Don’t Go Broke Paying for a Nursing Home

746,000 Pennsylvania Residents need long-term care

Legally Protecting Your Assets from Skyrocketing Nursing Home Costs:

6 out of every 10 Americans who reach age 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives. And the older they become, the greater the risk they will need long term care.

LONG TERM CARE:

1.  SELF-PAY:

Estimated annual costs for a nursing home care facility is about $113,000 per year. At that rate, any family would go broke in no time caring for a loved one.

2.  LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE:

Long Term Care Insurance is not cheap, costing anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 per year for a couple depending on how old you are when you purchase the coverage.

The average Nursing Home stay is around 4 years. So you’ll need a policy that covers at least 4 years.

3.  MEDICAID

Medicaid financed nursing home care is available to those who qualify based on income and assets.

Available resources to an applicant for Medicaid must be less than $8,000.

Irrevocable Grantor Trust Agreement

Medicaid Regulations impose a 5-year look back period for any transfers made to reduce assets in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits.

An Irrevocable Grantor Trust cannot be changed or terminated by the Grantor, once it has been created. It will require administration at the death of the Grantor and cannot easily be reached by the Grantor’s creditors. Unlike a Revocable Trust the Grantor does not own the assets. All of the property held in an Irrevocable Trust does not require probate.

An Irrevocable Trust is a primary tool in most Asset Protection and Estate Plans. The trusts can own almost any asset while providing shelter from the Grantor’s and Beneficiary’s divorce, creditors and legal problems. The trust can help keep assets in the family. This flexible tool allows Grantors to provide benefits for generations. These valuable benefits arise because once the Grantor transfers ownership of an asset to the trust; she/he has surrendered all incidents of ownership over that asset. It is the trust’s asset now, not the Grantor’s.

Typically, the Irrevocable Trust may be subject to PA Inheritance tax because the transfer to the trust is made for less than adequate consideration, and the trust reserves the right to income and designation of beneficiaries. But, this type of trust if properly planned for, may avoid you going broke in a nursing home.

Schedule your planning session today!  

610-391-9500