medicare
The Costs of Care Giving
As the Boomer population ages and the reality begins to loom that at some point they may need someone to provide them with “care giving” but no one wants to talk about this possibility happening to them.
But as we age and I’m going to be 72 myself ( Yikes, when did that happen?) our bodies are going to start to give us trouble as we begin our slide down the slope of aging and at some point, we may need help.
Ideally the Boomer generation has taken better care of themselves then our own parents did and we certainly are much more active than their generation who smoked, didn’t exercise and had high fat diets.
But at the least, they didn’t have as much stress in their lives as we seem to have in our’s and their generation lived a much slower daily pace compared to the hectic lifestyles so many of us have in this period of time.
Hopefully those of you who are reading this post and are of a “certain age”, will manage to dodge falling apart and having to rely on a care giver. But what happens if you need one and you don’t have Long-Term-Care Insurance?
Medicare will not pay for this service in case you were under the impression it would, you have to pay for it.
You will have to rely on your own retirement funds if you happen to have any and pay a professional care giver or rely on family members to take care of you. And that’s a terrible option.
There are two kinds of “costs” in this equation, the actual monthly expense that can run $4000 or more each month while you are helpless or the physiological and turmoil and burden to your family members who will be overwhelmed by the responsibly of taking care of you.
And if you don’t have enough funds to cover this expense, it will be up to your children to pay for it and in many family situations, the adult children will fight among one another and it typically will fall to one of the children to pay for all the expenses and also to attend to your needs. And the one’s who refuse to help in any capacity, will disappear.
As for paying for the care of a professional, licensed and Bonded care giver that expense could be paid by the funds from a reverse loan and it will become a safe and valuable option for money to cover the costs and relieve the adult children from using their own funds to pay for your care.
It’s something to think about, utilize one’s equity to pay for your own needs and not rely on your adult children and keep your dignity and keep your family intact.
Overwhelmed With Medical Costs?
Most families are unprepared for the costs of aging and didn’t have the foresight to purchase Long Term Care insurance and are totally unprepared to handle all of the medical costs they will experience as a parent ages and needs additional medical care.
Along with the stress of possibly being a caregiver, is the additional stress of dealing with the Doctors and all of the associated costs they charge and possibly enormous hospital charges as well.
Funds from a Reverse loan can certainly help them, especially if they don’t currently have a mortgage on the property or if they do, it’s quite small.
Medi-Cal might be a solution for them if they live in California but they have to locate an Elder Law attorney who specializes in this particular area, who can help a family navigate the intricate process of applying for the insurance. I am going to provide a copy of an article by Richard M. Seff who provides this specialized service for families.
“Is a loved one in a nursing home? Are you contemplating financial assistance but afraid of potentially losing what you worked so hard to gain? Do you sometimes struggle, feel overwhelmed, frustrated and confused? There’s hope…
You May Be Able to Obtain Medi-Cal to Cover the Growing Costs of Caring for Aging Loved One.
We know the little-known strategies that may save you from needless heartaches, protect your family’s financial security and prevent the potential loss of any hard-earned assets…including your lifesavings.
The decision to move a family member or loved one into a nursing home is one of the toughest and most difficult decisions you can ever make. Over time, caring for an aging or disabled loved one can seriously deplete your energy, your time and, of course, your bank account. ( I see it all too often in my elder-law practice!)
If you don’t know your rights and the different steps you can take right now, that difficulty can expand drastically. For example…
• Your nursing home bills can snowball out of control;
• Your entire lifesavings can be drained if left unprotected;
• Your income and standard of living can be seriously threatened
• And in some cases your family home and other hard-earned assets can be lost.”
Richard Seff
Estate Planning Lawyer
818-292-8160
I will share the remainder of his article in the next post.