Make Your Home Safe and Comfortable for You to Age in Place – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

You love your house and you want to live in it through your retirement. With intelligent design features, you can make your home safe and comfortable for you to age in place.

With the right information and professionals, you can create a beautiful yet functional space for your golden years. Do not assume you will have to relocate just because you reach a certain age.

Assisted living facilities and other forms of long-term care centers are usually far more expensive than living at home and getting a little help with tasks like the yard work and house cleaning. Of course, if you have significant medical needs, aging in place might not be an appropriate option for you. You and your doctor should talk about your needs and options.

Whether to Do New Construction or Retrofit Your Existing Home

If you have a much larger house than you need and your children have now grown up and moved away, you might save yourself a lot of money by selling that home and having a house built that incorporates all the features you want for aging in place. You should only have the square footage you need on a daily basis for your golden years home to be cost-effective and something you can maintain.

It can be hard for people to let go of hosting the family get-togethers, but one reaches a point at which the next generation should take on this responsibility. Having square footage that goes unused most of the year will put a drain on your future budget. When you downsize the square footage, you should only keep the furniture you will need in the new space. Trying to cram too much stuff into a smaller space will make your home crowded and take away the beauty and function.

Whether you are having a new, smaller house built or retrofitting your existing home, you should discuss these essential features with your contractor:

  • Entries should not have steps. Multiple levels will be hard to navigate if you become less mobile and steps are a tripping hazard.
  • Stairs can be dangerous, especially if you use a cane or walker or if you take medications that can affect your balance. You should have a one-story house with no second floor and no basement.
  • Your faucets and door handles should be levers, not knobs. It can be hard to grip and turn knobs, particularly with arthritis or weakness of the hands.
  • All interior and exterior doorways should be at least 36 inches wide, and hallways should be 48 inches wide. You will not be able to get a wheelchair through a narrow door or hallway.
  • Make sure you can reach all the power outlets and switches from both a sitting and standing height.
  • Talk with your contractor about the recommended counter height for your situation.
  • A lower height sink in the kitchen and bathroom can make many tasks easier and safer. A 30-inch height with open space under the sink is ideal.
  • Your shower should have a no-step entry.
  • Make sure that your contractor uses the Aging-in-Place Remodeling Checklist of the National Association of Home Builders.

Depending on the circumstances, it might be less expensive to sell your existing house and have a smaller one built, rather than to make extensive modifications to an older home for you to age in place.

References: HuffPost. “Designing A Home ot Age In Place, With Grace.” (accessed October 9, 2019) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/designing-a-home-to-age-in-place-with-grace_b_5791390ce4b0a86259d1029e

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How Can Beneficiary Designations Wreck My Estate Plan? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

It’s not uncommon for the intent of an individual’s will and trust to be overridden by beneficiary designations that weren’t chosen carefully.

Some people think that naming a beneficiary should be a simple job and they try to do it themselves. Others don’t want to bother their attorney with what seems like a straightforward issue. A well-intentioned financial advisor could also complete the change of beneficiary form incorrectly.

Beneficiary designations are often used for life insurance and retirement benefits, but more frequently, they’re also being used for brokerage and bank accounts. People trying to avoid probate may name a “payable on death” beneficiary of an account. However, they don’t know that doing this may undermine their existing estate plan. It’s best to consult with your attorney to make certain that your named beneficiaries are consistent with your estate planning documents.

Wealth Advisor’s “7 Ways That Beneficiary Designations Can Mess Up Your Estate Plan” lists seven issues you need to think about when making your beneficiary designations.

Cash. If your will leaves cash to various people or charities, you need to make certain that sufficient money comes into your estate so your executor can pay these gifts.

Estate tax liability. If assets do pass outside your estate to a named beneficiary, make certain there will be sufficient money in your estate and trust to pay your estate tax lability. If all your assets pass by beneficiary designation, your executor may not have enough money to pay the estate taxes that may be due at your death.

Protect your tax savings. If you have created trusts for estate tax purposes, make sure that sufficient assets flow into your trusts to maximize the estate tax savings. Designating individuals as beneficiaries instead of your trusts may defeat the purpose of your estate tax planning. If there aren’t enough assets in your trust, the estate tax provisions may not work. As a result, your heirs may eventually end up paying more in taxes.

Accurate records. Be sure the information you have on the change of beneficiary form is accurate. This is particularly important if the beneficiary is a trust—the trust name, trustee information and tax identification number all need to be right.

