on two main aspects:
- Lifetime protection, which safeguards you and your assets should you be in a crisis and need a decision maker with legal authority to act.
- Creating a legacy that will live on with your family members after you pass.
There are many ways you can start to address long-term care needs in your estate plan when you work with an elder law attorney. Your elder law attorney can provide a comprehensive strategy that addresses all of your health and legal needs, assuring you of the best possible care and protection should you need it. Long-term care planning can be incorporated into your overall estate plan so that it includes lifetime protections that contemplate a potential need for custodial care when you discuss your concerns with your attorney.
When we are healthy and in our prime, we do not often think about the big “what ifs.” Long-term care, as well as the threat of critical illness, is generally the last thing on our minds, even if we already have an estate plan in place. Most people think of estate planning as something that settles your affairs after you are gone, but know that it can also help you live better in life. Estate plans that consider long-term care will protect your assets and can ensure your legacy is intact should you need to be in a nursing home for any length of time.
We know this blog may raise more questions than it answers. Do not wait to contact our law practice to schedule a meeting to discuss your concerns today, or any time in the future.
by Bill Miller | Feb 29, 2020 | Blog, Long-Term Care, Nursing Home
Frank and Delia were getting older, as most people do. Their life together had included raising three children and providing support for their parents before they passed away. Because of how much care their parents needed at the end of their lives, Frank and Delia were concerned about their own future medical care. They decided to be proactive and start to plan for long-term care situations now.
Long-Term Care Options
People faced with a need for increased levels of care have several options:
- In-home. Aides may come in with meal preparation, cleaning, medication management, and personal hygiene.
- Assisted Living Facilities. The residents live in separate apartments, but limited nursing care is provided.
- Nursing Homes. Skilled nursing facilities typically offer 24/7 care for patients that need it.
As you start your plan for long-term care, consider the following:
Research Current Availability and Cost
It may be years before you need long-term care. However, you can start looking at what might be available.
The least expensive option is usually at-home care. In the Anniston area, the average monthly cost was $2,955 for homemaker services in 2018. Perhaps you have family members who can help you stay home as long as possible and reduce the cost of care.
In Anniston, the average monthly cost for assisted living facilities in 2018 was $3,566. If you don’t need memory care or 24/7 nursing, this might work. Check with family members, friends, and friends-of-friends who live in and can recommend assisted living accommodations.
As you might expect, the highest cost will be for nursing home care. Average 2018 cost in Anniston was $6,175 for a semi-private room and $6,449 for a private room. See what nursing homes are nearby. In addition to word of mouth, you can check the Alabama Department of Public Health website for lists of nursing homes with violations.
Once you have some ideas of available care, you can plan how to pay for it.
Methods of Payment
Generally, you will find there are three ways to pay:
- Self-Pay. Your life savings may be used to pay for expensive long-term care.
- Long-Term Care Insurance. Although this type of insurance can defray the high cost of long-term care, the premiums may be too high. It’s also important to buy the policy well before you need it.
- Medicaid and Other Government Benefits. You may be able to tap into Medicaid to pay for part or all of your long-term care . . . if you qualify. Eligibility rules are strict. If there’s a possibility you will need Medicaid, consult with an attorney now.
Talk to an Experienced Attorney about How to Plan for Long-Term Care
There’s a good possibility that you or one of your loved ones will need some form of long-term care. Doesn’t it make sense to plan for it now?
For a free consultation with Bill Miller, an experienced Alabama attorney, contact us at 256-472-1900. Miller Estate and Elder Law is now located at 818 Leighton Avenue in Anniston, but we serve clients in Gadsden, Hoover, Talladega, Vestavia Hills, and surrounding areas.
Also, free copies of the following guides are available on our website: Medicaid Planning in Alabama: What You Need to Know and Don’t Go Broke Paying for Long-Term Care.
by Bill Miller | Feb 17, 2020 | Aging Parents, Blog, Caregivers, Long-Term Care
Whoever said, “Life at you fast” wasn’t joking. Our lives can be changed in the blink of an eye by an accident or other unpleasant surprise. However odd it may seem, it is possible to prepare for an unexpected emergency. In some cases, that means have a good estate plan in place before the emergency.
Sometimes a loved one may need sudden medical attention.
