Family Caregiving, Part 4: Financial Concerns with Daphne Davis

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

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Get to know our helpful bees in the greater puget sound area or many cities across the US by giving us a buzz at two thousand and six, six to seven, zero nine, five seven or visit be organizedcom. That’s be ee organizedcom. The following podcast is provided by pinnacles senior placements, LLLC and answers for elders radio, and welcome back to everyone, to answer for elder’s Radio Network with Wonderful Daphne Davis, and we are talking about when you take care of a loved one, what really does that mean? What is the documents you need? What is the process? All of those things, and Daphne has been sharing with us so much amazing information, stuff that I am learning every day and continue to and Dathy, welcome back. Thanks. I’m glad to be here. You know, Dapy, it’s when I say we’re learning more every day. Laws of changing, but I think some of the biggest things that are changing as in the financial world. Obviously I know that there’s so many things that have happened and so many things that are government regulated in the financial industry. So what are you seeing as far as financial management in senior care and seeing that people need to look at it more seriously? Yeah, senior care is very expensive. It is a shock for everybody, including myself. It’s it’s by rocketing and it’s not going to change. To provide care for someone twenty four hours a day in your home is going to cost some place between thirteen to sixteen thousand dollars a month. That’s twenty four hour care for one person. If you’re looking at assisted living with some mead management, shower assist meals being prepared, some activities, or one bedroom apartment, you’re going to be looking someplace between forty five hundred, two seven thou, depending on more or more yep. And Adult family homes you’re going to be looking someplace between five thousand to tenzero be high end. Fivezero is still hard to find right now. And then if its memory care, looking at a large memory care building, you’re looking at eight thou too. Eighteen hundred eighty thousand is very extensive and there’s variances and all of that and I’ve probably, you know, given the large ranges there. But the point being is that you do have to be financially savvy and aware. Sure also our Medicaid system is stretched to its limit and it is not meeting the needs, and so don’t count on Medicaid right now. Probably an average payout in this is not, you know, I’m not researched, but I’m just anecdotally. I would say an average payout is probably about eighty five dollars a day. And think about going to dinner, having a hotel, throwing care, but you need to get dressed and have a shower and medications management. How does that happen for eighty five dollars a day? Isn’t and so people fall through the cracks. In the state of Washington the government is trying to have some kind of long term care policy in there. Are suggesting that it be a thirty six thousand dollars for your lifetime, which is not even a year of care. So don’t be counting on that in the state of Washington. The bottom line is you have to have a plan and long term care insurance is very helpful. It is expensive, but if you have health history or you have family members who have things that could be genetically predisposed to you, I would seriously look at long term care insurance and they are very good products that are available to a wide range. It’s not you know, just spend money and if I have to use it out, I’ll use it. There are there are created ways of financing long term care. The way that you have the most flexibility is to have some kind of nest egg to start with, and so let me give you the upside of this nest egg. Generally, for the state of Washington anyway, most of our communities of care in an adult family home will convert to Medicaid after two to three years of private pay, and so I encourage people to think about having about seventy two thousand dollars a year minimum to be able to have quality care. So seventy two thousand married couple, that means a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. Yes, times three, so that’s basically automy dollars, a million dollars. How many people have of that? They don’t, and so that’s where no younger people have to really be thinking about this. There are creative ways that we can work with the finances that we have, but that is the the I have no limitations. I can be wherever I would like to be. So please don’t get worried like there’s no care for me. There is care for you. You know, I have people that have sixtyzero dollars to their name right now and they thought they had two hundred and Fiftyzero and they don’t. And so at Sixtyzero dollars, but left their stake and one thirteen hundreds income, this person is going to get quality care and not going to have all the options that the family thought they would have. Right, it’s just a narrower window. Still Quality Care. But yes, there will be compromises from whatever was on that which would start with. There also is the need to think in terms of how I maximize the buying power of our estate. And so sometimes families will think in terms of all I want to live for today, from a he want blah, blah, blah, Blah Blah. Whatever that wish was is sure. I think my mom is going to be more social if she’s in this kind of environment. Please don’t get caught in that, please, please try hard to be physically responsible and think long term, because if you live just for today, tomorrow will be a mess. Now there’s a balance there. I mean you don’t want to just live for tomorrow either. So that’s finding that balance within your family. And what are the value systems? POW? Are The your values in highest priorities ranks, and how do you come to decisionmaking? And every family difference remember, I’m not a decisionmaker, I’m an information gear. So it’s important to think about three or five years down the