I’m not an Elder Law attorney – and I don’t play one on TV. That being said, I’ve had the pleasure of working at the Family & Aging Law Center since December of 2015. What I’ve learned has been eye-opening – even shocking. As a well-educated person, I always thought I knew just enough about estate planning and elder law. I was wrong.
~Julie Taylor
First, I’m going to tell you a little bit about what I’ve learned about long term care in Michigan – which is, for most, also surprising. Generally speaking, the cost of skilled long term care can range anywhere from $8,000 - $14,000 a month (or more!). Shocking, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t have that kind of money! If my husband or I were ever faced with one (or both) of us needing care, I wouldn’t want to see everything we’ve worked for disappear. Even worse, what happens after our life savings goes to the cost of care? What happens if we have expenses that aren’t covered by Medicare (there are many)? What happens if we’ve paid for things, such as helping our grandchildren with some college tuition costs, that may render us ineligible for assistance with things such as nursing home costs?
Honestly, I’d never given too much thought to these scenarios. I may have, on occasion, thought about this in regard to my parents. However, I now see families in these exact situations daily. It’s heartbreaking to see the stress, concern and worry our clients are dealing with. More than that, I now know they are getting information from friends, nursing homes and social workers that often isn’t very helpful, isn’t very good, or is straight out inaccurate.
Even though I was very surprised to learn the following three things, the best part about it is that there are legal solutions to these problems.
I hope that you’ve found these three things as surprising as I have – and that, unlike so many, you are inspired to do something about it, before it is too late!
The information in this blog post is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For advice, specific to your situation, consult with a qualified attorney.
Julie is the Legal Services Coordinator at Family & Aging Law Center, an asset protection, estate planning and elder law firm led by attorney Nicole Wipp. She may be reached at (248) 278-1511.
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