Life changes dramatically when your spouse becomes ill. When your partner becomes sick with a physical or cognitive condition that affects their ability to care for themselves, it is life altering. Caring for an ill spouse is no easy task. Many couples cannot afford expensive long-term care costs while maintaining the well-spouse’s same standard of living. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are numerous options to preserve and protect assets for the well-spouse while getting skilled care either in the home or in a facility for the ill spouse. Planning in the early stages of diseases such as dementia or Alzheimer’s allows for the best options later, but even if your spouse is already sick, there are still plenty of options to explore. Our life care planning team addresses all of your concerns from legal and financial to health and care planning. We have dedicated Care Coordinators that meet with you and your spouse to help improve both of your quality of lives. A life care plan will be a much needed relief for you and your family!

 
 

When life takes a turn and you are now caring for your sick spouse, there are important considerations:

  • Do you have legal access to their finances? If not, what can or should you do?

  • Do you have the funds to cover increased care costs?

  • Are you spending considerable time (or money) caring for them?

  • Do you know which accounts you should spend from first (and last)?

  • Have you been told you have too much income or need to spend most of your assets before you can get government benefits like Medicaid or Aid and Attendance for them?

  • Are they doing anything that is not safe? How can you handle it?

  • Do you need to find caregivers or placement for them? Not sure what all your options are?

  • Are you trying to limit the total out of pocket expenses so you will have money for your own aging needs?

Let us help you with a plan to address these concerns and more.

Other options fall short, and here’s why:

  • Traditionally, most advice in this area revolves around being “reactive” to the situation. Being reactive costs time, money, and gives up options. Options should be implemented at the first opportunity for the most benefit.

  • Spouses are traditionally the first caregiver if their loved one becomes ill. There are important considerations to make sure YOU are taken care of. There also needs to be a plan in place if you are unable to continue providing care.

  • Anyone just getting legal documents is losing out if they don’t have a comprehensive plan with back-up options for how to deal with evolving care needs and costs.

  • Most people are not skilled at navigating the various systems that must be dealt with: Medicaid, Medicare, Veterans Benefits, Social Security, Retirement Plans, Taxes, Long Term Care Insurance, Facility Admissions, Facility Discharges, Caregiver Support, Dementia Diagnosis, and more.

  • Most plans don’t include detailed instructions on how and when to use assets. Tax consequences of sales and transfers of appreciated assets can have a big impact on your taxes.

All of our clients receive:

  • A thorough understanding of their immediate options and future planning

  • Alternative options and back-up plans for any strategy we develop

  • Support for all of our life care planning clients for any moves between home and a facility or transfers to a new facility

  • Advice on how to move assets to best accomplish the goals of your plan with consideration given to the tax implications of each plan

  • A financial plan that allocates resources for the well spouse

  • A skilled team ready and able to answer questions about what may be best in a given situation

  • Life care planning clients have a personal liaison to our team to streamline communication and answer questions

  • A detailed instruction sheet for financial plans that you can use to ensure everything is done right

  • Updated options and plans that pivot with you while we support your journey

Common Questions

  • I don’t know how I can afford outside help for my spouse. How can I pay for care?

    If you are caring for your spouse at home, it is important to put a financial plan in place. Care costs will generally increase and at the skilled level can reach over $10,000 a month! A customized plan can be utilized to bring in caregivers and save you money. And if your spouse needs nursing home care, income and assets can be transferred from them to you in many situations, while Medicaid pays for their costly nursing home care, allowing you more financial security.

  • I’ve heard that I might need to divorce my spouse to avoid losing all of my assets. Is this true?

    Divorcing a spouse for Medicaid purposes is a last resort in our book. We have consistently found much better options for our clients that end up better for both partners.

  • What do these services cost?

    Our clients routinely hire us in order to preserve and protect significant assets. If your loved one needs nursing home level care at $10,000 a month and you wait 3 months to meet with us, you may have already spent $30,000 that could have been part of an asset protection plan. The cost of private paying full price for skilled care will almost always significantly outweigh our fee for services. For many clients, it ends up being a fraction of the income and assets they are able to save.

  • Are there cheaper options?

    Of course there are cheaper options. Our philosophy is that you get what you pay for and plan for. We all know this to be true. Our skilled team navigates complex government programs, advises our clients in a tax efficient way, provides strategy for various issues, and provides comprehensive services that align legal, financial, tax, and health care needs.

  • This is overwhelming. Where do I start?

    If you want help, all you have to do is contact our office by clicking HERE or calling us at 803-563-5163. We will do a pre-consultation call with you to find out more about your situation. If you are a good candidate for our services, we will forward you a questionnaire to complete and schedule a consultation so we can dive into what we can do to help you navigate through the complexities you are facing. Our consultation fee is normally $550 and can be applied to the cost of our services if you decide to hire us.

Lisa Hostetler Brown, CELA* Certified Elder Law Attorney, Certified by the National Elder Law Foundation

Lane Cook, CFP* Certified Financial Planner, conferred by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards

Pursuant to SC Ethics Advisory Opinion 17-02: Click on the hyperlinks on the bios on the Our Team page to see information about each designation or accolade, dates of designations, publication or entity, and standards for inclusion.  No payment was required for designation or inclusion in listings.

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