Helping Those Who Care for Parkinson's Patients
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| First I want to applaud you for thinking about the future & having the desire to prepare in advance. My sister & I are sharing caregiver responsibilities for our mom & she never gave any thought to what she might do if her situation wound up the way it has. I feel more stress over how I will shoulder the financial burden than the physical part of caring for her. I feel somewhat to blame for being an ostrich myself about her future care. When she was younger she would say she wanted to be put in a nursing home when she got to where she couldn't take care of herself. Now that the day has come she doesn't want anything about her home or life changed. Have you thought about talking to an elder law attorney? I plan to speak with one to be sure I know if there is something I should be doing at age 50 to best prepare for my future. I agree with others that we have to live in the present but I also think it's wise to plan for the future so it's not as much of a burden to our family if we need long term care. |
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Thanks so much for the kind reply. We are working our way thru it little by little. I hope you are able to work things out for your mom. It seems like all the decisions are hard and it affects so many people in each of our situations. Shaaky |
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| Financial planning is a good topic. My Dad gets social security and it is enough to meet his needs at this time. He continually wants to give us kids money. I always advise him against it since you do not know what the future holds. I need him to be able to pay for his costs now and in the future. We cannot afford to help him out financially. He says he doesn't want the nursing home to get it. I think the nursing home deserves it. He may not need nursing care if he can afford the proper in-home care if the need arises. Does anyone know the rules of finances when a person enters a nursing home? I've heard they take everything, including all monetary gifts made in the past five years of entering the home. My main concern is life insurance proceeds. I'd like that money available for Dad's funeral one day. The rest of his money, I feel the nursing home deserves. They have an extremely difficult job taking care of our loved ones. Thanks, Mary |
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Mary, my understanding is that the best way to make sure that enough money is left for a funeral is to pre-pay it. My grandmother did that before she went into a nursing home. Otherwise I think the cash value of the insurance is considered part of the person's assets. You're correct, gifts given within 5 years of going into a nursing home count against Medicaid eligibility. (They don't demand that the gifts be returned, but the gifts delay payments from Medicaid.) Some financial advisors suggest gifting money to the children but having the children hold it in a separate non-interest-bearing account in case it's needed later for a nursing home. There's no real downside to that, and if your father is lucky enough not to need a nursing home within 5 years, you have protected the money. If not, then it's there for his benefit. It's complicated, and the best thing is to consult an elder-law specialist. |
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| susger8, thanks for your response. I like the idea of pre-paying for funeral expenses. I'll discuss that with Dad. I'd much rather he do that than give his money away to the kids and grandkids at this point. Thanks again, Mary |