This Woman Did, and It Saved Her Family
In One’s Life, Everyone Will Either Need Care or Become a Caregiver at some point in their life. Plan Ahead and Ensure You and Your Loved ones’ Needs are Met.
My friend Kathleen’s 81-year-old sister has lived a challenging life. She lost her husband 30 years ago and had to care for eight children and help raise several grandchildren. She was a nurse at the VA hospital, which didn’t pay very well, leaving her struggling sometimes to make ends meet. Despite her financial struggles, she had the foresight to sign up sixteen years ago for long-term care insurance. The premiums automatically came out of her checking account, so the policy stayed active even when she started losing the ability to handle her business affairs.
Recently, it became apparent to her children that their mom had difficulty living alone at home. She couldn’t use the microwave oven, had difficulty using her coffee pot, and wandered around her house in the dark at night. She was becoming confused and agitated while her short-term memory was impaired.
They began looking for an assisted living facility near her home that met their requirements for a comfortable living situation.
When the time came to talk with my sister, the oldest daughter told Mom how they found a wonderful place where she could live and be safe. The first thing my sister asked was how this would be paid for. Her children told her, “For all our lives, you did everything you could to take care of us, and sixteen years ago, you took care of your future and ours by taking out a long-term care insurance policy. Now you are secure in your future financial situation, and we can rest easier knowing that your living arrangements are taken care of without burdening anyone.”
Within a week, they moved my sister into a new home. And while her children love and are always concerned about the mother’s well-being, they can focus financially on themselves and their families.
A wise decision early on can help make future decisions about your financial health and that of your loved ones much easier to handle.
Assistant living communities are costly. Ask yourself, will your adult children be available to stop working or juggle work with their family obligations to assist Mom? If not, can they spend more time caregiving than working and supporting themselves? It’s a complicated issue scenario that affects so many lives in America.
Taking care of a parent while trying to work and make ends meet is sometimes impossible. And government assistant programs can take up to 2 years or more to establish benefits if you qualify. Typically, there’s a 5-year asset look back and a spend-down to less than $2,000 to qualify for benefits. The threshold for the financial cutoff for help is high. In other words, you must make very little money and have minimal assets to qualify for assistance.
Planning ahead can make all the difference in saving your family from many stressors and financial crises. Gather and organize your documents today to determine potential financial gaps. ORDER IT TODAY… Your Family’s Essential Resource Workbook.
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Eleonore Weber, CLTC
Author, Disability, Health, Life, Long-Term Care, and Medicare Insurance solutions!
©Eleonore Weber, 2024 All Rights Reserved