According to the 2017 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, a private, one-bedroom, single occupant unit in an assisted living community costs a national average $45,000 per year. This cost includes 24-hour help as well as other amenities, such as meals, housekeeping, and medication assistance. Continue reading
How can you ensure that your child will remain well cared for and secure once others assume the role of guardian or caregiver? While creating a financial plan and establishing a specialized trust are central to preparing for your child’s future, special needs planners also advise families to write down their intentions and expectations in a document referred to as a Memorandum of Intent, also known as a “Letter of Intent.” This document can be used to describe your child’s health care and therapeutic needs, identify lifestyle preferences and provide contact information for doctors, therapists and teachers. It also can be used to convey insights into your child’s personality and history that future caregivers might not easily gain on their own. Continue reading
If you are a caregiver looking for financial assistance, there are several programs that may be able to help you. While you will still have to pay some out-of-pocket, taking advantage of these services can help you reduce the amount that you are personal spending on caregiving. Here are three ways you can get financial help. Continue reading
While day-to-day obligations can certainly get in the way, at some point as a parent of a child with special needs you will need to create a special needs trust to shelter and manage whatever you may leave the child. This is the only safe way to make sure that the funds you leave are protected and well managed and that the child, who by then is probably an adult, can continue to qualify for vital public benefits.
Here are some of the questions you will need to consider in guiding your attorney to create the trust: Continue reading
The government has made a commitment to close the “donut hole” gap in Medicare coverage by 2020, but many current beneficiaries still find themselves falling into this pricey crevasse. Continue reading
