Consider Long Term Care in your Estate Plan

 Posted on February 16, 2013 in Estate Planning Attorney

The idea of the fiscal-cliff has taken over the country with an increasing intensity about whether or not the deficit and debt will be reduced quickly enough. Many people fear, however, that this decision will be made without consideration for our retirees, veterans, elderly and disabled citizens.

The fear is that the long-term care costs will knock many people off of their own fiscal cliff. Congress has been surrounded by industry lobbyists that have been liberally dispensing their generosity to Congressmen for the last few months. These lobbyists have also been assembling a campaign to have the friendly congressmen dismantle the social and medical safety nets that are currently available to senior, veterans and disabled citizens through the federal Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and VA programs.

Long-term care insurance does make a lot of sense to consider, according to the 2012 MetLife Market Survey of nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services and Home Care Costs, including:

• There is a 70 percent chance that one person in a couple turning 65 will need long-term care.
• For people over 75, 65 percent already need long-term care.
• By 85 years, 97 percent of people need long-term care.
• An average nursing home stay is three years.
• The average cost of a semi-private room in a Southern Illinois nursing home in 2012 was $152 per day and the cost for a private room was over $360 a day.
• Assisted living is between $2,675 per month to about $5,300 a month.
• Lastly, home health costs in 2012 ranged from $17-$28 per hour for home health aides and homemaker services ranged from $16-$25 per hour.

With these prices, long-term insurance may be worth considering. With long term care costs only going up and a high potential for federal benefits to become limited, estate planning is more important than ever. Estate planning attorneys at The Law Office of Cynthia Hayes Hutchins can help you relieve the stress with planning for long term care costs. Let Cynthia Hayes Hutchins help you today.