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Why LTC Planning Is Essential for Boomers
The hefty price tag
If you or a loved one suffers from an illness that requires long-term care, get ready for some sticker shock. A year-long stay in a nursing home typically can cost between $40,000 and $80,000, often more. While prices vary by state and the type of care required, one thing is consistent across the board when it comes to long-term care: it's phenomenally expensive. Just take a look at the average costs of various types of long-term care in the U.S.:
As you can see, these costs can quickly add up and eat away at your nest egg. For example, let's say you hire a home aide to assist your husband just three times a week for four hours. At $19 an hour on average, that would come out at $228 a week. That adds up to nearly $12,000 a year. Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover these exorbitant long-term care expenses. To top it off, informal home care is simply not a realistic option for most families these days. After all, most children of baby boomers are struggling to balance their own work and family life. They simply don't have the time or resources to care for sick parents. This is why it's critical for each and every family to plan ahead for a potentially expensive long-term care event. Without the proper protection, such an event could devastate a family's finances. The simple solution: LTC insurance How can boomers handle the skyrocketing costs of a potential long-term care event? The answer is simple: long-term care insurance. Without LTC coverage, a nursing home stay or another long-term care event could destroy your family's finances. Because LTC insurance covers many of these expenses, this valuable coverage will not only protect your finances it will also help you to maintain your current standard of living if you or your spouse requires long-term care. The takeaway Without LTC insurance, the cost of a nursing home stay or a home health care aide could wreak havoc on your finances and whittle away at that nest egg you've worked so hard to build. Don't burden your loved ones with this kind of emotional and financial strain. Create a long-term care plan today to save your family a lot of heartache and stress tomorrow. If you want to discuss your long-term care insurance options, call us. A professional can evaluate your unique situation and help you customize an effective plan.
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Second-to-Die Life Insurance: Ideal for Estate Tax Planning and More
This can be important when a family's wealth is tied up in illiquid assets that are difficult to sell. With a second-to-die life policy in place, the family or estate executors receive the tax-free cash death benefit right away, and can use that to pay estate taxes, rather than be forced to sell off assets like small businesses and real estate to raise the cash.
Otherwise, heirs may be forced to sell assets in the estate at heavily discounted prices, or at a very poor time in the market to sell, to meet the estate tax deadline. Second-to-die policies also typically have lower premiums for a given death benefit than standard single-insured life insurance policies. Use of trusts to move life insurance out of the taxable estate Who owns the insurance policy itself? It may be prudent to set up an irrevocable trust, and have the trust own the life policy, rather than own it directly in your own name. Otherwise, the life insurance policy would be considered part of the taxable estate, which would increase your tax bill. Setting up a properly constructed irrevocable trust will help you avoid this problem. To set up the trust, speak with a qualified attorney and your tax advisor. Only a licensed attorney can write the documents required to set up the trust and ensure that it meets the requirements necessary for the assets in the trust to be considered separate from the taxable estate of the deceased. Once the trust is established, the trust can then become the owner of the life insurance policy. But, the applications of the second-to-die life insurance policy don't stop there. Even if you don't expect your estate to be big enough to be subject to federal estate tax, there are a number of other uses for this type of life insurance:
There are other specialized applications where second-to-die life insurance works extremely well as a planning tool. To see if this type of policy would benefit your family, call us at 540-712-2199, schedule an appointment, or video chat. How to Stay Sane if You Are Isolating
Virtual coffee chats and dinners
Get together with friends you may have planned to meet for coffee, lunch or dinner but via video chat. You have plenty of options in tech that can be used on your computer and/or smartphone and tablet. Brew yourself some coffee or your favorite tea and start up your Facetime, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Skype or any other app that has a video call feature. If you want some human contact, you could even arrange to open one of the apps as you and a friend sit down for dinner in your respective abodes and have some nice conversation over a meal. Virtual gyms If you have a regular class with a yoga instructor, see if they want to start conducting their classes by video. There are a few teleconferencing applications that allow for a conference call-type format where participants are given a password to join the meeting. The instructor can then teach the class to anyone of their current customers that wants to join. This is already happening in Spain and Italy. Also, if you already have a gym membership, many gyms are starting to offer virtual classes as well. And many are also offering free classes online. Classes that are geared for groups are the most conducive to online training, such as Zumba, Pilates, yoga and aerobics-type sessions. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the coronavirus outbreak, you can use exercise to reduce your anxiety and clear your mind. One of the best ways to fight the stagnation of home quarantine is to continue to breathe properly and keep moving. Movement has an amazing effect on your mood and outlook. Meet for a walk You can go on a walk with a friend and keep your social distancing of 6 feet apart to catch up, and also to get the blood pumping. During this time of self-isolation, it's important that you get some form of exercise and long brisk walks are not only good for you, but they also tend to cheer you up. If you have a dog, you can use this time to give your pet extra walks. Your pooch will never decline an invitation for a walk, and a pup can keep you company. Also, if the grocery store is a short distance and you need to pick up a few supplies, consider walking or riding your bike. Reach out to your parents, grandparents Too many old people are lonely and, because of the self-isolation that the elderly are doing now, that can be compounded. Use your newfound free time to keep in touch with your parents, grandparents and other seniors. Use an app with video features. They will appreciate that you are checking on them and they will be happy to see your face. You can even organize one of those coffees or dinners with them, as well. Establish a routine Don't just veg out on the couch and binge-watch TV shows all day. It's best if you can establish a routine. If you are telecommuting, this shouldn't be a problem as you will have to be working during a good portion of your day Monday to Friday. But if you are not working, resist the urge to stay up late watching movies or TV. Try to keep the same routine you had before the outbreak. Virtual book groups You may also be taking the time to catch up on your reading. Perhaps you could organize a book group with friends and family. Pick a book that everyone will read for a week or two, and then have regular video chat meetings to discuss the book, your opinions and thoughts. The takeaway It's hard to fight boredom and taking the path of least resistance if you are self-isolating, but you should try to focus on taking care of your body, mind and emotional well-being during this time. Besides the above suggestions, you can try to learn something new, like playing keyboard or learning to make bread or yogurt or homebrewing. And taking time to be in touch with others can stave off your loneliness and help you keep connected with the people you care about. |
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