A complete estate plan typically includes an advance directive for health care. This document may include a durable power of attorney and a living Will. If you suddenly become ill and unable to communicate with your doctors, your advance directive will be a big help to your family and your healthcare providers. Your power of attorney has named an agent to communicate for you. A living will states your preferences for end-of-life treatment.
Emergencies can involve incapacity or disability.
If you are disabled due to a medical emergency, your advance directive helps with medical decisions. However, financial matters must be attended to also. This is where your general durable power of attorney makes a difference. The agent you named in your durable power of attorney can step in and take over your financial affairs if you are no longer able to do so.
You may also have set up a revocable living trust, naming yourself as trustee. In the event of your incapacity, the successor trustee can take over management of the trust.
In addition, you may have engaged in other incapacity planning that may help you qualify for government benefits like Medicaid.
One worst case scenario may include moving a beloved family member to a nursing facility.
Speaking of Medicaid, you or a loved one may need Medicaid to pay for long-term care costs. It’s important to start your Medicaid planning early because Medicaid will review your finances for the five years prior to applying for benefits. Some transactions made during that time frame could reduce or eliminate your eligibility.
Certain trusts can help you with long-term care planning. However, you will need to speak with an attorney to make sure your trust is established correctly.
An unexpected emergency may even lead to death.
Finally, death is often unexpected. Your valid Alabama Will or revocable living trust affect how your property will be passed to your heirs. Leaving these documents behind for your family helps them at a truly stressful time.
Estate planning can help when an unexpected emergency arises
Your estate plan can’t help, though, if it is out of date or you haven’t even prepared it yet. Schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Miller Estate and Elder Law. Our phone number is 256-472-1900. Miller Estate and Elder Law is now located at 818 Leighton Avenue in Anniston, but we serve clients in communities like Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Irondale, and Calera.
Check out our website for information about free workshops and guides.
by Bill Miller | Jan 6, 2020 | Blog, Long-Term Care
When you think about your New Year’s Resolutions, what comes to mind? Is it the tried and true: get healthy, lose weight, and spend more time with family and friends? Do you find yourself focusing more on setting business or personal goals? When it comes to the future, how far out are you planning? This year? Next year? Or five years down the line?
While we find that most of us share similar resolutions for personal improvement and spending more time with loved ones, we often find that most of us are not looking far enough into the future. Our goals address our needs now, not twenty to thirty years from now. Further, most of us do not contemplate the potential need for long-term care of any kind.
Unfortunately, during this time of celebration and planning, we can tell you that there is never a wrong time to plan for potential long-term care needs. This planning, whether in the New Year or not, needs to be undertaken sooner rather than later. After all, where you are thinking about personal goals and planning for loved ones, this must include a look at your potential future in any setting.
Research tells us that less than fifty percent of all Americans today do not have any form of estate planning. We are also told that half of two-thirds of all Americans will need some form of long-term care in the future. Combined, these factors are a recipe for disaster. In the former scenario, you have not made any plans to protect yourself or your loved ones. In the event of incapacity, there will be no legal documents in place to give a trusted loved one the legal authority to make your financial and health care decisions. Your future decision making may then require court involvement, which can be time consuming and costly, to allow anyone to have authority to make your decisions.
The latter planning scenario is perhaps even more concerning, yet we find many people have not started long-term care planning in any form. This is the type of planning in which you and your elder law attorney work together to ensure that in the event of long-term care crisis you, and your loved ones, know how to both find the right care for you and are able to afford it. Unfortunately, many people do not realize that Medicare will not pay for the majority of the high costs associated with an assisted living facility or skilled nursing facility, and they will be forced to pay for it out of hard earned savings.
You do not want to leave yourself, or your loved ones, in a position of not knowing what to do in the event of your incapacity or death. You can plan ahead and make these decisions early to ensure that you are provided for under any possible future scenario. We can help you create an estate plan and a long-term care plan that is able to support you now, and in the future when your needs may change. Do not hesitate to contact our law firm now, or any time throughout the New Year.
by Bill Miller | Nov 7, 2019 | Blog, Long-Term Care
Government benefits sometimes are difficult to find. Many programs exist and there’s just no way to know about all of the ones that might help you. For example, wartime veteran Alan L. had great difficulty taking care of himself as he approached age 75. His concerned family searched for programs that might help him. They decided to learn how to apply for Aid & Attendance.
