When looking for long term care for a loved one, everyone wants the best care and living environment possible. However, monetary limitations can make finding the right care more difficult. Since assisted living provides great daily care year round, it can be quite expensive. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make the cost more affordable. Here are five tips to help you and your loved one navigate this process:
- Sell Big Ticket Items
If you need extra cash, selling big ticket items can help you afford the long term care your loved one needs. If they are planning on moving out of their home, go through their items with them to make sure they have everything they want to keep before getting rid of anything. Hang on to keepsakes like trophies, photo books and furniture if it is important to them, or someone else in your family. After you’re sure everything important has been taken into consideration, begin listing bigger items on platforms like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. The combined value of higher priced items like furniture or unwanted vehicles could help pay for your loved one’s care. Not everyone has multiple properties, but if they have a summer home or vacation home, that could be considered for selling as well. - Sell or Rent Their Current Home
If your loved one is going to be living in an assisted living facility for the rest of their life, there are a few different options to consider with their current home. If a large amount of money is needed, you could consider selling the home to help with payments. However, if you don’t want to sell the house, putting it up for rent is a great way to generate consistent income that could be used for your loved one’s care. There is the responsibility and time commitment of maintaining the house, but the extra money would help significantly, especially if the mortgage is already paid off. If there is still a mortgage left and you know that payments will still have to be made for a few years, consider looking into when to refinance a mortgage, as this could help you save money over time. Making payments with the refinanced interest rate will prevent you from having to pay more interest over time. - Customize Your Loved One’s Living Arrangement
Usually assisted living facilities are all-inclusive, but you may be able to have some things excluded from the package depending on what your loved one needs. When looking at the options, take note of everything that you think they’ll need. However, if you can afford the whole package, you know your loved one will be getting the best care possible. Not all facilities allow for this, but look into whether or not your loved one can get a roommate. If they can, this will help split the costs, and having a companion on the first day will help them transition to living there much easier. - Save Money on Income Tax
If you are contributing to your loved one’s expenses, you may be able to save money on income tax by claiming them as a dependent. There are rules as to who can claim or be claimed as a dependent, as well as what money can be claimed. However, if you qualify, you will be able to claim medical expenses associated with their care and dependent care credit. - Long Term Care Insurance
If your loved one is young enough, they may be able to afford long term care insurance. This helps to cover long term care services, including assisted living facilities. This type of insurance may not be available for everyone, especially if they are already ill or over the age limit. If you’re just looking into assisted living facilities for when your loved one eventually needs it, they might be young and healthy enough to qualify for a plan.
If older age and worsening health is a factor, another option would be to have them sell their life insurance policy or surrender it for the cash value. However, you should be very cautious if this is what you choose to do. If you sell the policy or surrender it, beneficiaries will receive no payout upon death. This may make things harder for paying off debts or funeral costs. If you’re sure that everything is covered, this can be an option to help pay for assisted living. Consult a financial expert before making this type of decision.
Caring Places is here to help you through the process of finding the right care for your loved one. Contact us today for more information we are here to help!
*All Content on this site is information of a general nature and does not address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
