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Long-term Care Planning

There are many aspects to planning for retirement: financial planning, estate planning, even travel planning. We recommend that you add long-tern care planning to that list. Family members provide 80% of the care for aging parents in this country, providing an average of 21 hours of care per week – the financial costs to those doing the day-to-day caring is significant. Long-term care planning can help ease that financial burden. When family caregiving is not possible, there are other options: long-term care insurance, government benefits, VA pension benefits. Brian Plachta (member of National Association of Elder Law Attorneys) and our Government Benefits team can help you sort through all the options to come up with a plan that works for you and your family. Call the office at (616) 458-3994 to begin that conversation.

Steps to Take:

• Plan proactively Sit down as a family -- if possible, before your parents even require care -- to discuss with your parents their wishes for care.

• Take it a step further with a caregiver contract Spell out on paper who is doing what, who is paying for what, who will fill in for the caregiver(s) when he/she/they need a break, and how the caregiver(s) will be financially compensated. More and more families are sitting down with their elder law attorney to draft such agreements. It makes sense --and saves on a lot of grief, money and argument -- to deal with the issues before they erupt into crisis.

• Set up a trust for the caregiver The trust can provide the trustee with the authority to manage elderly parents' finances and assets and even avoid probate.

• Use the parents' home as financial "collateral" for the caregiver The parents' will or trust can provide that the caregiver receives a gift of the home outright or a certain portion of the proceeds from the sale of the home.

• Provide for the caregiver in a will Another way to compensate the caregiver is to include a provision in a will requiring a lump-sum payment of money to be distributed to the caregiver upon the second parents' death.

• Consider long-term care insurance Long-term care insurance provides a monthly payment from the insurance carrier of a predetermined amount toward the cost of in-home, assisted-living and nursing-home expenses.

• Tap Veterans Administration and pension payment benefits to cover costs If either parent served in a world war, they may be entitled to receive VA pension benefits to help offset some of the costs of long-term care.

• Know your rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, covered employers must provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.

• Tap the Child and Dependent Care tax credit This credit may be worth up to $3,000 for one dependent or $6,000 for two or more dependents to individuals who qualify.

• Tap the help of support groups and organizations West Michigan has a bounty of wonderful groups that assist caregivers. A good starting place: the Caregiver Resource Network.

• Order the "Long-Term Care Planning Tool Kit" created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources by calling 1-866-PLAN-LT.

• Meet with your elder law attorney and get your plan together Many people put off planning for long-term care. However, the best way to maintain family harmony and keep conflicts and financial hardships to a minimum is to sit down with family members and discuss the above options with your elder law attorney. He or she should be able to help you decide which of the above tools will help you best.