Spouses as beneficiaries. Many people name their spouse as the primary beneficiary of their life insurance policy, followed by their trust as the secondary beneficiary. However, this may defeat your estate planning, especially if you have children from a first marriage, or if you don’t want your spouse to control the assets. If your trust provides for your surviving spouse on your death, he or she will be taken care of from the trust.

No last minute changes. Some people change their beneficiary designations at the last minute because they’re nervous about assets flowing into a trust. This could lead to increased estate tax payments and litigation from heirs who were left out.

Qualified accounts. Don’t name a trust as the beneficiary of qualified accounts, like an IRA, without consulting with your attorney. Trusts that receive such qualified money need to contain special provisions for income tax purposes.

Be sure that your beneficiary designations work with your estate planning rather than against it.

Reference: Wealth Advisor (October 8, 2019) “7 Ways That Beneficiary Designations Can Mess Up Your Estate Plan”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How Can I Make Amendments to an Estate Plan? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

If you want to make changes to your estate plan, don’t think you can just scratch out a line or two and add your initials. For most people, it’s not that simple, says the Lake County Record-Bee’s recent article “Amending estate planning documents.” If documents are not amended correctly, the resulting disappointment and costs can add up quickly.

If you live in California, for example, a trust can be amended using the method that is stated in the trust, or alternatively by using a document—but not the will—that is signed both by the settlor or the other person holding the power to revoke the trust and then delivered to the trustee. If the trust states that this method is not acceptable, then it cannot be used.

In a recent case, the deceased settlor made handwritten notes—he crossed out existing trust language and handwrote his revisions to a recently executed amendment to his trust. Then he mailed this document, along with a signed post-it note stuck on the top of the document, to his attorney, requesting that his attorney draft an amendment.

Unfortunately, he died before the new revision could be signed. His close friend, the one he wanted to be the beneficiary of the change, argued that his handwritten comments, known as “interlineations,” were as effective as if his attorney had actually completed the revision and the document had been signed properly. He further argued that the post-it note that had a signature on it, satisfied the requirement for a signature.

The court did not agree, not surprisingly. A trust document may not be changed just by scribbling out a few lines and adding a few new lines without a signature. A post-it note signature is also not a legal document.

Had he signed and dated an attachment affirming each of his specific changes made to the trust, that might have been considered a legally binding amendment to his trust.

A better option would be going to the attorney’s office and having the documents prepared and executed.

What about changes to a will? Changing a will is done either through executing a codicil or creating and executing a new will that revokes the old will. A codicil is executed just the same way as a will: it is signed by the testator with at least two witnesses, although this varies from state to state. Your estate planning attorney will make sure that the law of your state is taken into consideration when preparing your estate plan.

If you live in a state where handwritten or holographic wills are accepted, no witnesses are required and changes to the will can be made by the testator directly onto the original without a new signature or date. Be careful about a will like this. Even if legal, it can lead to estate challenges and family battles.

Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney if you decide that your will needs to be changed. Having the documents properly executed in a timely manner ensures that your wishes will be followed.

Reference: Lake County Record-Bee (October 5, 2019) “Amending estate planning documents.”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How to Keep Giving After We Are Gone – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Americans are a generous people, giving of our time and resources through donations and volunteering. However, according to the article “Charitable conundrum: Why do we give up on giving at death?” from the Austin Business Journal, less than one out of nine individuals include a charitable donation as part of their estate plan.

Why do we stop giving at death? We know that the causes we care about continue to work after we are gone. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the biggest reason behind his omission is that we tend to avoid estate planning. It’s an emotional challenge, preparing in a very real way to leave the world we enjoy with our loved ones. It’s not as much fun as going fly fishing or playing with the grandchildren.

Here are a few ways to include charitable giving in your estate plan, even when you aren’t having your estate plan created or reviewed.

Charitable beneficiaries. You can make a charity a partial beneficiary of a retirement account. They can be added as a primary beneficiary or as a contingent beneficiary. These changes can be made simply by contacting the custodian of the account and following their instructions for changing beneficiaries. Note that in certain states, spousal approval is required for any beneficiary changes. You can use this opportunity to also update your beneficiaries.

There’s a tax benefit in doing this. Charitable beneficiaries do not have to pay income tax on retirement distributions, although individuals do. Depending on the income level of an individual beneficiary, an heir could lose more than 40% of the inherited retirement account to state and local taxes.

