You’re beginning to plan your future now that you’re getting older. You want to do what’s best not only for yourself, but for your family as well. You don’t want to burden them with your care or expenses. Instead, you want to find a solution that feels right for you and everyone involved in your care.
When planning your long term care in Washington, the following are some things you’ll need to keep in mind.
Figure Out Who Will Take Care of You
Make sure you talk with your loved ones about who is going to take care of you. Perhaps your spouse could, but what happens if they pass away before you or are otherwise unable to shoulder that responsibility? Maybe you have children or grandchildren who are willing to help. You could also hire caregivers to come to your home or decide you want to go into an assisted living situation or a nursing home. It all depends on what you want your future to look like. Do your research now on Washington nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and care agencies you may want to pursue one day.
Determine How You’ll Pay for Care
When you turn 65, you become eligible for Medicare nationwide – not just in Washington. Medicare will cover the costs for a skilled nursing facility, inpatient hospital care, home health care, lab tests, and surgery. But other costs are going to fall on you. This is why it’s critical to save up for your care as well as think about purchasing long term care insurance. If you’re in a nursing home full-time, for instance, that’s going to be very expensive. But long term care insurance can help offset some of the expenses, which is extremely helpful.
When figuring out how you’ll cover the cost of your care, you may also want to start budgeting and cutting back on any unnecessary expenses. You could budget with the help of a financial planner. You may also want to sell some assets like a second home or car if you aren’t using them anymore.
Look Into Free Services Available to You
The state of Washington provides free services to seniors. For instance, you can look at the website for the Aging & Disability Resource Centers and look into services that are available to you and your loved ones as you get older. There are free programs for caregivers, free telephone companionship, and a free referral program for long-term care for seniors. Tapping into these resources could save you time as well as money.
Create the Right Legal Documents
An important aspect of long term care planning is creating legal documents that will allow you to fulfill your wishes. For example, you can create an advance directive, which will tell your loved ones how you’d like to be treated in the hospital in case you become incapacitated. The advance directive will outline if you want life-saving treatments like a feeding tube, for instance. If you don’t have this in place, then your family won’t know what you want and may not be able to make decisions for you.
Reach Out to Legacy Law Group
If you need help with long term care planning in Washington and have questions about it, you can contact the estate planning attorneys at Legacy Law Group in Eastern Washington, Spokane Valley, and Spokane itself. Get in touch with us at (509) 315-8087. We look forward to assisting you.
