Recently on the blog we talked about Medicaid planning and the effectiveness of long-term care insurance. These are important matters, considering the fact that most of us will need some sort of long-term care in the future. To successfully address these matters, individuals need to have some foresight. They need to know how to protect their and their family’s financial interests, which usually means that they have to address these matters in a number of ways, including by creating an effective estate plan.
This can be a complicated process, which is why skilled legal professionals stand ready to help. A qualified attorney will know how to create trusts that allow assets to be excluded from consideration with regard to certain public benefits. This tactic is often successful in allowing an individual to retain wealth while at the same time secure benefits through programs like Medicaid.
A skilled attorney can help advise on matters related to long-term care insurance, too. These policies can be pricey, but when utilized they can significantly offset the financial burden of nursing home placement and/or in-home healthcare services. With long-term care costs reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars per year, estate planners need to engage in a cost-benefit analysis that meets their needs. An attorney who is skilled in estate planning can help individuals assess their assets and how best to protect them to better ensure that they have the resources needed later down the road.
Many Californians think that they can forego planning for Medicaid and long-term care, but the fact of the matter is that a significant number of us will end up needing money for care that we never envisioned ourselves needing. Therefore, it is best to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. At the Meinzer Law Firm, our team of dedicated attorneys know how to do just that.