What is Aid & Attendance?
This benefit program is provided to certain wartime veterans in addition to their monthly pension. To qualify, a wartime veteran must:
- Be eligible for the Veterans Administration (VA) basic pension;
- Require another person to help with daily living activities like bathing, dressing, feeding, and adjusting prosthetics;
- Be required to stay in bed due to a disability or disabilities;
- Be living in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity; or
- Have very limited eyesight.
If you notice any of the above-mentioned warning signs, the next step is applying. For example, our friend Alan mentioned above already receives his basic veteran’s pension. In addition, he needs help every day with very basic but necessary activities, including keeping him safe in his home. He may soon be moving to a nursing home. Alan and his family could really use some help paying for care that meets his needs. Considering everything, Alan is probably eligible for Aid & Attendance. Now, he just has to apply and qualify.
Navigating the Application Process
Like most government benefit programs, knowing how to apply for Aid & Attendance is difficult. To apply for Aid & Attendance benefits:
- Write to the Pension Management Center or visit the local regional benefit office to file your request for benefits.
- Include evidence validating your need for Aid & Attendance. It’s recommended that you present a report from your attending physician that states your needs and how well you currently get around.
The time from application to approval usually takes 6 to 8 months, although benefits occasionally may be approved in less time.
Get the Benefits You Deserve. We Can Help.
Don’t let DIY estate planning stand in the way of receiving benefits you deserve. Schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Miller Estate and Elder Law. Our phone number is 256-472-1900. Miller Estate and Elder Law is now located at 818 Leighton Avenue in Anniston, but we serve clients in communities like Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Irondale, and Calera.
by Bill Miller | Sep 30, 2019 | Blog, Long-Term Care, Medicaid
Did you know a Baby Boomer is a person who was born between 1946 and 1964?
This means the Boomer is now between the ages of 55 and 73. Unfortunately, the reality of the aging process is he or she could possibly be facing a greater potential need of skilled nursing home assistance in the future. While this is a future none of us want to contemplate at any time, it is important for Boomers to understand the possible need to pay for long-term care early on.
Perhaps the most concerning issue surrounds how Baby Boomers use their personal funds.
A well intended gift could both deprive them of the money they need to pay for care in the nursing home and penalize them in their attempt to access public benefits such as Medicaid. For example, did you know a Boomer’s choice to give money to help a child with unplanned family expenses or to help a grandchild with the high cost of college tuition could result in him or her being penalized for making a gift? This can be the exact situation the Boomer is facing if he or she makes gifts like these within five years of needing nursing home assistance, as there is a penalty for uncompensated transfers when applying for public benefits.
Gifts, or uncompensated transfers, are just one of the potential threats to the success of the application for public benefits. In these situations, the child or grandchild who received money from the Baby Boomer would likely need to be able to immediately repay the gift to avoid the application for public benefits being denied. Likewise, it is important that the Boomer who received a gift from an aging parent have ready access to cash to immediately repay the loan or gift.
How can Baby Boomers plan to provide for their loved ones and still maintain access to long-term care benefits?
One of the ways to do this successfully is to work with the Boomer’s elder law attorney to create a contract for services with a child or grandchild who is caring for the Baby Boomer at home or in a long-term care facility. Another way to effectively spend down excess resources is by purchasing non-countable assets.
Non-countable assets can include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
- A homestead having an equity interest less than state allowed amount after deducting the mortgage,
- A vehicle regardless of its age or value,
- The cash value of a whole life insurance policy having a face value of $2,500 or less,
- The full value of an irrevocable burial contract regardless of the amount contributed to the policy, and
- A $2,500 exclusion for the Boomer’s bank account that has been designated for burial expenses.
It is important for Baby Boomers to know that there are ways to successfully spend down their assets and still be eligible for nursing home expenses. While gifts, or uncompensated transfers, are just one of the potential threats to the success of the application for public benefits these are murky waters that need the guidance of an elder law attorney who understands the challenges Baby Boomers and their loved ones’ face. We encourage you not to wait to get the answers you need and to reach out to our office to schedule a meeting.
