What do you think the biggest cost is when you die? Taxes? Probate? Wrong! In many cases the biggest cost is the funeral. That's right, today the average cost runs between $8000 and $12,000! And in some cases the cost can be even more. The biggest cost of the funeral typically is the casket. A price tag of $2000 or more is not unusual. But there are even more costs. Once you add in the transportation of the body to the funeral home, embalming, transporting the body and the family to the cemetery, use of the funeral home facilities for the viewing and the ceremony, printing the memorial booklet, the vault into which the casket goes, and then the funeral home "basic services" fee, the cost can rise to many thousands of dollars. This list doesn’t even include the cemetery plot, grave marker, flowers, and luncheon. Plus, what will the cost be if you want to be buried far from where you reside, or you die while traveling?
What's a good consumer to do? Life insurance can help, but there's more you can do. Most important, read the contract from the funeral home and make sure you understand everything before you sign. Always ask a lot of questions, and shop around. The prices, services and terms vary widely between funeral homes. If you are interested in a particular funeral package, always make sure you get a written price quote. Don't let yourself be pushed into a comprehensive package that includes services you don't need or want. Additionally, watch out for subtle high pressure sales, especially with respect to the casket. The funeral home may push you to a more expensive casket, describing other less expensive options in derogatory terms.
There are also other funeral options to consider. One is cremation. This is an increasingly popular option, which can cost a fraction of a traditional burial. Today more than a third of all funerals are cremations. Another option you may consider is a "green" funeral, often with the burial in an open field with markers made from local rock. A simple burial in a simple wood box without chemicals or a concrete vault will be a lot less expensive. Most people spend more time shopping for the right television set than they do choosing a funeral.
Maybe you should take action today! Not sure where to start? First, check out the options. Talk to several funeral homes to gather the information you need. Then after you have decided upon your personal options of choice, talk to your family and let them know your wishes. You might even want to consider prepaying for your funeral now, instead of leaving it to your family to make all the arrangements under a tight time frame, while they are grieving. You can save a lot of money, and avoid hassles and frustrations during a time of grief, by doing your funeral shopping now.
Showing posts with label Elder Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elder Law. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Medicaid Coverage For Expensive Nursing Homes At Risk in OHIO--The Rest of the US Better Watch Out!
If you or a loved one must enter a nursing home, be ready for some "sticker shock." The monthly cost for nursing home care can easily wipe out your life savings at a rate of $6000 to $9000 per month. The one governmental program available to cover nursing home costs is Medicaid. It is a federal health care safety-net program, administered by the states, to provide coverage for the middle class for long-term care costs. As a welfare program, it is hard to protect any of your life savings and receive Medicaid benefits.
Bank accounts, stocks, bonds, IRAs and even the cash value of life insurance policies are countable assets. A single person may keep only $1500 of assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. A married couple can keep a home as long as one spouse is living in it, and one-half of the countable assets, up to a maximum of just under $110,000 ( in 2009, this amount is indexed annually). The excess assets have to be "spent down." In the past, it was relatively simple to keep and protect these allowable assets from Medicaid. However, the state of Ohio has Medicaid regulations that make it terribly hard to obtain benefits in the first place and then pass the allowable assets on to children or other heirs.
For example, Medicaid lets a married couple keep a home as long as one spouse is living there. However, if at the time the first spouse enters the nursing home, the couple has their home in a revocable living trust (very common for probate avoidance and perfectly legal), the house is NOT exempt and becomes subject to spend-down. Additionally, assuming Medicaid is available for the nursing home spouse, if the healthy spouse dies first and the house is left back to the ill spouse, it will be lost to nursing home costs. Under previous Medicaid law, in order to protect the house, we disinherited the ill spouse and left the house to the children, without a problem. Now, Medicaid takes the position that the healthy spouse could have and should have left the home to the ill spouse. Therefore, if we use the same planning, when the home passes to children, it is as though the ill spouse GAVE AWAY the home and he or she is disqualified from getting Medicaid benefits for a period of time because a gift was made at death. In fact, Medicaid now even forces the house to remain in the healthy spouse's sole name as long as the ill spouse is receiving Medicaid. Any attempt to change the title during the lifetime of the ill spouse will create a gift at the time of the title change and disqualify the ill spouse from Medicaid immediately!
Another punitive regulation is the procedure when a mistake is made in the application process. Mistakes are common because, typically, the person in the nursing home cannot apply on his own. A family member is handling the application. In the past, mistakes were handled simply and easily. The caseworker allowed the spend-down of any additional funds and Medicaid continued. Now, when a mistake is made, the mistake is presumed intentional, Medicaid fraud has occurred and the person can be turned over to the prosecutor's office for prosecution.
Medicaid planning is very complex. Note that this article includes OHIO rules, and every state is different. In order to protect yourself and your assets, you need to consult an attorney who is well versed in Elder Law issues, including Medicaid eligibility. If you need help in Ohio, or for more information, please see our website at http://www.budishandsolomon.com/.
Bank accounts, stocks, bonds, IRAs and even the cash value of life insurance policies are countable assets. A single person may keep only $1500 of assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. A married couple can keep a home as long as one spouse is living in it, and one-half of the countable assets, up to a maximum of just under $110,000 ( in 2009, this amount is indexed annually). The excess assets have to be "spent down." In the past, it was relatively simple to keep and protect these allowable assets from Medicaid. However, the state of Ohio has Medicaid regulations that make it terribly hard to obtain benefits in the first place and then pass the allowable assets on to children or other heirs.
For example, Medicaid lets a married couple keep a home as long as one spouse is living there. However, if at the time the first spouse enters the nursing home, the couple has their home in a revocable living trust (very common for probate avoidance and perfectly legal), the house is NOT exempt and becomes subject to spend-down. Additionally, assuming Medicaid is available for the nursing home spouse, if the healthy spouse dies first and the house is left back to the ill spouse, it will be lost to nursing home costs. Under previous Medicaid law, in order to protect the house, we disinherited the ill spouse and left the house to the children, without a problem. Now, Medicaid takes the position that the healthy spouse could have and should have left the home to the ill spouse. Therefore, if we use the same planning, when the home passes to children, it is as though the ill spouse GAVE AWAY the home and he or she is disqualified from getting Medicaid benefits for a period of time because a gift was made at death. In fact, Medicaid now even forces the house to remain in the healthy spouse's sole name as long as the ill spouse is receiving Medicaid. Any attempt to change the title during the lifetime of the ill spouse will create a gift at the time of the title change and disqualify the ill spouse from Medicaid immediately!
Another punitive regulation is the procedure when a mistake is made in the application process. Mistakes are common because, typically, the person in the nursing home cannot apply on his own. A family member is handling the application. In the past, mistakes were handled simply and easily. The caseworker allowed the spend-down of any additional funds and Medicaid continued. Now, when a mistake is made, the mistake is presumed intentional, Medicaid fraud has occurred and the person can be turned over to the prosecutor's office for prosecution.
Medicaid planning is very complex. Note that this article includes OHIO rules, and every state is different. In order to protect yourself and your assets, you need to consult an attorney who is well versed in Elder Law issues, including Medicaid eligibility. If you need help in Ohio, or for more information, please see our website at http://www.budishandsolomon.com/.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
What Medicare pays for Alzheimer's
I saw this article and thought it was important information for people to know. Don't get surprised by what Medicare WON'T pay if you have a loved one with Alzheimer's in a medical facility.
http://www.gilbertguide.com/articles/avoiding-surprises-services-covered/
http://www.gilbertguide.com/articles/avoiding-surprises-services-covered/
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