road, depending upon what’s going on with someone’s health. Some people are are blessed to be able to just stay in their home and have great health and you know, celebrate that maybe Yay vocation of family members that come in maybe one hour a week, that someone takes somebody grocery shopping or somebody helps somebody with a shower twice a week. So there are both scenarios as Europe, but when you have to look at sarious care, that someone cannot support themselves in their physical emotional care, it’s expensive. So another thing that I want to bring to your light to think about is if anyone has served in the military during wartime, at least one day. Don’t have to be overseas, but just served during more time. One day have an honorable discharge. And currently financial requirements for the program, which is called aid and attendance, is approximately a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars or less to your your estate that you can finance actually qualify for Aignan and the current benefits for that about twenty one hundred a month or the veteran and about one thirteen hundred dollars for this spouse. So this is something to remember about for your spouse as well. Even if the veteran is deceased, you still have that benefit. Yes, and so these these are things that you may not be aware of. This is something that a place in the advisor can help you with, at least when that’s good, that knows all of the options of how how to make the estate last the longest and what benefits are available to you. And I think to just to understand, to be able to understand the big picture early, is really where you want to go, is you want to take this three hundred sixty degree view of this is what my estate is, this is what my assets are today, and you know, if you’re fifty years old, you should be planning this stuff now and and having that ability to understand really where you sit is so valuable for the future, because then you have the opportunity to move forward, and I think that’s really something that we all you know, we keep talking about it this hour, and certainly it’s so important and so gap me in in the financial part. When somebody says I’m financial power of attorney here. There’s certain things I want to kind of bring up because I think it’s important. Number One, if your financial power of attorney, you should have all the past automatically to the bank accounts. Know where the safety deposits are. Nowhere the deeds, the house and fight and the documents are. What are the kind of things when you’re quint financial play power attorney? What things do you need to know? For you should know every little savings account that someone has. You should know about every investment that was ever done. Something that’s overlooked a lot. As people who have lived in the Midwest or an opholer Texas, there’s mineral rights that people don’t know about. Right, but he owns property someplace and I don’t mineral rights. What are those? Yeah, look into that. I mean by be a fluth, but the best time to do this is in conversation with your loved one. I have another family I’m working with. Mom and dad are in their S, very successful in their life. Have raised their children. Their Children are successful, but dad is the only one who knows everything that’s going on with their finances. Mom doesn’t even know where the money is sitting there. Just now, getting power of attorneys in place for a couple of us than their S, and dad is a little hesitant to let information be given out to his science and who is going to be as power of attorney. Somehow we have to get over that. The family invited me in to kind of do that neutral party and to just talk facts. There’s no hidden agenda, there’s no emotion, there’s no judgment, that’s no anything. It’s just the fact. And then dad started opening up and sun was able to say, okay, I’m flying out now, I’m coming back home and we’re going to get this all situated. I love that it happens. I mean, your family is not unique. If you’re ignoring these issues, they’re hard, they mean the end of life. I mean that we have to talk about something we don’t want to talk about. Talk about it anyway. Have to, have to definitely, and I really want to say that, tell all of our listeners. Definitely, it is here to help you and and and you know, I don’t know how many times I have said to my to you, if I would have had you, definitely when I was taking care of my mom, I would. It would have saved me time, it would have saved me from running around chasing my tail. It would have saved me from making bad decisions. I had to move my mom for times throughout her aging years because I didn’t do proper research, because I didn’t know the right questions to ask. I you know, I sit back and I think, had I made it, had I known about you back then, I would have saved so much, not only in my time and my efforts and my investments, but I would have saved her money and I would have saved more within her estate, which would have been so important that I didn’t know. So please, everyone, give Daphne me a call if you’re just thinking about not sure about your loved ones, about where they start. The phone call starts now with Daphne. Get on the same page. So definitely. How do we reachoo? The phony reach me at eight hundred and fifty five, seven three four fifteen hundred. Again, that’s eight hundred and fifty five, seven three four fifteen hundred. And of course, my email are, excuse me, my website at Pinnacle Senior placementscom wonderful and to each and every one of you. Take the time, take the time, pick up the call, phone, call and call her. It is costume nothing and it. I promise you you will be glad you did. And so for everyone else. It’s all time. It’s time to start thinking about the serious things and we’re here to help on dancers for elders radio network. So until then, everyone be good to each other. The preceding podcast was provided by pinnacles senior placements LLC and answers for elders radio. To contact pinnacles senior placements go to Pinnacle Senior Placementscom.