Elder law attorneys help you to put plans in place to achieve a legacy that you can be proud of. Unfortunately, even if you do everything right, build your wealth and make smart plans for your future, you could still be at risk of having those plans derailed if you suffer a serious illness.
There are, however, ways to protect your legacy even if you fall ill and end up needing intensive care or costly medical services. Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can help you to understand both how a serious illness could jeopardize your chance at leaving your desired legacy and can help to take steps to ensure that your legacy is secure even if you do get sick.
While no one likes to think about what would happen if they fall ill, failing to consider this could cause you to lose everything you have worked for your whole life. Do not let this happen to you. Give us a call today to find out how we can help to ensure an illness does not jeopardize your chances to provide for your loved ones after you are gone.
How a Serious Illness Could Hurt Your Legacy
If you develop a serious illness, you may become unable to continue living by yourself and you may need nursing home care or long-term care at home provided by a home health aide. The costs of either a nursing home or a home healthcare provider can total thousands of dollars every single month. Unfortunately, these costs probably won’t be covered by any kind of health insurance provider, including by Medicare or by any Medicare Advantage or Medigap plans. Medicare and other insurers generally limit coverage to skilled nursing care only, and most people who get sick do not need skilled nursing care but instead need custodial care or help with basic activities of daily living that no medical training is needed to provide.
If you require nursing home care or long-term care and you aren’t covered by insurance, you could spend your life savings in a matter of months. The money and property intended to serve as your legacy and be handed down through the generations would be gone. You don’t want this to occur, so you should make a Medicaid plan to try to get Medicaid to cover the costs of your care without you having to become impoverished first by paying out of pocket for care.
A serious illness could also hurt your legacy if you become incapacitated and cannot manage the wealth you own. If you cannot manage your investments, property, or other assets, the value of your assets could substantially decline due to no one being in charge of making decisions or due to the wrong person being put in charge of the decision-making process once the court eventually appoints a guardian after your incapacity is proved during guardianship proceedings.
You don’t want your hard-earned wealth to just be lost due to neglect or mismanagement, so you should try to work with an experienced attorney to make an incapacity plan that includes the use of tools like a power of attorney or living trust. These tools can allow you to give authority to a trusted person who you can count on to manage your wealth as soon as something ends up happening to you.
Getting Help from Elder Law Attorneys
Elder law attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can work closely with you to ensure that you have made plans for what will happen if you become seriously ill. By getting your plans in place, you will no longer need to worry that a serious illness will derail your plans to leave your desired legacy for your loved ones. You can have the peace of mind of knowing that your family will be provided for and that your hard-earned wealth won’t be lost just because you have the bad luck of getting sick.
To find out more about how our firm can help you, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online to speak with a member of our legal team about the creation of your personalized plan.
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