March 13, 2017 | lmsXpect3 What is long-term care planning? View Transcript What is long-term care planning? Long-term care planning is about thinking intentionally about how you want to age. What do you want your life to look like? How do you want things set up so you can age the way you envision? We spend time planning vacations and major life events, but very little time planning for aging. A financial advisor once described retirement in three phases: the “go-go years,” the “slow-go years,” and the “no-go years.” Long-term care planning is about preparing for all of them. It means putting the right pieces in place—your attorney, accountant, financial advisor, and the people who will make decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself. Who will those people be, and what authority will they have? The goal is always to age with dignity. And the best way to do that is to give people choices about what their aging will look like. Most people want to pass away peacefully in their own bed, in the home they’ve lived in for decades. But the reality is that many of us won’t have that outcome. We need to be flexible and have a backup plan we’re just as comfortable with. To make those plans work, we have to communicate. Our families and decision-makers need to know what we want. It has to be a shared conversation about medical care, finances, and overall wishes—so that when the time comes, everything is in place. Can a married couple protect assets if one spouse needs nursing home care? View Transcript Can a married couple protect assets if one spouse needs nursing home care? Yes, there are strong planning opportunities for a married couple. The statutes we rely on for Medicaid and other government benefits recognize that we don’t want a healthy spouse to become completely impoverished in order for the other spouse to receive care. We have rules we can work within to allow the spouse at home to protect and maintain as many assets as possible so they can continue living in the community and paying their bills, while still allowing their loved one to receive the care they need. The cost of long-term care is astronomical and out of reach for most people, so we often have to rely on the system to help cover those expenses. At the same time, we don’t want the spouse at home to be put in a situation where they can’t continue living because their partner became ill. What we do is look at the rules, evaluate the circumstances, and help people navigate the best way to protect assets for the spouse at home. There are better planning options available for married couples than for single individuals, but we can absolutely help married clients ensure one spouse gets the care they need without completely depleting everything they own. Lynnwood, Bellevue, and Seattle-Area Long term Care and Medicaid Planning Attorneys See Bill’s entire interview for the Masters of Estate Planning series on ReelLawyers.com Long term Care Requires Preparation You should plan for your Long term care before the need arises. We encourage you to consider purchasing Long term care insurance. As with any insurance policy, the earlier you buy in, the lower the premium. You may be bewildered by the available options, such as deductibles, benefits, exclusions, and inflation adjusters. We also regularly encourage our clients to use the services of a geriatric or other care manager or consultant, located throughout Washington, to insure the best outcomes. Our attorneys would be happy to meet with you, explain these options to you and help clear the confusion. Contact us to discuss your situation. Medicaid planning Long term care can be very expensive. Medicaid poses a dilemma. If a needs arises or is on the horizon, and you are not wealthy enough to pay for your care from income or do not possess very significant assets, you must spend-down many or most of your assets before Medicaid coverage is possible. Thus, whatever wealth you have accumulated may be exhausted, leaving little for a spouse in the future or nothing for your care in later years. Our attorneys know how Medicaid works and can, following Medicaid’s strict rules, help with strategies that can preserve assets. We provide: Education about the Medicaid program, including its drawbacks and risks associated with Medicaid planning Direction regarding specific planning to make Medicaid benefits possible and minimize or avoid the Medicaid estate recovery associated with such benefits Assistance with preparing and submitting an application for Medicaid benefits At Hickman Menashe, P.S., we have the experience to help you through the maze of Long term care and Medicaid planning options. We can help make sure any Long term care and Medicaid planning is coordinated with your estate planning. Contact Us For a private consultation with an experienced attorney, contact our office by e-mail or call us at 425-744-5658. For client convenience we have a second office in Bellevue. We offer flexible meeting times to accommodate your schedule. Home and hospital visits can be arranged, if necessary. Our offices are accessible to persons with disabilities.