Honestly, if you have these, you're ahead of most people. But it’s not everything, especially as many of us age into our 80s and beyond. Life changes and your plans need to reflect that.
Dr. David Perlmutter on the Diary of a CEO podcast said that nearly half of people who reach the age of 80 will develop some form of dementia, primarily due to age. Nearly half!
This statistic should change what most people think about aging and urge them to plan for a life that could statistically play out beyond 80.
What does a regular Tuesday looks like when you can't drive anymore?
· Or where you live when the stairs get hard.
· Or what kind of daily help you get, and from whom.
· Or how long your retirement savings last for you and your spouse, especially if one of you ends up needing daily long-term care.
An estate plan is an important foundation. But as we live longer, planning for how we want to live becomes an increasingly important component of life into our 80s. One that impacts not only us and our quality of life, but the life our family while helping us navigate ours.
In planning for this stage of life, each of us should figure out: How do I want to LIVE as aging changes me and what I can do for myself?
The legal plan that directs life in this way is call an elder plan.
First, Let’s look at the differences…
Your will and powers of attorney answer "who gets what” and "who decides". An aging plan or elder law plan answers "how do we want to live this season, and how do we pay for it?"
Here's why that second question can't wait. Almost 70% of people turning 65 will need some long-term care. Medicare covers only limited nursing home care/rehab care. And assisted living, not covered by Medicare, has a national median cost of $70,800 a year.
Meanwhile, many adult children/family member are doing the work to provide the extra assistance needed by their parents, both physical and financial. 59 million Americans care for an adult family member, all while usually juggling jobs and families of their own.
Planning ahead can avoid these very real consequences:
- A rushed move after a fall, to whichever place has an open bed (w/o a consideration for quality or safety risk)
- A well-meant gift that triggers a Medicaid's five-year look-back penalty (causing a delay in assistance when needed most)
- An adult child quits work to help, with no pay and no plan (stalling or depleting future personal retirement)
- Siblings arguing over what you "would have wanted" (fracturing family relationships)
- Spending your retirement savings faster than you had to (limiting care options, burdening family, and lowering quality of life)
Planning for a LIFE Lived
Aging in this season is different than life so far. It is not a season that can be “figured out” on the fly. An unplanned for crisis most likely causes far reaching unwanted consequences. We need to talk about this stage of life differently so life in this season can be LIVED!
Start with a conversation, not a generic legal form.
What you want your days to look like? Home as long as possible? What does that mean? Near family? What would you hate to lose? Who do you want to help? How will family play a part? How will it be paid for? Etc.
This is how elder law attorney leads the conversation. They look at the whole puzzle: your home, your savings, protecting and transferring generational assets, care choices, your benefits, and the things that aren't legal documents at all, like family relationships, defining quality of life, long-term care insurance and care choices.
With this knowledge you can develop a roadmap for all three stages of assistance:
A little extra help, more help, and full-time care.
Your legal documents then are created to match. Your kids can may be invited in, so they know the plan and aren't guessing. And all of you can feel confident in how “life and the living of it” will play out.
What do you give? A few meetings, some homework gathering statements, and some honest decisions while you're clear-headed and in charge.
What do you get? Choices instead of scrambles. A family that knows what you want. Caregiving agreements when desired for children who can be paid fairly and within Medicaid rules. Assets protected as much as the law allows.
Ultimately, you develop a legal roadmap that works to create the highest quality of life possible in each stage of aging. A life that is supported, not simply survived.
Why is a Specialist needed?
Medicaid, Medicare, veterans' benefits, and your state's rules all touch each other. One wrong move can cost significant money your family and/or a delay care when it is needed most. Aligning those rules with this season of life is not simple (i.e. Medicaid 5-year lookback). There are many legal documents to understand, and decisions to be made that an elder law attorney helps clients confidently navigate.
Take the time now to legally aligns these with your wishes and the practical realities of life: where you want to live, how you want to be cared for, who will help, and how the family will manage the cost…all while staying within the rules. This is critically important for estates valued up to $5M.
KNOW that this is NOT something you or your family can do well in the 24 or 48 hours before a Medical rehab facility is trying to evict you a loved one because they reach the max days allowed by Medicare, and going home is not safe or feasible.
The bottom line: Your elder law documents lay out how you want to live as you age and what happens when a crisis happen. It states who decides and what resources to access, and beyond that, what to do should either be exhausted.
You can plan for what you want and protect your quality of life in every season while providing your family and other care providers a clear path and resources. AND, it needs to be put in place earlier than you think.
Ready to start?
Attend our next Legacy Care Event at www.silvaslaw.com/events,
OR Schedule a personal appointment with our office.
Call 817-264-7447.