It is always ideal when Massachusetts residents can plan for a nursing home stay years in advance of their needing long-term care.
Early long-term planning frees people to explore all available legal options and improves their chances of accomplishing their healthcare, financial and estate planning goals.
However, for any number of good reasons, a Massachusetts family may face a situation where they will need long-term care soon but do not have the finances in place to afford such an expense.
People in this situation do have options available to them.
Although not every option works in every situation, they can use these suggestions as a starting point when they need to qualify for a government program like MassHealth or Medicaid to fund long-term care:
- You can invest in improving or upgrading your home.
- You could pay down debt.
- Some transfers to a spouse or children may be effective and not trigger a penalty.
- You could invest in certain financial products like an annuity or a prepaid funeral.
Any one of these may allow a person better to meet income and asset requirements to qualify for government aid.
Even without time, Massachusetts residents should think carefully when planning
The important thing people facing sudden long-term care expenses should remember is that they must not rush into potentially risky decisions. For example, they should not rush to sell their home or simply apply for assistance quickly because an assisted facility suggested they do so.
Long-term care planning is a complicated legal process. Making mistakes in the process can be costly and, potentially, mean a person is not eligible for critical government aid.
Those with emergent long-term care needs should slow down and get the proper assistance with evaluating their legal and financial options.