Reply to The insane cost of elder care

Forum Index » Money and Finances

Reply to "The insane cost of elder care"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Unless you're wealthy, it's LTC insurance or Medicaid. Get your assets out of your name 5 years before you need Medicaid LTC or the state will take it all![/quote]

Well, no. That would be unethical. Why do you think others should pay for your health care? Are you a welfare queen, too? Do you like the dole? [/quote]

DP.  I know you are looking for a 'discussion' but why do you think a person, few years away from death, would really care about ethics or if society foots the bill? I wouldn't?  We have enough money (and hopefully a lot more in 30 years when we hit our 80s) but I think it's society's job to take care of the elderly.  Shame on you for not voting out every bast*rd that is trying to move the country in the opposite direction.[/quote]

Society DOES take care of the elderly. What you are suggesting is that the elderly should be able to keep all their assets at the same time. That’s fine, if you raise the money for their care elsewhere (ie tax the rich or a consumption tax or whatever) but we don’t do that. [b]Advocating FRAUD and sheltering assets to duck the cost of care under the current system is disgusting and unethical[/b]. Freeloaders suck. [/quote]

Your ignorance is showing.. please come back when you have learned the difference between between tax planning and tax fraud.  [/quote]

Estate planning attorney here.  “Medicaid planning” is impoverishing yourself on paper to qualify for gov’t benefits that are intended for the poor.  Plain and simple.  I agree the cost of long-term care is a terrible shame.  But it doesn’t follow that I shouldn’t have to pay it because damnit I worked hard and I want my kids to get my money.[/quote]

“Impoverishing yourself on paper” is a nasty, derogatory, calumny, used perjoratively to describe seeking and following expert legal advice to structure assets to obtain maximum benefits from a public benefit plan according to its legislative and regulatory terms. It is akin to prudent tax planning, including (yes) estate planning. Whatever someone else may think, these provisions are part of the law. Congress and the regulators know they are there. The envy, hatred and condescension toward people in need in US society is appalling. One would think that the detractors were being dragged to open their own checkbook for someone else.   [/quote]

My parents went through this.  Mom in perfect health was dad's caretaker until it became too much to handle.  She didnt want to move, and was of modest means net worth under 500K. So Dad was placed in a state run Medicare facilty its nothing fancy and the care he needed put his tab at 14-15k a month.  Mom had to pay month 1. If she would have been faced with paying it every month in no time flat she would have been flat broke.  Her and my siblings and I would have been rooting for dad to pass away to spare mom's lifetime savings. We got legal advice and set her up on a Medicare Annuity which was basically a transfer of retirement funds into an immediate annuity (payout to her) and in 5-6 weeks she had the levels of her total net worth at a point where the "snapshot" showed she was broke enough to qualify for Medicaid.  She used other personal savings to "rollover" her retirement on a 60 day rollover to avoid a big tax hit. She also no longer receives dads SS  There was no 5 year look back my siblings and I helped arrange this with her legal team after Dad went to the home. [/quote]

This is following the law and is reasonable.  I think the estate planning lawyer is talking about the many more circuitous means that more well-off people are being advised to take to protect their children's inheritances, not a living spouse. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics