Long-Term Care Planning

Most people are uncomfortable facing their mortality. They are also uncomfortable facing the possibility of requiring someone else helping them with their health or daily activities, whether that is a family member, a home health aide, or a facility. But both are possibilities that must be considered if an individual wants to ensure that they have the funds to cover all they need and still leave a legacy behind for their loved ones. Long-term care planning is about ensuring that an individual’s assets are protected while also providing funding to pay for the required care, but it is also much more than that. Long-term care planning puts a complete plan in place. At Rhodium Law, we understand the importance of long-term care planning and are ready to assist our clients with discussing their options and creating a plan that gives them confidence about the future, even if they need long-term care one day.

Long-term care, also called long-term services and support or custodial care, occurs when an individual requires a range of services to help them maintain their independence as much as possible while managing a chronic illness or disability. This kind of care can be both medical and non-medical and can take place in a variety of locations, including the individual’s home and nursing homes.

Long-term care planning is when the individual plans for the possibility of needing this kind of care in the future. This planning allows them to not only ensure they have a way to pay for this care, but also that they are able to express their desires for the kind of care they would like to receive. For example, the individual may wish to remain in their own home with someone coming in as needed to assist them for as long as possible and only move to another facility under certain circumstances. By creating a long-term care plan, they can ensure this wish is known and honored, so that their family does not try to move them straight into a nursing home at the first sign they require assistance.

By planning for the possibility of needing long-term care in the future, individuals can explore payment options and protect their assets so that they are able to receive the quality care they need and deserve while also leaving a legacy for their loved ones. This planning will also allow the individual to maintain control over their own life and reduce stress on their loved ones by removing the need to discuss and decide what the individual wants, particularly in the event the individual is incapacitated and unable to express their desires.

Long-term care planning can be complex, but it does not have to be difficult. With the assistance of a skilled elder law attorney, long-term care planning is essentially about putting an individual’s wishes on paper so that others are aware of what they want. An attorney can make this process smoother by guiding the individual through it by asking questions and pulling together information from other sources, such as financial statements. There are five main considerations to long-term care planning: assessing the individual’s needs, exploring their care options, planning for the financial aspect, preparing the appropriate legal documents, and Medicaid planning.

Long-term care planning starts with assessing the individual’s needs. This step considers factors such as the individual’s lifestyle, family and individual health history, and current health status. These all play a role in determining the likelihood of needing long-term care in the future. During this step, an elder law attorney will also review the individual’s personal care preferences. These preferences will answer questions such as whether the individual wants to remain at home or go into a facility, if they prefer their caregivers to be family and friends or professionals, and also differentiate the kind of care they want under different circumstances, such as the care they want if they are diagnosed with dementia versus the care they want if they are diagnosed with cancer or are in an accident.

Many people think there are only a few options for long-term care: at home or in a nursing home. However, there are many options for this type of care, including assisted living facilities, and community resources. There are even choices that combine options, such as adult daycare, where the individual would go to a facility with professional caregivers during the day but reside in their own home at night and on weekends with loved ones. As part of long-term care planning, an elder law attorney will go over the options in the individual’s local Ohio area as well as other parts of Ohio so they can make a fully informed decision and receive the highest quality care in a comfortable, supportive setting.

Many people believe that if they have an estate to leave their loved ones, they must pay for long-term care out of that estate. Many others think that Medicare or standard private health insurance will cover the expense. The reality is that Medicare and most standard health insurance policies will not cover long-term care, but that does not necessarily mean that the individual must pay for it from their estate. There are many options, including Ohio Medicaid, veteran’s benefits for veterans and their spouses, a reverse mortgage on the individual’s home, long-term care insurance, and life insurance with a long-term care insurance rider. While not all of these options will apply to every individual, an elder law attorney can help explore all of the possibilities and determine which ones would be most beneficial to the individual and their loved ones. If Medicaid is an option, the attorney can also assist in restructuring assets, giving assets to others, and spending down assets in ways that comply with Medicaid eligibility requirements.

Powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and living wills are a part of estate planning, but they are also essential to long-term care planning. These documents convey the individual’s wishes to loved ones, medical professionals, and others who need to know what the individual wants even if they cannot express it themselves. Powers of attorney will ensure that someone the individual trusts can maintain their finances or make health-related decisions for them, while healthcare directives and living wills detail specific desires the individual has, such as whether to withhold or withdraw hydration or nutrition or whether they wish to be on artificial life support. These are critical decisions that loved ones may struggle with if the individual has not made their wishes known in these documents.

Ohio Medicaid is based on financial need, but that doesn’t mean that an individual will not qualify simply because they have assets. There are many complex rules and regulations that surround qualifying for benefits. Qualifying for Medicaid benefits requires careful planning, but with such planning, an elder law attorney can assist clients with restructuring assets, engaging in appropriate spend-downs, and other actions that will allow the individual to qualify for benefits while still retaining as much of their estate as possible.

This can be a common question, particularly for clients on the younger end of the spectrum of what is considered elderly. Many individuals in their early to mid-60s have had excellent health their entire life and continue to do so. They may have a family history that indicates this pattern of good health would continue, and combined with a healthy diet, exercise, and sleep, may be confident that they will never fall ill enough to need long-term care.

However, it is important to remember that long-term care does not always happen due to an illness or disease. Long-term care can be required because the individual has been involved in a car accident, injured in or around the home, or exposed to a new and unfamiliar virus. These are all unforeseen events that could deplete an individual’s weath quickly if they do not have a long-term care plan in place.

Proactive long-term care planning offers numerous benefits. By preparing in advance, you can: