As you age you are undoubtedly starting to feel the pull of time on your body. Although we are living longer in the United States we have yet to find a way to halt the natural aging process. As a result, there is a very good chance that either you, or your spouse if you are married, will eventually need the care provided by a long-term care facility – but at what cost? What many people don’t realize until it is too late is that in the United States, long-term care costs can cause poverty. Worse still, it may be your spouse, who remains in the community, who feels the impact of that poverty. The good news is that once you understand the problem you can begin working with your New York estate planning attorney to prevent it from happening to you and your family.
Long-term care costs are startlingly high in the United States, particularly in the State of New York where the average cost of a private room in a nursing home will run you $144,000 a year. The average length of stay in a long-term care facility is 2.5 years, meaning you can expect to spend, on average, $360,000 for yourself or a spouse at some point in your life. If both you and your spouse need long-term care you can expect that figure to increase accordingly. Not surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal reported that a shocking 86 percent of all widows live at or below the poverty level in the United States! Imagine working for 30, 40, or even 50 years to ensure that you and your spouse are financially secure during your Golden Years, only to see everything disappear in what seems like the blink of an eye because one (or both) of you need long-term care.
The light at the end of the tunnel in all of this is Medicaid planning. If you are able to qualify for Medicaid the program will cover the majority of your long-term care expenses. Because Medicaid is a need based program though you must plan ahead to avoid losing hard earned assets. By incorporating Medicaid planning strategies into your overall estate plan early on you can protect and preserve your assets for future generations and ensure that you (or your spouse) receive the care you need when you need it later on in life.
If you have additional questions or concerns about Medicaid planning or estate planning in general, contact the experienced New York estate planning attorneys at The Law Offices of Kobrick & Moccia by calling 800-295-1917 to schedule your appointment.
- “Last Will and Testament” Origin - April 1, 2021
- Do I Need a “Durable” Power of Attorney? - April 2, 2020
- Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons - March 31, 2020
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.