Essay On Nursing Home Planning
We all know that 1 out of 3 of us will spend some time in a nursing home at some time in our life, and that the average stay is just over 2 1/2 years. So when is a good time to start planning?
Most people play the odds, figuring that they may never need to go into a nursing home, that they will keep their independence and then die in their sleep. Yes, I agree that is a decent way to depart this earth, but what if your health starts to take a turn for the worse, but your life expectancy is still normal? How far do you let things go before starting the planning process? Let me break this down into stages.
Power of Attorney. Everyone should make sure they have signed a comprehensive durable power of attorney ("POA"). "Durable" in this context …show more content…
After all, the day after you sign the POA, you could have a stroke, need nursing home care, and now your agent can do Medicaid planning for …show more content…
While signing a POA is certainly good advice, that doesn't mean that you can now sit back and do nothing. Here's why: many Medicaid planning techniques require transferring assets, either into a trust or outright to children. Under the current rules, any such gifts made within 5 years of the date you apply for Medicaid can come back to haunt you, i.e., cause a period of ineligibility (a so-called "penalty period"). So the sooner you make these transfers, the sooner the 5-year period will be over, thereby protecting all of the assets you transferred while still permitting you to qualify for Medicaid.
Consider a Long-Term Care Policy. "OK," you say, "so I have to think 5 years out....that's a long time! How can I predict my health that far out?" Here's one tip: consider purchasing a long-term care policy, one that covers you for 5 years should you need it. That way, if you suddenly needed long-term care in a nursing home, your agent under your POA could make the transfers, and the policy would cover you during the penalty
Most people play the odds, figuring that they may never need to go into a nursing home, that they will keep their independence and then die in their sleep. Yes, I agree that is a decent way to depart this earth, but what if your health starts to take a turn for the worse, but your life expectancy is still normal? How far do you let things go before starting the planning process? Let me break this down into stages.
Power of Attorney. Everyone should make sure they have signed a comprehensive durable power of attorney ("POA"). "Durable" in this context …show more content…
After all, the day after you sign the POA, you could have a stroke, need nursing home care, and now your agent can do Medicaid planning for …show more content…
While signing a POA is certainly good advice, that doesn't mean that you can now sit back and do nothing. Here's why: many Medicaid planning techniques require transferring assets, either into a trust or outright to children. Under the current rules, any such gifts made within 5 years of the date you apply for Medicaid can come back to haunt you, i.e., cause a period of ineligibility (a so-called "penalty period"). So the sooner you make these transfers, the sooner the 5-year period will be over, thereby protecting all of the assets you transferred while still permitting you to qualify for Medicaid.
Consider a Long-Term Care Policy. "OK," you say, "so I have to think 5 years out....that's a long time! How can I predict my health that far out?" Here's one tip: consider purchasing a long-term care policy, one that covers you for 5 years should you need it. That way, if you suddenly needed long-term care in a nursing home, your agent under your POA could make the transfers, and the policy would cover you during the penalty