Tag: Finances

What does a family do when faced with having to pay for a senior loved one to move into a senior care community? Emily Schwarz with ElderLife Financial joins Suzanne to talk more about solving this financial conundrum, courtesy of MorningStar Senior Living.

Emily Schwarz with ElderLife Financial joins Suzanne to solve the conundrum of finding financial aid to bridge the move to senior living.

If you're applying for Medicaid, what happens if they say you have "too much income?" Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to discuss this interesting scenario. You would need to seek a lawyer, set up a qualified income trust, called a "Miller trust," and then you have to use that trust every month, in order to even qualify for Medicaid.

If you are a married couple, what happens to your income as a Medicaid applicant? Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to answer this question. They must be married; some states recognize common law marriage, others not. The income of the well spouse does not get to be used under Medicaid rules to pay the expenses of the ill spouse.

If you are a single Medicaid applicant, what happens to your income? Almost every dollar is accounted for in the Medicaid rules — where can you expect that money to go? Generally, for a single person, a person's income is used before Medicaid dollars. There are three places where money is usually going to go: 1) your personal needs allowance (spending money); 2) rent if you're in an assisted living community; and 3) health insurance premiums.

Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about how Medicaid and other long-term care situations handle retirees who continue to receive income the rest of their lives. Income payments can come from Social Security retirement benefits, disability benefits, pension payments, VA pension payments, annuity payments, or income from rental properties.

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.

This hour, elder law attorney Jim Koewler at the Koewler Law Firm provides us with 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. In this segment, Jim goes in further detail about buying insurance. There are two approaches: the "traditional" long term care insurance, and having long term care insurance tied to an asset investment.

This hour, elder law attorney Jim Koewler at the Koewler Law Firm looks at the criteria used to compare planning strategies. There are three basic strategies: do nothing, buy insurance, or give away assets. The criteria Jim uses compare those methods are: the cost to implement the strategy, the risk to your money, how convenient is it to carry out the strategy, how much control does it give you over money, and the likelihood that it will protect your assets.

This hour, elder law attorney Jim Koewler at the Koewler Law Firm provides us with a guide to help those who are worried about long term care costs in the future. He talks about how older senior loved ones can protect their life savings and plan for the costs of long term care. Goals are to avoid becoming a burden to our children, leaving a financial legacy, military benefits, earning a feeling of accomplishment and preserving your identity.