The easy answer: “the sooner the better!” We usually suggest beginning planning in your 50s-70s, but the younger and healthier you are, the more options you will have available. If you have a family history of Alzheimer’s or Dementia, it’s recommended you begin planning even sooner as options can change upon receiving a diagnosis.
One item that benefits from pre-planning is long-term care insurance—the younger and healthier you are, the more affordable it will be. Many families begin by asking, "How much does long-term care insurance cost in North Carolina?" While the answer varies depending on age, health, coverage type, and insurer, early planning generally leads to more favorable rates and broader coverage options.
Paying for Long-Term Care
Long-term care looks different from person to person. For one patient, it may mean a home health aide coming in for a few hours during the day. For another, it may mean living in a nursing home and receiving around-the-clock care. There are a variety of long-term care options for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease, and careful planning is essential to determine the most appropriate care path.
These options can include:
- Traditional long-term care insurance
- Life insurance with a long-term care rider
- Annuity with a long-term care rider
- Private pay
- Veterans’ benefits
- Medicaid
We Can Help You Develop a Long-Term Care Plan
We’ve helped many clients take an interdisciplinary approach to their long-term care planning by exploring both legal and financial options. A well-rounded long-term care plan will involve a combination of legal, health care, and financial tools to meet your goals and maximize your protection. Working with a long term care planning attorney can help ensure your plan is both comprehensive and customized to your needs.
Having assisted many clients with long-term care planning, our team at Carolina Family Estate Planning understands that developing a long-term care plan is not just about protecting your own independence and dignity but also about protecting those you love from the physical, emotional, and financial toll that caring for a loved one can take. We have seen first-hand what can happen when someone does not establish a long-term care plan, and we want to make sure that does not happen to you or your loved ones. By hiring an estate planning attorney, you can take comfort in knowing you have a plan in place if you ever need it and that your loved ones will not need to worry if that time comes.
For more information, check out our free guide to Alzheimer’s Care, or webinar, and give our office a call at 919-443-3035, and one of our friendly Client Welcome Specialists will be happy to tell you more about The Alzheimer’s Planning Center and our unique Memory Safeguard Planning, to help you determine the best path forward, and to help you take the next steps toward a more secure future and a better life.
