.: stage 3 planning
How to Plan when facing a Crisis
It’s not too late to do some planning if your loved one is facing a health care crisis. If your loved one has health issues or may have to enter a health care facility you should get advice as to what planning options you have from a professional who specializes in this area. Often times misinformation may be given by well meaning family and friends who do not have expertise in this area. You should review the following three areas with a professional(s): Health Care Options, Asset Protection & Preservation, and Estate Planning. You and your family should carefully review your concerns, goals, and options to devise a plan for each of these areas:
Health Care Options
Determining what level of care is needed is based on several factors, including:
- Self-supporting ability to conduct daily needs/activities
- Competency/cognitive abilities
- Desire to remain in their home vs. how accepting person would be to different levels of care including entering a nursing home
- Safety concerns...think about how safe it is for person to be alone in home
- Family help... will family members participate in care
We help families by getting to know their current situation, needs, and concerns and then providing guidance that gives them the best chance to develop the proper care plan. There are many levels of care between home health care and a nursing home. Our goal is to help you to determine the appropriate level of care needed and find the most cost effective way to get that level of care. We can help you to review your current insurance coverage and determine what benefits are available.
Asset Protection & Preservation
Financial planning is critical to preserve your loved ones assets:
- You need to review your loved ones Health care plan, Medicare benefits and Supplemental Medicare benefits, if any.
- You need to plan for the appropriate level of care that is needed now as well as realizing the level of care may change going forward.
Nursing home costs as well as home health care costs are expensive. The question becomes how are these costs going to be paid. Generally there are only three potential sources of funds:
- Self-paying out of your loved one’s/family assets
- Long-term care insurance if you have it
- Qualifying for and receiving long term care Medicaid benefits.
Estate Planning
A review of any existing estate planning documents needs to be done. Then you need to determine what other documents you may need, as well as how quickly they need to be drafted. An estate planning attorney should be consulted immediately to help you in this process. Generally Durable Powers of Attorney (which allows the appointed person whom you choose to handle your financial affairs) and Health Care Proxies/Living Wills (which allows the appointed person whom you choose to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated) are crucial documents to have. Also wills and trusts are often needed. Any or all of these documents may be needed. If there are existing documents in place, they may need to be updated or replaced, especially if they are outdated. Finally, as stated above, different strategies should be explored to either qualify for Medicaid if applicable, or legally protect assets and preserve your estate.
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