You’re getting older, and you’re starting to think about how your life will change. One important thing you’ll have to do is long-term care planning.
Learn about all the reasons why this is so critical, as well as how to get started on it. Here’s some more information.
You Can Take Hold of Your Future
Long-term care planning allows you to decide how you want your future to look. If you don’t plan, then others may come in and make key decisions for you. For example, let’s say that you would rather go into assisted living than stay at home, but you never communicate that to your loved ones. If you have issues with your memory, they might keep you at home – but that isn’t what you wanted. If you do long-term care planning, you can take steps to get what you want and tell your loved ones what you want as well.
You Can Protect Your Relationships
When you do long-term care planning in Washington, you will talk about your plans with your family members. Having open communication with them about your wants and needs is critical, and it’s going to ensure you have a positive relationship with your loved ones. There is less of a chance that there will be conflict surrounding your care as well.
You Can Prepare Your Finances
Once you know what option you’re going to pursue, you can then prepare your finances accordingly. This could mean paying for long-term care insurance, selling your assets, making investments, and otherwise setting aside money for your care. Then, when the time comes for you to make a decision, you know the money will be there. You won’t have to stress or scramble to come up with ways to pay.
You Can Prepare Your Home
Let’s say you want to age in place. However, your home may not be up to par. You can start to prepare it so that you’ll be able to stay in it for as long as possible. For instance, perhaps you could set up a bedroom downstairs so that you don’t have to walk up the stairs so much. Or, you could make sure that all your rugs are securely fastened to the floor so that you don’t trip on them. You could also get Life Alert and a security system installed, so you feel safe. Perhaps instead of gardening and maintaining your home, you find workers to do it for you. Getting started on this early is going to help you avoid accidents down the line.
You Can Make Legal Decisions
It’s crucial to think about those tough decisions your loved ones will have to make for your end-of-life care. If you don’t have anything written down, they will need to decide what to do. However, if you have a document like an advance directive in place, they will know how to proceed in case you become incapacitated and can’t decide for yourself.
Make sure that you consult with an estate planning attorney when it comes to long-term care planning. They will be able to steer you in the right direction and help you fill out the legal documents you’ll need moving ahead.
Get In Touch With an Estate Planning Attorney
For help with long-term care planning in Washington, you should reach out to the estate planning attorneys at Legacy Law Group in Eastern Washington, Spokane Valley, and Spokane itself. Contact us at (509) 315-8087 today to get started.
