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it sure does , since you only need it in place while using all the other tools available to you so you can take advantage of protecting assets and mitigating damages . i don't care about heirs but i care very much about leaving my wife in an impoverished state .
in our case 3 years is plenty since there is no look back with out partnership plan and every thing is protected . otherwise 5 years insurance is all it takes if you have to act . .
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-27-2015 at 11:46 AM..
Well it seems your boogeyman is real rather than imaginary with some family history to support it so I can understand your decision. Emotional decision making always seems to strike closest to home.
I recently attended a continuing education seminar and learned a little clever expression about insurance. It goes like this: "If you can't afford to replace the item or it would kill you to write the check, then you need insurance!"
When you look at a young person with a young family, buying life insurance makes sense. Ditto for disability insurance in the case of a higher-earning person (self-employed professional as an example) at the peak of his/her earnings with many years to go. Long-term care insurance, for the person who has amassed some wealth and who does not have any family history of concern, then I'm not sure. But if emotions run high keeping you from sleeping at night and it would kill you to write the check, then buy your long-term care policy and have your peace. And I'll write my check if and when that day comes and have my peace too.
Some people buy extended warranty policies when purchasing major appliances and others don't. Some people think a glass of water is half empty while others believe it's half full. We're all different and that's the way it should be.
well i would say if you are going to impoverish your spouse that is something you just might want to mitigate against just like that life insurance or fire insurance policy through proper planning . . .
i would never want to do that to my wife if i needed care but that is just what would happen once the money ran out trying to support me in a home and her at home . .
If you don't end up in a facility, then you are not "paying more than your share" because you're not paying them anything. We all have to make out own decisions as to what possible eventualities we are willing to live with, and we're influenced by our own observations and circumstance. Not sure what you mean by the smart bomb reference.
well if you pay in more taxes then you should or let gov't programs consume more money then you have to the excess you give them can buy a few extra bombs .
If you don't end up in a facility, then you are not "paying more than your share" because you're not paying them anything. We all have to make out own decisions as to what possible eventualities we are willing to live with, and we're influenced by our own observations and circumstance. Not sure what you mean by the smart bomb reference.
well then you roll the dice , the same as you do going without insurance for all the other things in life that stand remote chances that can be financially devastating . your odds of needing long term care or rehab at home are far greater then dying young .
remember though , it all falls back on your spouse or on you if you are the stay at home spouse . things can only either work out as you thought or they don't. there are no statistics here .
i still can't believe my 55 year old co-worker fell off a ladder painting . he broke his wrist and his hip .
he had a paralyzing stroke during simple hip surgery .
he is in a home now and his wife is devastated financially .
well then you roll the dice , the same as you do going without insurance for all the other things in life that stand remote chances that can be financially devastating . your odds of needing long term care or rehab at home are far greater then dying young .
remember though , it all falls back on your spouse or on you if you are the stay at home spouse . things can only either work out as you thought or they don't. there are no statistics here .
i still can't believe my 55 year old co-worker fell off a ladder painting . he broke his wrist and his hip .
he had a paralyzing stroke during simple hip surgery .
he is in a home now and his wife is devastated financially .
Wow that is so sad about your ONE friend and how his wife is now devastated financially.
Meanwhile, across of America, many elderly people are living their last day of life independently and without any long-term care. But elsewhere, at least ONE person will get hit by a Mack truck while innocently and defensively driving on the highway at a safe speed. Sadly, he'll need long-term care for the rest of his life.
a long term care plan is only important if you have assets worth protecting . the average american can barely come up with 10k .
i have a simple philosophy when it comes to my retirement planning .
the base of my pyramid is all the insurance and means of mitigating damage to all the assets stacked on top of it .
for 1% or so of the return on all those assets i can protect 100% of them with our LTC PLAN .
HAVING TWO FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE EXTENDED STAYS IS ENOUGH EVIDENCE FOR ME TO REALIZE HOW DEVASTATING IT CAN BE . my wife and i would never want to see the other drained of all our assets .
the best thing that could ever happen is i kiss all that money i paid in good bye and never need a penny of it for our care .
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-27-2015 at 12:25 PM..
A lot of assisted living facilities will not accept Medicaid, regardless of how long a resident has been self-pay.
I know of several families who were told that when the time came, the ALF would accept the lower payment. They did not.
While I have nothing against people who use every legal means available to protect their assets, be aware that while you are protecting your assets to pass on to your heirs, you may be living in a shabby Medicaid-funded facility.
Depending on your income, you may not even be eligible for Medicaid when the time comes.
My aunt's income was not enough to pay for even a low-cost ALF, however it was $300/month over the maximum allowed for Medicaid funding in her state. No place would accept her.
If the plan is for the ALF to keep you on when your money runs out, I would encourage that you get that in writing and reviewed by an attorney.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
as expensive as our LTC INSURANCE is i rather pay it then get involved with the headaches of having irrevocable trusts . i would rather not cut each other off from our own assets .
besides the trusts don't alleviate the restrictions on income for the stay at home spouse so in that respect they would be horrible here .
my grandfather was in a real dive on medicaid and it was the only place we could get him in .
I WAS A KID AT THE TIME AND THAT HOME IS BURNED IN MY MEMORY FOREVER IT WAS SO AWFUL .
but our family was poor and we couldn't help him .
we made a few calls ourselves before we took the policy to see just what the nicer homes in our area did once the insurance ran out . that was important to us .
they said they offer a limited number of beds for medicaid but if you are there a few years privately , no problem assigning medicaid
.
My best friends mother was self pay for 2 1/2 years in a five star nursing home. They also told her & her family that they accepted Medicaid for their long term residents after their cash ran out. Guess what? The nursing home had already allotted all of their Medicaid beds when she ran out of money. No amount of begging or pleading would change their minds. Legally they only had so many Medicaid beds and all of those beds were filled. They did allow the mother to stay an extra 60 days while the kids scrambled to find a different nursing home (and also somewhat hoping that someone in a Medicaid bed would die before Mom got kicked out). They finally found a one star place that accepted Mom directly on Medicaid.
My point is: don't count on being allowed to stay once your money runs out, as there are many variables.
PS. They did have it in writing that Mom could stay there after her money ran out, unfortunately there were no Medicaid beds available when she needed one.
NOTHING IN LIFE HAS ANY GUARANTEES . but there are somethings you can do or try that stand better odds then others of playing out .
the good thing is if you protect the assets you can always use them at the end of the day for the care if medicaid is not accepted and you want to stay . at least you have a choice until you are out of money .
.
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-27-2015 at 12:38 PM..
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