Planning for Long-Term Care

 I meet with many families who are concerned about long-term care issues.  Typically, a family member is showing signs of dementia, has had a stroke, or is now unsteady and falling.   A conversation needs to begin regarding the future.  Long-term care is expensive, and planning is important.   Questions are asked, such as: how do we get the care needed, without running out of money?  How do we protect the home?  How do we get VA benefits on the husband’s military service record to help with the care costs? How do we get Medi-Cal?  Is our Trust and Will up to date? And these questions just scratch the surface.
For those that have a plan, handling the many critical issues that arise may be easier.  Failure to plan usually means the family will be in “crisis” when there is a medical emergency, a fall, or a stroke.  The family will be surprised that there are no proper legal documents in place, and they are unable to make medical or other decisions for the ill person, or unable to access funds to pay the bills.  Without planning, many will use most or all of their assets on long-term care expenses, because they did not know about Veterans Administration or Medi-Cal benefits.   The home may be lost to Medi-Cal recovery.  Costly mistakes will be made, because the families did not have accurate or complete information, and did not have a plan.
Dementia and other illnesses can complicate the process.  Those affected often are unable to reason or think rationally, they are easily agitated, suffer from depression and/or paranoia.  It is important to plan as soon as possible, before the health crises arise.  For more information on advance planning, please visit our website video: www.theMcNamaraLawFirm.com.
The McNamara Law Firm may be reached at 661-287-3260.  For information about Veterans Benefits, please visit www.VAbenefits4seniors.com.