The legacy that you leave behind to your loved ones will be largely defined by the actions that you take along the way. If you have clear-cut objectives with regard to the things that you would like to be able to do for your loved ones, you have to take the right steps to make your legacy vision a reality.
When you are thinking about the money that you will need for yourself when you are a senior citizen, you may envision the active years at first. Without question, you need to position yourself comfortably to be able to enjoy your retirement years to the fullest.
At the same time, there is another stage of life that will enter the picture if you are fortunate enough to live a normal life span. Let’s look at three relevant facts that can impact your legacy.
Living Assistance
When you have been fully capable throughout your life, it can be difficult to imagine a time when you will not be able to take care of all of your own day-to-day needs.
In fact, when you look into the statistics, you will find that most elders will need help with their activities of daily living at some point in time. Many will reside in nursing homes or assisted living communities.
This is the first fact of life that you should understand when you are looking ahead toward the future.
Secondly, you have to recognize the limitations of Medicare. Most seniors will qualify for Medicare at the age of 65, and it will help, but there are out-of-pocket expenses that you must be prepared to pay yourself. Under certain circumstances, they can be relatively significant.
In addition to the out-of-pocket expenses for things that are covered, there is a huge gap. The Medicare program does not pay for long-term care at all. It will pay for convalescent care, but it does not pay for living assistance.
Long-term care costs are the third part of this dubious trifecta. It is not easy to get out a checkbook and pay for long-term care out-of-pocket if you ever need it, and as we have stated, most seniors will require long-term care.
We practice law in the state of New Jersey. The average annual charge for a private room in a nursing home is well in excess of $100,000 in many areas of the state, and people often spend multiple years receiving care.
If you have to pay for long-term care out of your own pocket, there can be little to nothing left to leave to your loved ones after you are gone.
Explore Solutions
There are nursing home asset protection solutions that can be implemented. If you would like to explore them, contact us through this page to set up a consultation: Warren NJ Elder Law Attorneys.
Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney
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