• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Estate Planning Attorneys - Annapolis, Maryland

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Call Now: (410) 573-4818

Attend a Free Workshop Trustee School

  • Home
  • About Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Annapolis, MD Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Annapolis, MD Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Annapolis, MD Trust Administration & Probate
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Annapolis, MD Incapacity Planning
    • Annapolis, MD LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Annapolis, MD Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Annapolis, MD Special Needs Planning
    • Estate Planning for Young Families
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Power of Attorney
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Probate Resources
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration
      • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques
    • Newsletters
  • COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
    • Anne Arundel County
      • Annapolis
      • Crownsville
      • Davidsonville
      • Highland Beach
      • Millersville
    • Baltimore County
    • Calvert County
      • Dunkirk
      • Huntingtown
      • Owings
    • Charles County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Waldorf
    • Howard County
    • Prince George County
      • Bowie
      • Fort Washington
      • Glenn Dale
    • Queen Anne’s County
      • Grasonville
      • Queenstown
      • Stevensville
    • St. Mary’s County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Leonardtown
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
  • Make A Payment
  • Client Portal
Home / Estate Planning / Options for Paying for Long Term Care

Options for Paying for Long Term Care

April 19, 2012 by Sinclair Prosser Gasior

How to pay for long-term care is a question that keeps individuals up at night.  For certain families, there may be several options, for others, only one.

Long-term care involves medical and non-medical care to people who have a chronic illness or disability. Most long-term care is to assist people with activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. It is important to remember that you may need long-term care at any age.

Out of pocket is the most common way to pay for long-term care.  This means that your income and assets are at risk.  This option does allow the person of considerable means to choose a nicer nursing home or location.  If you spend all of your assets, you can now apply for Medicaid if you are otherwise eligible.

In order to qualify for Medicaid, which is another way to pay for long-term care, if you are single, all of the income goes to pay the nursing home, while you have to spend your assets down to a minimum level, which is currently $2500.00.  If you are married, the spouse not in a nursing home, called the community spouse, can keep their income and perhaps some of the nursing home spouse’s.  There is also a certain amount of money that the community spouse can keep, which is a little over $113,000.  There are Medicaid planning strategies that may work to preserve some of the assets, but this should be implemented long before the nursing home level of care need arises.

Veteran’s Aid & Attendance and Housebound benefits may help offset some of the costs of long-term care.  This benefit is for a wartime veteran or his/her surviving spouse.  There are asset and income limits, but the income can be offset by unreimbursed medical expenses, such as Rx’s, copays, home care or assisted living facility or nursing home costs.  The restrictions on transfer of assets to qualify for the benefit are also less strict that qualifying for Medicaid.  For a married wartime veteran, the pension could be $2000.00 per month.

Long-term care insurance is a great option if you are qualified.  This may be something to look into when you are young and the premiums are lower.  There are also insurance policies that you can convert to include long-term care benefits.  This benefit will have a daily benefit, which hopefully would be over $300 per day, because nursing home costs are $8-10k per month and assisted living facilities are $4-6k.  Some long-term care policies also cover home care costs.

The most important thing you can do is meet with an Estate Planning and Elder law attorney to discuss your options.  There may be a way to alleviate some of your fears so you can get a good night’s sleep.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Our firm is dedicated to providing you with quality estate planning resources, so you can become familiar with all of the existing options. When you visit or call our office, we want you to feel comfortable discussing such an important issue concerning both you and your family. We want to arm you with the information you need to make an informed decision about your family’s future.
Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Latest posts by Sinclair Prosser Gasior (see all)
  • How Often Should I Meet with an Estate Planning Attorney? - January 18, 2018
  • Tax Law Changes for 2018 - December 29, 2017
  • Dedicated Gardeners & Creative Spaces in Annapolis, MD - May 30, 2017

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Healthcare Directives, Long term care insurance, Long Term Care Planning, Veterans Tagged With: Incapacity Planning, Medicaid

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Bowie estate planning attorneys
Can I Prevent Someone from Contesting My Will?
Estate Planning Mistakes
living trust
Three Things a Living Trust Won’t Accomplish
What is the Most Important Estate Planning Document?
Tax Law Changes for 2022
Is a Corporate Trustee the Right Choice for Me?

Primary Sidebar

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Testimonials

5 Stars
Client Review
September 3, 2020
    

We initiated estate planning following a presentation by Sinclair Prosser Attorney Jon Gasior. We were so impressed, we contracted with them to complete our estate planning. Subsequently, we assembled information on our assets and Sinclair Prosser Gasior did the rest. Correspondence was communicated to our financial institutions and the estate was established. We were very pleased with the courteous manner of the Sinclair Prosser Gasior staff. However, it was their professionalism that made us satisfied we chose this firm to handle our estate. We have nothing but praise for Sinclair Prosser Gasior .

default image
– Walter K.

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ANNAPOLIS

900 Bestgate Road
Suite 103, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

BOWIE

4201 Mitchellville Road
Suite 403, Bowie, MD 20716
Phone: (301) 970-8080
Fax: (410) 573-2802

MILLERSVILLE

1520 Jabez Run Rd
Suite 300, Millersville, Maryland 21108
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

WALDORF

Hamilton Centre II
3261 Old Washington Road, Suite 2020 Waldorf, MD 20602
Phone: 800-366-4615

Map

map for office

Footer

footer logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The information on this Maryland Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

© 2022 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys| Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map