Financial Planning, with Jill Martinez

*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.

The following podcast is provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio. And Welcome back everyone, to answers for elvish radio. And again we are here with Jill or Kinas, and Jill is the director of community relations for care partners living and for those of you that we have been with us for this hour, the the website address. Please check out care partners www dot care partners livingcom. And we again are here with Jill and we’ve been talking about springtime and and how to get out and how to move around and all different things. And then our last thing that we talked a little bit about, you know, what is a lifestyle like in their communities? And we talked about memory care, we talked about assisted living, we talked about all different types of things, and so now you touched on it a little bit. But Jill, I want to kind of pull the open hood here. People say a lot of times that assisted living is just too expensive. Right, but there’s different ways of having things being paid for and certainly I would love the your it’s kind of your job to make sure that they find a way to make it work right. So you work with all different types of methods and ways in which you are sister living can be paid for, and so I’m just curious, you know, what are the first, I guess, questions that you have to family on on their financial of how things happen? Well, first I kind of you know, we do have to do a little bit of exploration with their financial situation. You know what, what are they bringing in with their their monthly social security, any pensions they might have and what? What? You know, we do have to kind of open up where you out with your savings. You know what, what would you do? Your parents have saved way, and then kind of take it from there. So our buildings, each building is a little different in the spin down that we’re going to require to medicate the largest floating Medicaid license in the whole state of Washington. So what is has spun them? What a spin down means is for care partners, depending on the building, we are going to require a certain amount of months of private pay funds before we would say okay, the person can now convert to Medicaid. Though, for instance, and it’s just the part people kind of get confused about, but for instance, at Vineyard Park Mount Lake terrorists, we prefer three to four years of private pay funds. But if a family tells me know, you know, actually we only have about six months of private pay funds and that’s all my parents have, then I’m going to recommend every clause assisted living, because we do not have a spin down requirement to medicaid at that building. But it’s also legally spend down to mean other dates, right, so to mean you can prepay your burial expenses, you can act. You know, there’s all different types of things. If you if your parent has I’m just going to throw a number out. Let’s just say they throw their they sell their house and they have asked of a three hundred thousand dollars for two people. Right, hey, a lot of money, but it really isn’t when you start paying at cross the care. Okay, if if your loved one wants to be buried, there’s I would recommend right away that they prepay that. That’s really important because costs of generals can be astronomical and they keep going up. Every three years I think the price doubles, which is name. There’s also things that may be happening to spend on. Like I would definitely recommend that they get a good attorney and wrapped up a good you know, either will or trust or anything like that, or you know less less will, the testament, anything like that, on any sort of a state planning. All those things are loud, okay. And then, but then here’s the thing that happens, and it’s been down in a five year look back. Okay, Medicaid. In order for your loved one to qualify for a medicade, they’re going to do a five year look back on your loved ones finances. So I just had this conversation actually with another attorney yesterday. That means if your senior loved one, let’s just say, they get the view a thousand dollars, if it’s within five years, you will have to pay that back in order or they will actually discount your ability or, you know, withhold a thousand dollars from your medicade until that’s rectified. So those types of things, you know in a spend down. Just so you understand, anything that you pay towards care partners can go towards that. And the obvious reasons when we say spend down is they want you to spend your money so that you can get qualified. Does that it. Did I explain that right, Joe? Yes, yes, and I do always people who are real concerned about will. Are we going to have enough money to be to spend down? Are we not? I just, as you said, highly encourage them to consult and elder law attorney. Yes, because they can really help. You know, I don’t have that crystal ball to know. You know, if they’re love here goes up. You know, the attorney can help or cast, you know, that picture down the road. So I do really encourage people to do that. Who Do have, you know, concerns about that, but yes, I would say you. You describe that very well. Well. Here’s the other another scenario. I had this attorney say, well, the sun is buying a house from the mother for five hundred dollars a month. I go, it doesn’t work that way. That’s a good gift. Do you have to have a bill of sale for the House and you have to actually get financing for the House and pay the mother. So there is now there’s no you know, there’s no way you