Why is elder law planning important for my family?

You may not have spent much time thinking about it, but an elder law plan is just as important as vehicle insurance or putting away funds for your children’s college tuition. Elder law planning is all about being ready for major life changes without serious disruption to your finances or causing a burden to your family.

Who Needs Elder Law Planning?

The simple truth is that everyone needs to consider elder planning strategies at some point, even if you are still relatively young. You can’t know for certain that your health and current financial situation will remain the same in the coming years.

While this is especially important if you have a family history of illness like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, it is also necessary even if you aren’t at high risk for mental or physical disability. An elder law plan is specifically meant to deal with issues like:

• Advising on tax repercussions of gifting to grandchildren or other financial moves.
• Aging in place by remaining in your home for as long as possible.
• Assisting with conservatorship if you think you will be unable to make medical decisions for yourself in the future due to declining health.
• Ensuring you can qualify for Medicaid coverage in the event a sudden health change means you need around-the-clock care at a nursing home facility. This may require reversing gifts you have previously given or making other changes to deal with Medicaid’s five-year lookback period.
• Filling out medical directives so your wishes are honored by medical staff and emergency responders.
• Finding means to maintain quality of life, either at home or in a nursing home setting, by utilizing as many local, state, and federal resources as possible tailored to your specific situation.
• Planning for retirement.
• Preventing serious monetary and emotional tolls on close family members so they don’t have to uproot their lives and empty their own savings if you experience a sudden health change.
• Taking care of guardianship issues for dependent minors if you are no longer able to care for them.

It’s better to tackle these potential problems as far in advance as possible, but there are still options available in our legal toolkit even if you need help right now.

Talk to an Experienced Wilmington Elder Law Planning Attorney Today

Start planning for the future with an elder law attorney today. Get in touch to schedule a consultation so we can discuss if these measures are right for you. In addition to these legal strategies, we may be able to assist with other topics like estate planning to ensure your hard-earned assets are distributed how you want.