While no one wants to think about it, we are getting older, and so are our parents. No matter our health or circumstances, thinking about long-term care is inevitable. The best time to start estate planning is now, as it prepares you and your family for the future.
For many, long-term care is a term they don’t think about until it is too late. Fortunately, there are many avenues for long-term care that an individual and their family can consider, but the sooner that these options are discussed and decided on, the more options there are. Estate planning is important for everyone, not just the wealthy or older individuals.
Long-term care is an essential part of overall estate planning and should be carefully considered alongside an estate planning and long-term care planning attorney. It’s also important to consult a lawyer, tax advisor, and financial advisor to address all aspects of estate planning and ensure your unique needs are met.
What is Long-Term Care?
Long-term care planning is the process of choosing services to support an individual’s health, financial, and care needs as they age.
Long-term care has a focus on providing the essentials that individuals need to continue living a comfortable life, such as planning for therapies, daily activities, and Medicaid care, ensuring that they are still able to live as independently as possible. Essentially, long-term care is about preserving one’s dignity and protecting one’s assets. It is also important to have up-to-date legal documents, such as wills, powers of attorney, and trusts, as well as current beneficiary designations on financial accounts, to ensure your wishes are clearly outlined and assets are transferred smoothly.
Long-term care doesn’t solely focus on healthcare and overall care. Long-term care also involves protecting one’s assets and ensuring that financial accounts are legally protected and properly written into the right wills, trusts, and beneficiaries. Beneficiary designations can override your will, so it’s important to keep them current.
Long-term care options include in-home care, skilled nursing facilities, residential care facilities, and assisted living facilities.
The Benefits of Long-Term Care Planning
Long-term care planning is often an overlooked aspect of estate planning, but it offers a range of benefits when done correctly and proactively.
Those benefits include:
- Preserving assets from being drained by nursing home costs
- Protecting the family home from estate recovery
- Qualifying for Medicaid without last-minute financial stress
- Ensuring your spouse or family is not left in financial jeopardy
- Avoiding guardianship or court intervention during incapacity
- Reducing the emotional burden on adult children and caregivers
- Coordinating care goals with estate planning and powers of attorney
Considering In-Home Care
In-home care is a preferred option when it comes to long-term care, but like any care option, it will depend on the individual’s and family’s needs and circumstances. In-home care planning can also be tailored to provide long-term benefits for beneficiaries with special needs, helping to protect their assets and ensure continued care.
In-home care is often provided by informal caregivers such as family members or friends, or by nurses who come to the home to provide the necessary care. Whoever the caregiver is, they are to provide help with activities of daily living, such as taking medications, bathing, eating, and sometimes walking. It is also important to address health care and medical decisions as part of the overall care plan, including advance directives and designating a proxy to make medical decisions if needed.
This option might be more comfortable for the individual and their family, but the necessary lengths that in-home care requires need to be carefully considered, especially if payment for outsourced nurses or therapists is needed.
Considering a Skilled Nursing Facility
Skilled nursing facilities are an option for individuals who have spent time in a hospital and are not ready to go home just yet, as they need additional assistance or other circumstances require it.
At a skilled nursing facility, individuals will stay overnight and be cared for by a variety of healthcare professionals who can meet their needs, from administering medications to providing physical therapy. Meals are also provided.
Having a living will or advance health care directive is important in these settings to ensure your medical preferences are respected. An advance health care directive states your health care preferences and names someone to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Without proper legal documents, the court system may become involved in making decisions about your care.
However, a skilled nursing facility is not a permanent home option.
Considering a Residential Care Facility
Residential care facilities are the most common option for long-term care, also known as a nursing home. Unlike a skilled nursing facility, a residential care facility can serve as a permanent home for individuals.
A residential care facility is a great option for those who no longer need, or don’t need, skilled nursing assistance but still require some level of assistance with daily activities. There is intensive care for their hygienic needs and well-being, and medical staff are on-site. Additionally, meals are provided for those who live there.
Considering Assisted Living Arrangements
Unlike a skilled nursing facility or residential care facility, assisted living is for older adults who might need some help but can otherwise tend to their own needs. Assisted living care is provided in apartments or condominium units. A place like this will provide social activities for the residents to participate in.
Assisted living is also known as a senior living community. There are different levels of assisted living, catering to those who can live more independently and those who may need a little more help. However, on-site staff may not always be medically trained.
Paying for Long-Term Care
Long-term care can be expensive, but it is an essential part of the estate planning process. The level of care and the options available to some families can depend on their financial situation. Fortunately, there are various funding options available for long-term care.
First, there are personal funds. Personal funds can include savings, a pension, a retirement fund, or income from investments or asset sales.
There are also state and federal government programs available to individuals and their families. This could include Medicare, Medicaid, or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Depending on circumstances and when applications are submitted, these funding options can help pay for long-term care options.
Additionally, there are private fund options, such as long-term care insurance. There is a significant likelihood that someone in our family, or ourselves, will need long-term care, and long-term care insurance could help cover in-home care and some nursing home or facility care, depending on what you qualify for.
Funding options become slim if time is short. Long-term care options become much more available, whether that be a bed in a facility or a funding option, when planning is done in advance. If planning is not done, funding might rely on personal funds. It is essential to partner with an estate planning attorney to know your options and start planning.
If you have any further questions or would like to start your long-term plan now, contact the team at Janssen Estate Probate & Elder Law.