INDUSTRY INSIGHT
ELDER CARE
SPONSORED CONTENT
THE IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A TRUSTED ADVISOR AND AN ELDER LAW ATTORNEY
As an Elder Law Attorney for almost 20 years , I have seen nearly every scenario of a long-term care crisis walk through our doors . And without a doubt , in almost every instance , the outcome could have been far better for the clients if their trusted advisors had encouraged them to do some type of advance planning .
According to Alzheimer ’ s Association statistics , more than 6 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer ’ s , and by 2050 that number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million people . Further , in 2021 , Alzheimer ’ s and other types of dementias will cost the nation approximately $ 335 billion , and by 2050 , these costs could be as high as $ 1.1 trillion . And those numbers don ’ t even include other illnesses and medical conditions that will result in additional long-term care costs .
The immediate takeaway from these frightening statistics is that Financial Advisors , Certified Financial Planners , CPAs , Insurance Representatives , Attorneys and other trusted advisors should be proactively working with an elder law attorney to help educate themselves and their clients about the available options for advance long-term care planning . The sooner that this process begins , the more likely it is that a client can avoid a dire financial picture that will only continue to get worse .
Let ’ s look at the numbers in action in 2021 in Pennsylvania . The average monthly cost of nursing home care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is $ 11,099.04 per month or $ 364.90 per day . Let that sink in for a moment . Spending just one year in a nursing home will cost you in excess of $ 132,000 . According to the National Care Planning Council , the average stay in an assisted living facility is 29 months at an average cost of $ 5,000 per month , and 59 % of those residents will eventually move to a skilled nursing facility in which the average stay is 835 days or 2.3 years . Clients who follow that trajectory for care will reduce their financial portfolio , on average , by approximately $ 450,000 . But that doesn ’ t have to happen .
Within the area of Elder Law Planning , there are many legal strategies available to plan for the costs of long-term care including , irrevocable trusts , Medicaid compliant annuities , and long-term care insurance . Discussing these planning tools early is always important , but it becomes even more essential when one spouse has been diagnosed with a degenerative condition such as Alzheimer ’ s , another form of dementia , Parkinson ’ s , or multiple sclerosis . For married couples , there are a number of protections under the law that elder law attorneys can utilize to help their clients protect assets for a healthy spouse , and there are also strategies that can be employed for a single individual .
Many trusted advisors may not be familiar with what an elder law attorney can do to help their clients . They may be unsure of the costs to their clients or may be under the mistaken impression that they will lose their Assets Under Management or that an elder law attorney will advise their clients to liquidate their accounts in order to pay for long-term care . To the contrary , when a client ’ s trusted advisors work together with an elder law attorney early on to discuss and implement appropriate advance planning , everyone benefits .
If you are a Financial Advisor , Certified Financial Planner , CPA , Insurance Representative , Attorney or other trusted advisor and would like to learn more about elder law planning for longterm care , Zacharia Brown will be holding a breakfast seminar entitled “ Common Mistakes When Failing to Properly Advise Clients on Planning for Long-Term Care ” on Thursday , October 28 , from 9 – 11 a . m . at Valleybrook Country Club . To register , please visit the Events page on our website at PittsburghElderLaw . com .
Christine Brown Murphy is a partner of Zacharia Brown PC . which is an Elder Law and Estate Planning firm . The firm focuses its practice on Medicaid eligibility ; Veterans Benefits planning ; estate administration ; and estate planning including , wills , powers of attorney , living wills , and trusts . Pittsburgharea office locations include McMurray , McKeesport and Wexford . Contact information – Phone : 724.942.6200 . Website : www . pittsburghelderlaw . com E-mail : christine @ pittsburghelderlaw . com
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