Why Asset Protection is More Important if You’re Getting Older
By Barry Zimmer on October 12th, 2017 in Asset Protection
A Cincinnati Medicaid planning attorney can provide help with taking a crucial step to protect your assets. As you get older, there is a greater risk you will experience a health issue that puts your financial security at risk. Zimmer Law Firm is here to help make sure you are prepared to protect your wealth if you suffer an incapacitating illness or injury.
A Cincinnati Medicaid planning attorney at Zimmer Law Firm can work with you while you are still healthy to make sure your assets are safe if you are one of the seniors who ends up needing care.
Why Asset Protection is More Important as You Age
As you get older, it is very important that you take steps to protect your assets in case of incapacity. There are a few key reasons why being proactive about asset protection – and Medicaid planning in particular – becomes so important as you advance in age.
One big reason why protecting assets becomes so important is because you tend to acquire more wealth as you age. You may work throughout your life to build a substantial nest egg, to acquire personal possessions and to acquire real property. When you have spent your life laboring to build financial security for yourself and to create a legacy you can hand down to your loved ones, you don’t want to lose all you have acquired.
Unfortunately, if you must go into a nursing home, the assets you have worked so hard to build could make it impossible for you to get your nursing home care paid for. Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap and most private insurers won’t pay for the kind of care most people need when they are admitted to a nursing home.
Medicare and these other policies typically pay only for skilled nursing care, while most seniors require custodial care or routine help with daily activities like eating and bathing. Since Medicare and private insurers won’t cover this care, you’ll have to get Medicaid to pay for it or you’ll have to pay out of pocket. Medicaid is means-tested, and your assets could stop you from getting covered for nursing home care until you’ve spent your money and impoverished yourself. Taking asset protection steps like making a Medicaid plan can allow you to avoid this undesirable outcome.
The fact you are at greater risk of needing nursing home care as you age is another key reason why asset protection becomes more important as you get older. The sad reality is that anyone, of any age, could suffer an illness like a stroke or could experience a serious injury that makes living alone impossible. This is why it’s so important to make an incapacity plan even when you’re younger. But, if you haven’t already acted, the odds of a health problem are increasing as you age, so there is no longer any time to wait.
The asset protection plan you make as you age can not only address coverage for nursing home care but you can also make sure you have made plans for who will be in charge of managing your wealth and making decisions on your behalf if you do become incapacitated. Mismanagement or a delay in the management of assets is another source of loss for older people who sustain health problems, but an incapacity plan can allow you to ensure your assets are secure even if something happens to you.
Getting Help from A Cincinnati Medicaid Planning Attorney
A Cincinnati Medicaid planning attorney at Zimmer Law Firm will assist you in protecting your assets so you do not have to spend all of your money and lose your property just to get Medicaid to pay for your nursing home care. We can also help with other asset protection steps that you may need to take as you get older.
To find out about the full array of services our compassionate and skilled legal team can provide you, join us for a free seminar. If you are ready to make your asset protection plan so you can avoid financial loss if you need nursing home care, give us a call at 513.721.1513 today.