What is Long Term Care? And Why Should We Plan For It?
What is Long Term Care?
Long term care happens in that phase of life when a person can no longer manage his day-to-day activities without someone else’s assistance; that “helper” is often referred to as a caregiver.The caregiver’s services might take place in the home, or it might take place in a nursing facility. It might require the assistance of family members, or a recipient could need outside help from a private agency or a friend who is acting as a caregiver.
Can’t My family Just Help Out?
Not everyone has a family who can help. Caring for a loved one who needs this level of assistance can also be physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. For most of us, we simply are not trained or experienced enough to take on the responsibilities of caring for an elderly loved one might entail. Certain medical conditions are also dangerous to care for at home – dangerous for the caretaker and for the one who requires care.
Why Should We Plan For It?
Long term care can be expensive. If you can privately pay for it, it will cost thousands a month to maintain that care. If you cannot privately pay for it, the state can step in and help. We take the steps we take to protect our assets because we don’t want to lose them to the costs of our long term care.
Will I Definitely Need Long Term Care?
Not everyone is going to need long term care, but the hard reality is that we do not know if we are going to be one of the lucky ones who do not need it. We can almost view it as a game of chance, so the question becomes whether we take proactive steps to protect our assets in case the odds are not in our favor.
Bottom Line
We never know if we could be the person who needs a caregiver. We worked hard for what we have and we should get to pass it on to those we love. It gives us the peace-of-mind to know that we took the time to care for ourselves, and set ourselves up for our best possible futures.
If you want to know more about what planning steps might be available for you and your family, contact us.