can script the system. The point in the matter of being is is it in order to qualify for Medicaid, there is a process and they have full access to all of your finances, and those are some things. I think that’s really important. So that’s that’s an important thing to know. Now we also have what’s called aid in attendance benefits, and that is for anyone that is served one day in wartime during the military and if you did, you qualify for what’s called aid in attendance benefits. That’s military men of benefits, and that pays for long Term Care Insurance, providing that you meet the financial requirements and also the it’s two of seven activities of daily living. I think it’s two of seven. You need it’s two of seven, yes, yes, and activities of day daily living are like bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, in continence care, that type of thing. Medication is medications in there? I think it is. Is there’s been some descriptioncy on that, but I didn’t and then I’m trying to remember with the other one. All meal preparation. Isn’t it mean meals? I think that does fall under as being okay with aid in attendance. Different Long Term Care Insurance policies have their differences on what’s considered an Adel, but I think feel prep is so you can look it up for our listeners. You can look it up on Google of what those are. But if your loved one needs help in any of the two of the seven and if they served one day during more time, they will qualify, providing that they have to have under certain dullar amount of assets. Correct, correct, correct. So I find people that some people think, Oh, you know, I have to go on medicate, you know, that’s I don’t want to have to do that. It’s not. It’s not this horrible thing. I mean, people are afraid of that and I can guarantee you that at our vineyards you go in the buildings, they’re beautiful buildings. Some people just like knowing that there is that that cushion, that saying at in the event that they ever need Medicaid because, like you said, to them, costs of care gets very expensive. Memory care is expensive. So it’s just night too nice to have that as as a backup plan should you ever need Medicaid. And going back if you feel like your loved one may need to qualify eventually for Medicaid, I strongly encourage you to be careful about home ingling funds with your loved one. I made that mistake and what you want to do is make sure that you have some sort of as system worked out, that whoever’s handling the finances, that everything is kept separate and that if there’s ever a transfer of money from your senior loved one to you, that you keep that receipt of what it was for, especially anything. That’s what I would say. What over two hundred fifty dollars, they’ll it’ll be a red flag. Yeah, so I have a family member who moved their mother and Everett Plaza, needing a shorter spin down will. Their mother went in on a motor home with them and of course, so she’s not going to qualify for medicated soon because of this gifting of this this motor home situations. Just have to be really careful about your mother, father, grandmother, grandmother giving, you know, donations to the grandkids, like you said, because they really do look at all that same thing as the house. If you’re if you’re sit on not wanting to sell the house, put your mom and dad’s house and trying to get on Medicaid, medicable been lash onto that house rest. So so lots of those little things to consider and, like you said, keeping the receipts. But if you’re having to pay for your your mother and father’s food for x amount of months. You know, the state will allow a self paid back to, as you know, certain actions to watching. They will even allow your mother to pay you so much a month to be a caregiver. Yeah, in and allow it as a spend down or you know, there’s certain things you can do in that way. So there’s a lot of ways to do it. That’s why it’s really important to check in with an older law turney, and also by calling Jill. She works with families like this all the time. If you have any questions about you know we’re looking to make a change, but we’re not really sure how to even begin to go about it and what happens, you know, if you can’t get the household or all those things. Jill’s a great resource for you. So, Jill, how do we reach you? One More Time? So my email is jill at care partners livingcom. So care partners with an s and my cell phone is to zero six eight five, zero four, five one one, and I’m always happy to answer questions. Well, and most certainly go to the website care partners livingcom and check out all the properties, all the information and of course. We are so honored every month to have you guys as being a part of our lineup and our program we love you. And for those of you that love answers for olders are taking care of a loved one, don’t forget. You’ve probably heard the commercials. We are now on all the major podcast platforms, including this interview today will be uploaded shortly, so you can absolutely get any sort of information. If you go on to like apple or Google or spotify or any of those major portals, you can find information on Alzheimer’s, dementia. It’s just a living anything like that that we talked about. It’ll be there. So have a wonderful week and weekend and we’re so glad that you’re with us. So and Jill, thank you again for being on the show and Oh, to everyone out there until next week, be good to each other. The preceding podcast was provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio. To contact care partners living, go to care partners livingcom