Ridgewood Estate Planning Blog

Part of estate planning for your parents is finding out where they will stay for the remainder of their days. They could stay in their own home and receive care, they could move to an assisted living facility or they could go to a nursing home.

Of course, all these options cost money. Your parents may qualify for financial assistance from the government in the form of Medicaid. However, you may worry that being on this program will limit their facility choices. They cannot afford a luxurious place, but with so much elder abuse happening, neither do you want for them to be in a questionable nursing home. What should you do?

There are many provisions in an estate plan that may come into effect well before you pass away. Health care directives are essential in any estate plan, which is why nearly 37 percent of Americans include them, according to Reuters. With such directives, you can clearly state what services you want to receive at the end of your life, and the directives can help greatly with reducing the amount of pain and uncertainty that comes if one of your family members has to make those decisions independently. 

To begin, you can give someone power of attorney over any health decisions. This gives someone the power to make the final say. However, you also want to include directives, so that person has a guide to go off of to know what you would want. 

Like many retirees in New Jersey and elsewhere, you hope that you will live a long and healthy life with your mental faculties intact. However, as you know, not everyone makes it to old age with a mind as sharp as it was in their twenties. While it is possible that you may avoid mental or physical incapacitation, it would be wise to prepare for it in case it happens.

If you do end up developing a cognitive disorder like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in your golden years, your finances – and your loved ones’ inheritance – may be in peril. There are many unscrupulous people who prey on vulnerable elderly people, and they largely focus their intents on relieving them of their assets. According to the National Adult Protective Services Association, approximately one out of 20 seniors in America are the victims of financial abuse. You might become the target of one or more of the following common scams or abusive practices:

• Fraudulent salespeople who go door-to-door offering roofing or landscaping services, then take a deposit and never return
• Letters or emails claiming you won the lottery or a sweepstakes but need to pay a “processing fee” before receiving the funds
• Requests for donations from false charities or other companies, which may progressively get more and more pushy about getting money from you
• IRS scammers saying you will be arrested if you do not pay unpaid taxes immediately
• Caregivers, family members or others coercing you into granting access to your bank account, signing over a power of attorney or making them the sole beneficiary of your will

As your parents age, health issues can become costly and difficult to sustain. Adult children of aging parents are often saddled with a double financial and emotional burden: that of raising their own children while facing the complex and challenging issues of helping their parents to age gracefully and plan for their estate after death.

Medicaid planning is one piece of an overall estate planning and end-of-life asset distribution strategy. It is important for you to understand how Medicaid planning works and how you can help your elderly parent access this healthcare assistance.