November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month. It is a time to have a frank discussion with your spouse and your family about Long-Term Care or Extended Care. Long-Term Care is NOT a condition or a place. It is a life changing event brought on by an illness, injury or frailty. Also keep in mind that you do not go from shooting your age on the golf course to laying flat on your back in a nursing home or in your living room with all of the furniture pushed up against the walls. There are consequences to your spouse and your kids that begin much earlier and these consequences can be 24/7 and solely involve your safety. The subject is not insurance, the subject is care coupled with the mental, emotional and financial consequences to the spouse, the kids and the retirement portfolio for not having a plan.
QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS: Do you expect to live a long life? Is it reasonable that if you live to 85, 90 or longer that you could need care for a few years? Have you thought about the fact that you pay for Extended Care Expenses with income and NOT assets? Would an extra $4,000 to $6,000 a month be helpful if you had to cover the expenses of Long-Term Care out of your and/or your spouses pocket?
If you answered the above questions YES you may want to examine the subject in detail. Give us a call, we will gladly sit down with you and your spouse or talk with you over the phone about these important issues and we will not obligate you in any way.