You have probably read in the newspaper various reports on the high cost of nursing home care and how it is bankrupting many middle class Americans. In the paragraphs that follow I have listed several quotes from various newspapers regarding this disturbing trend.
THE RISK OF NEEDING NURSING HOME
CARE IS VERY GREAT
AN ESTIMATED 43 PERCENT OF AMERICANS OVER 65 WILL SPEND SOME TIME IN A NURSING HOME. HEALTH MAGAZINE, OCTOBER, 1993
UNFORTUNATELY, IT COULD HAPPEN
TO YOU OR YOUR SPOUSE
SEVEN OUT OF TEN COUPLES NOW REACHING 65 CAN EXPECT AT LEAST ONE PARTNER TO NEED TO ENTER A NURSING HOME. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, APRIL 23, 1990
THE COST OF NURSING HOME CARE HAS A
DEVASTATING IMPACT ON YOUR SPOUSE
FIFTY-SIX PERCENT OF COUPLES HAVE THEIR ASSETS REDUCED TO THE POVERTY LEVEL AFTER ONE SPOUSE HAS SPENT SIX MONTHS IN A NURSING HOME. LONG-TERM CARE: ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC POLICY OPINION, CONSUMERS UNION, JANUARY 1989
NURSING HOME CARE COSTS DEVASTATE
SINGLE ADULTS
HALF OF ALL ELDERLY PEOPLE LIVING ALONE WILL SPEND THEMSELVES INTO POVERTY AFTER ONLY A 13 WEEK STAY IN A NURSING HOME. CHICAGO TRIBUNE, MARCH 13, 1989
MEDICARE WILL NOT HELP TO PAY FOR NURSING
HOME CARE (EXCEPT IN RARE INSTANCES)
MEDICARE COVERS ONLY ABOUT 2% OF NURSING HOME CARE COSTS. THE NEW YORK TIMES, FEBRUARY 5, 1989
THE NEED FOR NURSING HOME CARE COULD
LAST FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS
TWO OUT OF FIVE PEOPLE 65 OR OVER RISK ENTERING A NURSING HOME, HALF OF WHOM WILL STAY AN AVERAGE OF 2.5 YEARS. BROKER WORLD, MAY 1990
The news that is quoted from the above named magazines and newspapers has prompted many people to seek my professional legal advice to aid them in preserving their assets from the high cost of nursing home care.
My name is Stephen McMahon. I graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School. I have been practicing law for many years and I limit my practice to those parts of the law directly connected with (1) potential or actual nursing home care; (2) the preservation of assets from the high cost of nursing home care and (3) the preparation of Medicaid applications on behalf of my clients.
Many people have lost everything - life savings, bank accounts, cars and other assets - so it is realistic to be concerned about high nursing home costs. You may already know some of these people yourself. Perhaps you have been thinking of trying to protect yourself from this same tragic circumstance, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Unfortunately, too many people fail to plan for future nursing home costs, even though they know they should. You may already have had an attorney draft your will for you, but a will can not save your assets from being depleted by high nursing home costs.
Many people come to me because either they or a family member are facing the staggering costs associated with nursing home care. It is possible to save at least one half of your assets even if you are already in the nursing home.
Custodial nursing home care costs approximately $6,000.00 per month. When a family is faced with the awesome prospect of paying for nursing home care, the family has two choices: pay the nursing home care from the family's assets or have the Medicaid program pay for it. The County Medicaid Department will pay for your nursing home care if you are able to qualify for these benefits under the current Medicaid law.
I am an attorney and I help people preserve their assets for their family if they should need to enter a nursing home. Medicaid is the government program that will pay for your nursing home care, but only if you qualify for the Medicaid program. I know I can help you set up an effective plan to help you qualify for Medicaid and thereby save your house, bank accounts, car and all the other assets that you have worked a lifetime to accumulate. Without an effective plan you may have to spend all your money on the nursing home and have nothing to pass on to your children or grandchildren. Please call me so that I may inform you - at not obligation or cost to you - about your legal rights under the Medicaid Law.
MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS CAN AVOID THE HIGH COST OF NURSING HOME CARE THROUGH A PROPERLY DRAFTED TRUST.
As you are probably aware, the cost of a nursing home is over six thousand dollars per month.
Too many people lose everything that they worked a lifetime to acquire - their life savings, bank accounts, car and house - because they did not plan for the possibility that they might have to enter a nursing home. With proper planning, you can become eligible for Medicaid and have Medicaid pay the nursing home. A trust drafted by an attorney with expertise in the Medicaid law can save your assets from the high cost of nursing home care.
A trust is a way of holding property. Property includes, but is not limited to, money, bank accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds and real estate (such as your house). A trust names a trustee or trustees who hold the property for the benefit of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. For example, if Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith have two children, John Smith and Thomas Smith, they might create "The Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith Trust" and name John Smith and Thomas Smith as trustees. The Smiths could have named just John Smith as the trustee. Or they could have named just Thomas Smith as the trustee. Or they could have named a friend to be the trustee.
Also, there is no requirement that the trustee be one of their children. The trust that they created, "The Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith Trust", would probably name Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith as the beneficiaries of the trust. This would mean that the assets in the trust would be used for the benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith.
The trust could stipulate that upon the death of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith that the assets should go to their two children. If the trust does this, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith have avoided probate. Probate refers to the legal process of passing property to one's heirs after one dies.
Probate is costly since it involves having to go to court and thus requires quite a bit of work by an attorney. In addition, probate is time consuming and delays the actual passing of property by many months.
A properly drafted trust can save your assets from the high cost of nursing home care. An improperly drafted trust will not safeguard your assets from the high cost of nursing home care. In addition, a properly drafted trust will avoid costly probate proceedings. I would be happy to talk to you further, on the telephone or in person, regarding the trust.
The initial consultation with me is free. At that free consultation I can answer questions that are specific to your family's situation.
The sooner that I can tell you what you can do to protect your family's assets, the more secure you and your family will be. You do not need to lose your entire life savings merely because a family member enters a nursing home.