Checking Off Your Elderly Parents’ Estate Planning Needs
Whether you have an elderly parent who recently fell or was diagnosed with a serious condition that will likely require long-term care, or you merely want your active yet retired parents to plan ahead for the future, it is important to understand some of the key elements of estate planning for older adults. The following are some key estate planning documents and tools that are often important for older adults (and for adults of all ages, in many circumstances) that you can begin checking off in discussions with your elderly parents. Once your parent (or parents) is ready to begin working on an estate plan, our firm is here to assist you.
Planning Financially for Long-Term Care
Nobody wants to think about the possibility of needing long-term care in the future because of a disabling injury or a medical condition. Yet the statistics we have suggest that far more adults will need long-term care at some point than the number that plans for it and anticipates the possibility. According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, more than half of all women aged 65 and over will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime, and the same is true for nearly 40 percent of men aged 65 and older.
Why do you need to plan ahead? In short, you cannot rely on Medicare to pay for long-term care. As such, if you need long-term care for a lengthy period, you will either need to spend a significant portion (and sometimes all) of your assets given the high costs of long-term care, or you will need to engage in Medicaid planning ahead of time. There are ways to protect your assets if you plan ahead — through Medicaid asset protection trusts, purchasing long-term care insurance, and more.
Deciding Who Will Make Important Decisions That Must Be Made
Your elderly parents should also make crucial decisions about who they trust to make decisions for them in the event they become unable to do so themselves — financial decisions and health care decisions.
These decisions can be put into place in a durable financial power of attorney and advance directives.
Determining How Assets Will Be Distributed
It will also be important for your parents to decide how they want their assets to be distributed. This will involve determining who will receive the assets, as well as the method.
Your parents should make a will, but they may also want to consider a revocable living trust, beneficiary designations, and more.
Contact a Canton, Connecticut Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney for Help Today with Your Parents’ Needs
Do you have parents who have recently retired, or who are long retired, and have not yet developed an estate plan? It is important to help your parents with this process as soon as possible. Even when older adults are in very good health and remain active in their communities, failing to have an estate plan in place can have serious consequences. We know that elderly parents often do not want to discuss these issues, but they can affect their adult children in significant ways, and it is important to put in the time and effort if possible. An experienced Canton estate planning lawyer at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe can speak with you today about your parents’ specific circumstances and their estate planning needs. Do not hesitate to contact us to find out how we can help, as well as to discuss strategies for guiding your elderly parents to the understanding of how critical estate planning in Connecticut can be.
Source:
cga.ct.gov/2023/pub/title_45a.htm