The addition of a charitable beneficiary may restrict the ability for family members to stretch the receipt of retirement assets over time. Check with your estate planning attorney to make sure your good deed does not cause a hardship for family members.

Create a charitable IRA of your own. Another way to use retirement funds for a donation, is to roll some assets out of a main retirement account into a smaller retirement account with only charitable beneficiaries. Instead of consolidating accounts, you are doing the opposite, but for a good reason. This will allow you to manage the amount of money being left to the charity and take required or discretionary distributions from whichever account you choose.

Life insurance and annuities. Both of these vehicles use beneficiary designations, so the same strategy can be used for these accounts. Typically, the annuity must still be in the deferral state—not annuitized—and the life insurance contract must allow for changes to be made to the beneficiaries, which is true for most accounts. Note that life insurance proceeds are non-taxable to individuals and charities and annuity proceeds are generally partially tax-free to individual heirs (amount of basis in the contract).

Talk with your estate planning attorney about the optimal strategies for making charitable giving part of your estate plan. Your situation may differ and there may be other ways to maximize the wealth that is shared with charities and with your family.

Reference: Austin Business Journal (October 2, 2019) “Charitable conundrum: Why do we give up on giving at death?”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How to Find Money in Forgotten Accounts – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Many people who retire find it hard to live on a reduced income, so any windfall is a delight. From bank accounts to life insurance, utility company security deposits and retirement accounts, you might have anywhere from a few bucks to hundreds or thousands of dollars sitting around gathering dust. The trick is to know where to look, since you might not remember all the possible companies that still have some of your money.

Here are some tips for seniors on how to find money in forgotten accounts.

Where to Look for Old Bank or Investment Accounts

If you had money in a bank or brokerage account you did not use for several years, the bank probably sent the funds to the state of your last known address. Your last known address usually means the last address the bank had for you when you actively banked with them.

Let’s say you went to college out of state. You opened a checking account at a local bank for convenience while in school. After graduation, you forgot about the account. Eventually, the bank will send the remaining balance to that state or the state from the permanent address you gave when you opened the account.

You can try to track down obsolete accounts online. Go to unclaimed.org and check every state where you have lived. You will have to fill out and send in a form, either online or by mail, to request the funds. The website contains funds that other types of companies, like utilities, have also surrendered to the state.

This type of search can be time-consuming, but the rewards can make your efforts worthwhile. If you have ever gone by another name, be sure to check under all the names you have used. If you use a nickname, check under all possible combinations of last names, legal first name and nickname.

If you have a common name, you might have to sift through many possible accounts to find yours. You might also be surprised at how many other people have the same name as you.

Pensions and Retirement Accounts

You have several options to try to dig up an old employer-sponsored retirement account, including pensions. You need to find the current administrator of that employer’s plan. You might be able to find the contact information for the plan administrator on freeERISA.com or by calling the personnel office of that employer.

Sometimes a 401(k) plan gets terminated. In that situation, you can look for contact information on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s website. Additional options include the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or the nonprofit Pension Rights Center.

How to Search for Life Insurance Policies

You can look for an old life insurance policy you owned or of a deceased relative by using the Life Insurance Policy Locator. Some life insurance policies show up on unclaimed.org, but for others, you might have to find the name of the insurance company at naic.org and then contact the insurer.

Scammer Alert

Some companies defrauded people by charging exorbitant fees to conduct searches for them, but do not deliver the promised service. If a company charges a fee upfront before they find your lost funds, that is a red flag the firm is fraudulent. If you want someone else to do the search for you, only agree to pay a percentage of the money recovered. The search firm’s cut should not exceed 10 to 20 percent of the recovered funds.

References: AARP. “How to Find “Forgotten” Cash.” (accessed October 2, 2019) https://www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/info-2019/find-unclaimed-cash.html

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What Do I Do With an Inherited IRA? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

When a family member dies and you discover you’re the beneficiary of a retirement account, you’ll need to eventually make decisions about how to handle the money in the IRA that you will be inheriting.

Forbes’ recent article, “What You Need To Know About Inheriting An IRA,” says that being proactive and making informed decisions can help you reach your personal financial goals much more quickly and efficiently. However, the wrong choices may result in you forfeiting a big chunk of your inheritance to taxes and perhaps IRS penalties.

Assets transferred to a beneficiary aren’t required to go through probate. This includes retirement accounts like a 401(k), IRA, SEP-IRA and a Cash Balance Pension Plan. Here is some information on what you need to know, if you find yourself inheriting a beneficiary IRA.

Inheriting an IRA from a Spouse. The surviving spouse has three options when inheriting an IRA. You can simply withdraw the money, but you’ll pay significant taxes. The other options are more practical. You can remain as the beneficiary of the existing IRA or move the assets to a retirement account in your name. Most people just move the money into an IRA in their own name. If you’re planning on using the money now, leave it in a beneficiary IRA. You must comply with the same rules as children, siblings or other named beneficiaries, when making a withdrawal from the account. You can avoid the 10% penalty, but not taxation of withdrawals.

Inheriting an IRA from a Non-Spouse. You won’t be able to transfer this money into your own retirement account in your name alone. To keep the tax benefits of the account, you will need to create an Inherited IRA For Benefit of (FBO) your name. Then you can transfer assets from the original account to your beneficiary IRA. You won’t be able to make new contributions to an Inherited IRA. Regardless of your age, you’ll need to begin taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from the new account by December 31st of the year following the original owner’s death.

The Three Distribution Options for a Non-Spouse Inherited IRA. Inherited IRAs come with a few options for distributions. You can take a lump-sum distribution. You’ll owe taxes on the entire amount, but there won’t be a 10% penalty. Next, you can take distributions from an Inherited IRA with the five-year distribution method, which will help you avoid RMDs each year on your Inherited IRA. However, you’ll need to have removed all of the money from the Inherited IRA by the end of five years.

For most people, the most tax-efficient option is to set up minimum withdrawals based on your own life expectancy. If the original owner was older than you, your required withdrawals would be based on the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table for Inherited IRAs. Going with this option, lets you take a lump sum later or withdraw all the money over five years if you want to in the future. Most of us want to enjoy tax deferral within the inherited IRA for as long as permitted under IRS rules. Spouses who inherit IRAs also have an advantage when it comes to required minimum distributions on beneficiary IRAs: they can base the RMD on their own age or their deceased spouse’s age.

When an Inherited IRA has Multiple Beneficiaries. If this is the case, each person must create his or her own inherited IRA account. The RMDs will be unique for each new account based on that beneficiary’s age. The big exception is when the assets haven’t been separated by the December 31st deadline. In that case, the RMDs will be based on the oldest beneficiaries’ age and will be based on this until the funds are eventually distributed into each beneficiary’s own accounts.

Inherited Roth IRAs. A Roth IRA isn’t subject to required minimum distributions for the original account owner. When a surviving spouse inherits a ROTH IRA, he or she doesn’t have to take RMDs, assuming they retitle the account or transfer the funds into an existing Roth in their own name. However, the rules are not the same for non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit a Roth. They must take distributions from the Roth IRA they inherit using one of the three methods described above (a lump sum, The Five-Year Rule, or life expectancy). If the money has been in the Roth for at least five years, withdrawal from the inherited ROTH IRA will be tax-free. This is why inheriting money in a Roth is better than the same amount in an inherited Traditional IRA or 401(k).

Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney about an Inherited IRA. The rules can be confusing, and the penalties can be costly.

Reference: Forbes (September 19, 2019) “What You Need To Know About Inheriting An IRA”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What Estate Planning Do I Need with a New Baby? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Congratulations, you’re a new mom or dad. There’s a lot to think about, but there is a vital task that should be a priority. That is making an estate plan.

People usually don’t worry about estate planning when they’re young, healthy and starting a new family. However, your new baby is depending on you to make decisions that will set him or her up for a secure future.

Motley Fool’s recent article, “If You’re a New Parent, Take These 4 Estate Planning Steps” says there are a few key estate planning steps that every parent should take to make certain they’ve protected their child no matter what the future holds.

