Three Myths Surrounding Long-Term Care Planning

Three Myths Surrounding Long-Term Care Planning. What are the myths surrounding long-term care planning? As a California estate planning attorney, I have met numerous clients dealing with their specific long-term care issues, only to find out that those beliefs and thoughts that had been lingering their minds were nothing but a myth. Well, I understand. Many of us are sometimes misled by our false assumptions about long-term care planning so today let’s see if I could shed some light on the matter.

As you may know, elders more than 65 years of age often need help with their daily activities as they get older due to debilitating diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s while some suffer from poor hearing, eyesight and balance, to name some. These things and more are associated to aging. Without even saying, it is clear that many elders would need your long-term assistance and guide, even on simple survival activities such as eating and bathing. Here are the most common myths I encounter:

1. “It’s too late or too early to come up with an estate plan.” Many clients do not really acknowledge estate planning until it is too late. If you are 45, you should begin long-term care estate planning now. Only in this way, you can have a protected old age without any hassles on yourself or a burden on your family.
2. “The government will take care of it all. There is Medi-Cal or other government programs to use.” Know that not all people would qualify for Medicare and other government programs, as they have their set of rules to determine if you are eligible or not. They also have rules on how much you would spend yourself, what services are covered and how long you can avail of such benefits. Do not assume that the government will pay all your long-term care medical needs.
3. “Long-term care is not that expensive.” If you don’t know yet, nursing home cost of living expenses have skyrocketed in years, and that you may need to spend about $90,000 per year, depending on where you are. The average monthly cost is about $7,000.

Well, there you have it—some of the myths surrounding long-term care. Surely you don’t want to live by these wrong assumptions. Get guided and come up with proper planning with us at the Asset Protection Center. Hope you found this useful, I’ll see you next week!