December 26, 2016

There are many different reasons that you might choose to engage in the estate planning process and all of them are important. Thinking carefully about your family’s future as well as the individual wishes you have for how your owned assets will be passed on are some of the most common reasons that you might approach the estate planning process. Likewise, many people think about estate planning in the context of handling something after they have recently been married, divorced or had a new child added to the family. 

When confronting difficult or rare medical issues, it is important to consider long-range healthcare planning as well. An increasing number of individuals will be confronted with long-term care planning opportunities. With long-term care, disabilities and challenges but failing to plan for these could mean unnecessary financial stress.

Thinking carefully now about how you plan to approach the long term care planning process can enable you and your loved ones to approach the future more effectively. For example, are you going to purchase long-term care insurance to assist with covering these costs in the event that you had a long-term care event? Or will you be relying on yourself, essentially self-insuring? Bear in mind that there are strict rules about qualifying for Medicaid and that you may need to take action now in order to capitalize on a plan that allows you to ultimately qualify for Medicaid down the line.

Don’t wait too long to take these steps as it could ad additional stress and frustration for you and family members. It can even be difficult to make the right decisions when you feel rushed into this opportunity. Do not hesitate to get the help you need from an experienced estate planning and elder law attorney.