  1. Purchase Life Insurance. If a parent dies, life insurance will make sure there are funds available for the other spouse to keep providing for the children. If both parents die, life insurance can be used to raise the child or to fund the cost of college. For most parents, term life insurance is used because the premiums are affordable, and the coverage will be in effect long enough for your child to grow to an adult.
  2. Draft a Will and Name a Guardian for your Children. For parents, the most important reason to make a will is to name a guardian for your children. If you designate a guardian, you will select the person you think shares your values and who will do a good job raising your children. This way, it’s not left to a judge to make that selection. Do this as soon as your children are born.
  3. Update Beneficiaries. Your will should say what happens to most of your assets, but you probably have some accounts with a designated beneficiary, like a 401(k), and IRA, or life insurance. When you have children, you’ll need to update the beneficiaries on these accounts for your children to inherit these assets as secondary beneficiaries, so they will inherit them in the event of your and your spouse’s death.
  4. Look at a Trust. If you die prior to your children turning 18, they can’t directly take control of any inheritance you leave for them. This means that a judge may need to appoint someone to manage assets that you leave to your child. Your child could also wind up inheriting a lot of money and property free and clear at age 18. To have more control, like who will manage assets, how your money and property should be used for your children and when your children should directly receive a transfer of wealth, ask your estate planning attorney about creating a trust. With a trust, you can designate an individual who will manage money on behalf of your children and provide instructions for how the trustee can use the money to help care for your children as they age. You can also create conditions on your children receiving a direct transfer of assets, such as requiring your children to reach age 21 or requiring them to use the money to cover college costs. Trusts are for anyone who wants more control over how their property will help their children after they’ve passed away.

When you have a new baby, working on your estate planning probably isn’t a big priority. However, it’s worth taking the time to talk to an attorney for the security of knowing your bundle of joy can still be provided for in the event that the worst happens to you.

Reference: Motley Fool (September 28, 2019) “If You’re a New Parent, Take These 4 Estate Planning Steps”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Do I Need Life Insurance After I Get Divorced? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

One of the messy tasks in a divorce is working through life insurance and it’s frequently forgotten.

Investopedia’s article, “How Life Insurance Works in a Divorce,” explains that addressing life insurance is a critical issue in the divorce process, especially for divorcing couples with children. Maintaining life insurance protects the financial interests of both parties and their dependent children. This involves making the necessary beneficiary changes, accounting for the cash value in whole or universal life policies, protecting child support and alimony income, and—most importantly—making certain that any children involved are financially protected.

Most married couples with life insurance list their spouse as the primary beneficiary. Life insurance protects a family from financial devastation if you die and your income is lost. For a married person, naming your spouse as your beneficiary makes certain that he or she can continue to pay the mortgage, put food on the table and possibly bring up the children without your income. Life insurance is especially critical if you provide the majority of the income.

In a divorce, especially an acrimonious one, odds are good that you’ll no longer want your ex-spouse profiting from your death. If there are no children are involved, most life insurance policies let you change the beneficiary at any time.

Some life insurance policies, such as many whole life and universal life policies, accumulate cash value over time. Each month when you make your premium payment, some of the money is deposited into a fund that grows with interest. This is the policy’s cash value and it’s your money. Any time while the policy is active, you can forgo the death benefit and take the cash value. This is called “cashing out” your life insurance policy.

Since the cash value from a life insurance policy is part of your net worth, you should list the policy, including its cash value, as a marital asset to be divided. Frequently, when marital assets are divided evenly, half the cash value from the policy goes to each spouse.

Protecting child support or alimony income is really important for the spouse who takes primary custody of the children after the divorce. These child support funds are for feeding and clothing the children and saving for college. If the noncustodial parent isn’t around anymore, this income goes away and it could put the custodial parent in a bind. If you have custody of the children, the best way to protect yourself from this situation is to keep a life insurance policy on your ex-spouse with a benefit amount high enough to replace your child support or alimony income at least until the last child is 18. Being the custodial parent, if your ex is irresponsible or untrustworthy, you may just purchase the policy and pay the premium yourself since coverage stops if payments lapse.

If your ex-spouse is no longer in the picture (whether by death or lack of responsibility) and your children rely only on you for financial support, if you die, they’d have nothing. Without your income, your children have no way to support themselves or save for college. A guardian, either a relative or someone appointed by a judge, will take care of your children, but there are still many unknowns in this situation. If divorce makes you a single parent, you need enough life insurance on yourself to protect your children to see them through until they reach 21.

Reference: Investopedia (June 25, 2019) “How Life Insurance Works in a Divorce”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How to Prevent The Top Six Retirement Planning Mistakes – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

One of the biggest mistakes people make with their retirement, is not realizing what they don’t know, says the Chicago Sun-Times in the article “The 6 biggest retirement mistakes—and how you can avoid them.” By misunderstanding how Social Security works, underestimating life expectancies or failing to plan for big expenses, like long-term care or taxes, people put themselves and their families in financial binds.

