Helping Your Elderly Parent with Long-Term Care and Medicaid Planning
Are you among the many adults just now reaching middle age or having recently entered middle age? If so, you are also part of two generations who are increasingly helping to address issues related to elderly parents’ long-term care needs and the financial realities of their situations. According to an article in Business Insider, older Millennials and younger Generation X adults, now in their late 30s through early 50s, are struggling as they find themselves trying to manage elderly parents’ nursing home needs and the complicated reality of paying for long-term care in Connecticut.
A high percentage of adults in their late 30s, 40s, and early 50s with their own young children are giving up their jobs to help care for their elderly parents, unaware that there may be options for care planning that are financially viable. What should you know about helping your elderly parent with long-term care and Medicaid planning? Our Canton elder law attorney can say more.
Medicaid Planning Ahead of Time
If your elderly parent does not yet need long-term care but you suspect that they may soon need to move into a nursing home or assisted-living facility, it is crucial to begin Medicaid planning now. There are multiple options that can be available to Connecticut residents to protect their assets while still allowing them to be eligible for Medicaid to cover the very high costs of long-term care. According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, under 15 percent of older adults aged 75 and older had the ability to pay for long-term care without using a substantial portion of their savings. This is a common concern, and Medicaid planning can help.
There are several options for Medicaid and long-term care planning, including the purchase of long-term care insurance and the creation of a Medicaid asset protection trust. These options can make a person Medicaid-eligible without having to “spend down” their hard-earned savings on the costs of a nursing home.
Asset Protection When Your Elderly Parent Needs Care Now
Even if your elderly parent needs care now, there are still options for protecting their assets. If they plan to return home, it may be possible to convert “countable” assets (for Medicaid purposes) into non-countable assets so that they can become Medicaid-eligible without having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in nursing home costs. Connecticut also may allow your elderly parent to place certain funds into certain types of trusts, which can protect those assets from the “spend down” requirement.
The sooner you get advice from an elder law attorney, the more options that may be available to your elderly parent.
Contact a Canton Elder Law Attorney for Assistance
Like many other adult children in your age and generation, if you are struggling to navigate your elderly parent’s long-term care and hoping to do so without sacrificing your own financial well-being, you may have options. If affordability is a serious long-term care concern, as it is and should be for many, there may be options for getting Medicaid to cover a nursing home stay. It is not too late to take steps to protect your elderly parent’s assets and to allow them to become Medicaid-eligible for purposes of nursing home care. An experienced Canton elder lawyer at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe can speak with you today about your family’s situation and options that may be available. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.
Source:
businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-xers-burdened-long-term-care-costs-for-boomers-2025-1
