Join us for today's episode of Home Helpers Water Cooler Chat where local expert and elder law attorney, Michelangelo Mortellaro of Mortellaro Law, discusses the best options to pay for long term care without losing all of your assets in the process.
This is part 2 of a 3-part video series answering frequently asked questions of our audience about elder law and estate planning. Thank you, Michelangelo Mortellaro, for assisting us in providing helpful information to our community, especially seniors.
#SeniorCare #EstatePlanning #ElderLaw #LongTermCare #LongTermCareInsurance
To learn more about Mortellaro Law or to schedule a free consultation, please visit their website at https://www.mortellarolaw.com/ or call (813) 367-1500 to speak to an associate. You can also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mortellarolaw.
Transcript:
[Jonathan] Have you ever considered what should happen to your assets when you pass away or how you would pay for your long-term care as you get older? If not, well, you should. On today's episode of Home Helpers Water Cooler Chat, I have with me attorney and local expert, Michelangelo Mortellaro of Mortellaro Law to discuss how someone can pay for long-term care without going broke. Let's go. Thank you so much for joining us today, Michelangelo. How're you doing today?
[Michelangelo] I'm great. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I appreciate being here.
[Jonathan] I appreciate you, man. So I got another question for you.
[Michelangelo] Sure.
[Jonathan] So how does someone pay for long-term care without going broke first? We see that challenge, especially with my business because when people hire us for our services, they (our services) can get expensive. And so it is not my goal to have them go broke. So what's the best advice that you have for them?
[Michelangelo] Well, I think the best advice is a combination of a financial strategy and a legal strategy. So on the financial side, we talk about long-term care insurance and we have partners that can sell that. Now, of course, you have to do that while you're still somewhat younger and healthier.
You can't buy the homeowner's insurance when your roof is on fire and you can't buy long-term care insurance when you're getting ready to engage a home healthcare company or a private duty company to come in and provide services, you're already at need, so you need to set up the insurance before. But unlike times in the past where you could buy permanent insurance policies for long-term care that would last your entire life. Most companies these days limit it to three to five years, and many times people need care for more than three to five years. So we find that a combination when possible of a good long-term care insurance solution coupled with a solid legal plan is the best option.
But most people, back to our previous answer about procrastination. Most people wait until they need care before they start thinking about it, in which case, insurance products are not going to be available for them, so the legal solution is the only solution. So at that point, you're either going to private pay until you go broke, or you can engage a qualified VA or elder law attorney to arrange your income and assets legally and legitimately in a way that allows you to qualify for these public benefits that can pay some or all of your continuing care needs without going broke. So really what the elder law attorneys do is they cut out the middleman or they cut out the spend down, allow you to get the care that you need, without going broke in the process.
[Jonathan] Just a side note, Michelangelo, is that where you get into like those vehicles called trusts is that part of those solutions?
[Michelangelo] Absolutely. We can do caregiver agreements, which are contracts with family members who may be assisting you. Obviously we can engage private duty, home care, companion care, those types of things. We can look at paying for a facility, like an independent, assisted or memory care facility. All of those things will go towards reducing your income and assets to levels that are appropriate for us to coordinate other benefits. And so private pay or the legal route, and the legal route's always cheaper than the private pay route because at the end you still have something preserved rather than nothing.
[Jonathan] I think you've shared some great information with us today, Michelangelo, and I think it's going to help our audience to make better decisions and to make a determination if they can use elder law or estate planning services, and even your services. And so, is there anything else you wanted to add before we go today?
[Michelangelo] Yeah, that'd be great. If anybody has questions, our consultations are always free, so it's a great educational opportunity. You can find us online at mortellarolaw.com or on Facebook, or our office number is 367-1500.
[Jonathan] I'll go ahead and add that information in the comments, so they'll see that, so thank you again.
[Michelangelo] Thank you.
[Jonathan] Thank you again. And thank you once again to all viewers for joining us today. See you next time on the next episode of Home Helpers' Water Cooler Chat. See you guys.
HOME HELPERS OF BRADENTON
Home Helpers of Bradenton is one of the region's leading home care franchises specializing in comprehensive services for seniors. Home Helpers' sole mission is to make life easier for clients and their families. Based in Bradenton, Florida, the company serves all of Manatee County, including the communities of Anna Maria, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Ellenton, Holmes Beach, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Palmetto, and Parrish. For more information or to request a free in-home care assessment, contact our office at (941) 499-5946 or visit our website atwww.homehelpershomecare.com/bradenton