These are not the people who make an effort to educate themselves. They are sure they know what’s what—until they realize they don’t. Most people don’t seek out objective advice before they retire. They wing it, hoping things will work out. Often, they don’t.

Retirement is complicated. Here are the top six most common mistakes:

Expecting to die young. If you die young, you have fewer worries about retirement funds. Live a long life and you could easily outlive your retirement savings. One smart move is to wait to collect Social Security as long as possible. Each year you put it off from age 62 to 70, increases your benefit by 7-8 percent.

Ignoring your spouse’s needs. One of you will die first. When that happens, one of your Social Security checks goes away. The survivor will need to get by on only one check. This is why it is vital to maximize the survivor benefit by having the higher earner delay filing for Social Security as long as possible.  Married people who receive a pension, should consider a “joint and survivor” option that lets payments continue for both lives.

Bringing debt into retirement If you’re rich, debt may not be a big deal. You have plenty of income to make payments. Your investments may be earning more than you are paying in interest payments. However, if you are not rich, are you pulling too much from your savings to pay down the debt? This would increase the chances you’ll run out of money. If you take big withdrawals from retirement accounts, it could push you into a higher tax bracket and increase your Medicare premium. Try to get rid of your debt before retiring. However, be careful about tapping retirement accounts to pay off big debts, like a home mortgage.

Neglecting to plan for long-term care. Someone turning 65 today has a 70 percent chance of needing help with daily living tasks, like bathing, eating or dressing. Family and friends may be willing to help, but about half will need long-term care at a cost of $250,000 a year or more. Long-term care insurance is the most obvious solution. However, if you didn’t purchase it when you were healthy, you may need to earmark certain investments, or consider tapping your home equity to pay for this cost.

Thinking you’ll just keep working. About half of retirees report leaving the workforce earlier than they had planned. Most retire because they lose their jobs and cannot find a replacement job or can’t find one at the same income level as their previous job. Others retire because of ill health or the need to stop working to care for a loved one. Working longer can help you make up for not saving enough, but don’t count on it.

Putting off retirement too long. Consider time, health and energy as finite resources. Spend the time and money to speak with professionals, including an estate planning attorney and a financial advisor to determine when you can retire, prepare an estate plan and enjoy retirement.

Reference: Chicago Sun-Times (September 23, 2019) “The 6 biggest retirement mistakes—and how you can avoid them.”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

When Should I Start Looking into Long-Term Care? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

You can bet that you won’t need long-term care in your lifetime, but it’s not a sure thing: about 70% of seniors 65 and older require long-term care at some point.

Long-term care could be just a few months with a home health aide or it could mean a year (or more) of nursing home care. You can’t know for sure. However, without long-term care insurance, you run the risk that you’ll be forced to cover a very large expense on your own.

The Motley Fool’s recent article, “75% of Older Americans Risk This Major Expense in the Future,” says many older workers are going into retirement without long-term care coverage in place. In a recent Nationwide survey, 75% of future retirees aged 50 and over said they that don’t have long-term care insurance. If that’s you, you should begin considering it, because the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to qualify, and the more expensive it becomes.

Long-term care insurance can be costly, which is why many people don’t buy it. However, the odds are that your policy won’t be anywhere near as expensive as the actual price for the care you could end up needing. That’s why it’s important to look at your options for long-term care insurance. The ideal time to apply is in your mid-50s. At that age, you’re more likely to be approved along with some discounts on your premiums. If you wait too long, you’ll risk being denied or seeing premiums that are prohibitively expensive.

Note that not all policies are not the same. Therefore, you should look at what items are outside of your premium costs. This may include things such as the maximum daily benefit the policy permits or the maximum time frame covered by your policy. It should really be two years at a minimum. There are policies written that have a waiting period for having your benefits kick in and others that either don’t have one or have shorter time frames. Compare your options and see what makes the most sense.

You don’t necessarily need the most expensive long-term care policy available. If you’ve saved a good amount for retirement, you’ll have the option of tapping your IRA or 401(k) to cover the cost of your care. The same is true if you own a home worth a lot of money because you can sell it or borrow against it.

It’s important to remember to explore your options for long-term care insurance before that window of opportunity shuts because of age or health problems. Failing to secure a policy could leave you to cover what could be a devastatingly expensive bill.

Reference: Motley Fool (September 23, 2019) “75% of Older Americans Risk This Major Expense in the Future”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys