There is a new book out . The title is "Stuck in the Midddle: Shared Stories and Tips for Caregiving Your Elderly Parents" It is written by Barbara McVicker.
She shares some of her own experiences in dealing with her aging parents. Any book like this can give you some ideas to share with your siblings and your parents in the context of starting a discussion of preparations for death or infirmity. It should be worth the read!
I wont agree with everything she says but I do agree with several key points that she makes.
First get your own papers in order and make sure that your parents have their papers in order.
Second make sure that you have a Durable Power of Attorney set up with some one that you trust absolutely.
Her suggestion about changing a will just because you move makes me nervous especially if there is any hint of memory impairment on the part of either partner. Even if your state only requires two witnesses I would think that three would be safer.
Financial records, Brokerage account statements, bank statements birth certificates, marriage certificates, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Living will, a personal list of special bequests for heirs Mortgage documents, property title, vehicle titles and Trust documents if you have one..
If you have more than a modest estate I would have to ask why do you not have one.
We work with Attorneys in Ohio to deliver Wills and Trusts for Ohio residents. We can also take care of general financial needs and planning and can help with LTC planning and providing LTC Insurance.
How can we help you??
www.columbusfinancialplanningpros.com
Showing posts with label Financial Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial Planning. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Long Term Care Options
Occasionally a client tells us that they do not want to buy Long Term Care (LTC) insurance.
They may feel that they cannot afford the coverage. This is often a erroneous perception. Especially if they buy the policy when they are still relatively young and healthy the premiums can be rather modest considering the massive amount of risk that the insurance is designed to protect the client from! It is relatively easy for a client or a couple to have a LTC risk of $1 million or more.
They may know that their medical conditions make purchasing a policy cost prohibitive if not impossible. There is a real risk here! The best solution for this risk is to buy the product early when you are still in good health.
Some clients want to self fund the risk. The funny thing here is that most of the clients who can truly afford to self insure the risk are also generally smart enough to know that they should not try and self insure a potential multi million dollar risk. When one self insures they are betting that they have decades for their assets to grow enough to be able to cover the costs. Unfortunately our collective crystal balls are less than perfect. We simply have no way of anticipating when we will have the need through disease, or accidental causes. A partially funded program without enough years to compound the growth of assets is just plain not good enough.
If you are one of the lucky ones that truly has the assets but just hates the thought of paying premiums for the next 10 years to life there are alternatives designed for you. These are asset based product and several types are available. Some of these actually include a money back guarantee. you can't loose with these. You get long term care coverage and your money back if you never need it.
Some clients just don't have the assets to protect and for these clients a Medicaid spend down leading to Medicaid covered Long Term Care is a reasonable option.
Regardless of your situation specifics we can help you!
visit our website or contact us directly
www.columbusfinancialplanningpros.com
polarisfinancialservices@gmail.com
They may feel that they cannot afford the coverage. This is often a erroneous perception. Especially if they buy the policy when they are still relatively young and healthy the premiums can be rather modest considering the massive amount of risk that the insurance is designed to protect the client from! It is relatively easy for a client or a couple to have a LTC risk of $1 million or more.
They may know that their medical conditions make purchasing a policy cost prohibitive if not impossible. There is a real risk here! The best solution for this risk is to buy the product early when you are still in good health.
Some clients want to self fund the risk. The funny thing here is that most of the clients who can truly afford to self insure the risk are also generally smart enough to know that they should not try and self insure a potential multi million dollar risk. When one self insures they are betting that they have decades for their assets to grow enough to be able to cover the costs. Unfortunately our collective crystal balls are less than perfect. We simply have no way of anticipating when we will have the need through disease, or accidental causes. A partially funded program without enough years to compound the growth of assets is just plain not good enough.
If you are one of the lucky ones that truly has the assets but just hates the thought of paying premiums for the next 10 years to life there are alternatives designed for you. These are asset based product and several types are available. Some of these actually include a money back guarantee. you can't loose with these. You get long term care coverage and your money back if you never need it.
Some clients just don't have the assets to protect and for these clients a Medicaid spend down leading to Medicaid covered Long Term Care is a reasonable option.
Regardless of your situation specifics we can help you!
visit our website or contact us directly
www.columbusfinancialplanningpros.com
polarisfinancialservices@gmail.com
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
VA LTC Benefits VA Aid and Attendance Program
Under certain circumstance long term care coverage is provided
without cost to those of our veterans or their spouses who qualify.
Called the Aid and Attendance benefit, this program is an under-utilized
benefit that can provides upwards of $2o thousand per year to help
a veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran pay for long term health
care costs including home health care, assisted living or even nursing
home expenses. The benefit is paid regardless of the need for care,
provided the veteran or spouse is older than the age of 65. There are
income and asset restrictions that apply so not all veterans are eligible.
Even if they do qualify a suppleemental LTC policy may make sense.
There are millions of veterans who served during WWII, the Korean
War, the Vietnam War, or the first Gulf War who fall into the category
of needing help with at least one activity of daily living (ADL). There is
no requirement that the veteran actually served in the war zone. It is
just required that they served in the US military during the time of the
conflict. I have two brothers one served in Vietam and the other did his
duty stationed in the US. Both of them may be eligible for coverage if
qualifying conditions are met. Neither has a military related disability
but they may qualify because they served during a period of war,
served a total of 90 days of active duty and received an honorable or
general discharge.
Neither Medicaid nor Medicare will provide a private nurse for home
care. The Aid and Attendance benefit may be available to help pay the
cost. This benefit may provide enough extra income to allow them to
pay for care while avoiding Medicaid spend-down. Reimbursement for
care does not require that care is to be provided by a licensed
professional. It may be provided by a friend or family. For more
information on the VA Aid and Attendance benefit visit you local VA
office, your veterans organization or go online,
www.vaaidandattendance.com
http://www.vaaidandattendance.com
We would be happy to help
www.columbusfinancialplanningpros.com
without cost to those of our veterans or their spouses who qualify.
Called the Aid and Attendance benefit, this program is an under-utilized
benefit that can provides upwards of $2o thousand per year to help
a veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran pay for long term health
care costs including home health care, assisted living or even nursing
home expenses. The benefit is paid regardless of the need for care,
provided the veteran or spouse is older than the age of 65. There are
income and asset restrictions that apply so not all veterans are eligible.
Even if they do qualify a suppleemental LTC policy may make sense.
There are millions of veterans who served during WWII, the Korean
War, the Vietnam War, or the first Gulf War who fall into the category
of needing help with at least one activity of daily living (ADL). There is
no requirement that the veteran actually served in the war zone. It is
just required that they served in the US military during the time of the
conflict. I have two brothers one served in Vietam and the other did his
duty stationed in the US. Both of them may be eligible for coverage if
qualifying conditions are met. Neither has a military related disability
but they may qualify because they served during a period of war,
served a total of 90 days of active duty and received an honorable or
general discharge.
Neither Medicaid nor Medicare will provide a private nurse for home
care. The Aid and Attendance benefit may be available to help pay the
cost. This benefit may provide enough extra income to allow them to
pay for care while avoiding Medicaid spend-down. Reimbursement for
care does not require that care is to be provided by a licensed
professional. It may be provided by a friend or family. For more
information on the VA Aid and Attendance benefit visit you local VA
office, your veterans organization or go online,
www.vaaidandattendance.com
http://www.vaaidandattendance.com
We would be happy to help
www.columbusfinancialplanningpros.com
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Struggles saving for retirement and college
A recent Putnam Investments Reseach Study has confirmed what many of us already know. In the absence of a true pension plan at work saving for a young childs college education at the same time we are trying to save for our own retirement is a daunting challenge! To make matters worse, almost 50 private lenders and non profit lenders have quit writing student loans in the past year. Some of this is aggravated by the bank lending mess we are currently in. Some of todays headlines suggest that the mortgage lending mess is not yet at the bottom.
Now more than ever we need to be able to look at all possible avenues for obtaining college funding. We need to be thinking scholarships and grants first, followed by maximizing our eligibility for Need Based Financial Aid. Some forms of Financial require repayment and some do not require that the money be repaid.
Several dozen extremely well endowed colleges and universities are prepared to guarantee that if you are admitted. you will be able to graduate Student debt free. You will still have to contribute the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) but after that the College or University is prepared to kick in enough Financial Aid or Work Study income to allow the student to graduate without student loans.
There are perfectly legal techniques that we can often use to increase a students eligibility for Need Based Financial aid. That is one of the services that we offer our clients.
Now more than ever we need to be able to look at all possible avenues for obtaining college funding. We need to be thinking scholarships and grants first, followed by maximizing our eligibility for Need Based Financial Aid. Some forms of Financial require repayment and some do not require that the money be repaid.
Several dozen extremely well endowed colleges and universities are prepared to guarantee that if you are admitted. you will be able to graduate Student debt free. You will still have to contribute the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) but after that the College or University is prepared to kick in enough Financial Aid or Work Study income to allow the student to graduate without student loans.
There are perfectly legal techniques that we can often use to increase a students eligibility for Need Based Financial aid. That is one of the services that we offer our clients.
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