The costs associated with long-term care are very much a concern within the elder law community. The annual charge for a private room in a nursing home in New Jersey last year exceeded $100,000, so we are talking about significant expenses that can play havoc with your legacy.
Most people who are fortunate enough to reach their middle 60s are going to need help with their day-to-day needs eventually so this is something that impacts everyone.
Tapping into any benefit programs that you may be eligible for is certainly going to be useful if you are faced with these costs. To this end veterans are fortunate enough to have potential access to a living assistance benefit called the Veterans Aid & Attendance special pension.
This benefit provides a monthly payment to qualified veterans who need help meeting their day-to-day needs. However, it is limited to veterans who have financial need. The dividing line here is an $80,000 resource limit.
As of this writing and previous to it you could just put assets into a trust or transfer them to a family member in an effort to stay within this limit. Now, a proposal has been introduced in the Senate that would apply a three-year look-back period with regard to divesting yourself of assets.
What this means is that you would not be eligible for the benefit if you had divested yourself of resources within three years of applying.
Making sure that you are prepared for long-term care costs is going to be part of any holistic plan for aging. If you would like to discuss the matter with an expert, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone to arrange for a consultation with a good Central New Jersey elder law attorney.
Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney
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