We understand that there are many concerns facing seniors, everything from medicaid planning, reducing taxes, and protecting your hard earned principal.
We have many different tools to help you manage these concerns. Following is a list of possible obstacles and some of the services we provide to address them.
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Medicaid Planning
Medicaid planning is essential if you want to leave the bulk of your estate to anyone. Many people are under the impression that Medicare fully covers the cost of a nursing home. This is not true. Under Medicare, for each benefit period, YOU pay: 1. Nothing for the first 20 days. 2. Up to $97 per day for days 21-100. 3. All costs beyond the 100th day in the benefit period. The Benefit Period begins the day you go to a hospital or skilled nursing facility. The Benefit Period ends when you have not received hospital or skilled nursing care for 60 days in a row. You must pay the inpatient hospital deductible for each benefit period. There is no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have.
Thus, if you stay beyond 100 days or indefinitely, due to an incapacitating illness like Alzheimer's, you will be required to pay out-of-pocket for all nursing home fees. The average monthly nursing home fees are between $6,000-$7000 per month. It doesn't take a genius to realize you could easily run through your life savings in very short order. If it is your intention to eventually transfer your estate to family or friends, without having it all be eaten up by nursing home costs, you need to act while you are still healthy.
To qualify for Medicaid, which does pay for full-time nursing home care, the value of your estate needs to be reduced to almost zero, three years prior to you requiring nursing home care. How you reduce your estate to almost zero is what medicaid planning is about. Many of the methods used to reduce your estate involve trust. There is also a little bit of statistics involved that requires you to determine when, if ever, you might begin to need nursing home care. It is highly recommended that you talk with your financial advisor or visit an elder law attorney who specializes in Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning.
Information obtained from SeniorCitizens.com |
Protection of Principal -
Protection of principal must be maintained on two fronts;
1. The structure and design of the product, and;
2. The stability of the institution.
Reduction of Taxes
Social Security Taxes
Taxes on Interest
Capital Gains
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