Finances

Kelley Smith at CarePartners Living discusses costs of various senior living arrangements. An over-55 retirement community can cost $900 - $1500 per month. Independent assisted living with 24-hour caregivers, nurses, full-time activities, and meals can cost $3,000 to $6,000 per month. Memory care ranges from $4,500 to $7,500 per month.

Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about whether you might prefer to have a will or a trust, and why.

This hour, Marci Lobel-Esrig introduces SilverBills, a Nationwide Concierge Bill Manager. Marci is its founder, CEO and General Counsel. One of the most challenging...

Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements builds relationships to understand the heart of what's happening at your family. She also sees the emotional highs...

Janet Smith, an elder law attorney with the Northwest Elder Law Group, spoke at Discovery 2019, the 34th Annual Alzheimer's Regional Conference. Elder law...

David T. Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about a crisis in Long Term Care and how it is seriously negatively impacting Americans. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured on the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

This hour addresses all the paperwork — legal contracts — involved in a loved one's transition to senior living. Sometimes you're electronically signing your name and initialing a few signature blocks on an iPad, but you aren't shown the 50 related pages that are on the document you just signed. Here are some red flags to watch for in the paperwork. They apply to nursing home, assisted living, and memory care admissions.

COPES: The Washington State Medicaid Program can help a Senior Fund Long Term Care. Current trends in Long Term care provides a staggering representation of...

Elder Law and special needs attorney Jim Koewler talks about planning ahead — what do people need to plan for? When you can't take care of yourself, and you have trouble with activities of daily living — being able to get out of bed or a chair, bathing, eating, toileting, or dressing on your own — you're either injured (temporary) or facing a permanent change. How do you plan ahead for that financially? You can 1) do nothing, 2) buy insurance, or 3) give money away now while you're healthy, and rely on Medicaid later on. If you pick 3, work with a long-term care attorney to find a balance of what you need to care for yourself vs. what you're able to live without. Jim addresses all three choices.

Here is a guide to help people who are worried about long term care costs in the future. There are three basic strategies: do nothing, buy insurance, or give away assets. When giving away assets, there are two approaches: direct gifts, and an irrevocable trust. This segment focuses on direct gifts. A PowerPoint presentation accompanies this segment — watch this segment on YouTube’s Answers For Elders channel.