Plan Ahead to Avoid Negative Inheritance

     The Wall Street Journal published an article recently about parents who don't plan ahead for Long Term Care and thereby leave their children with what economists call "negative inheritance."  Basically, the term means that when the parents' savings run out due to the need for long term care, their children inherit the long term care bills.

     The article goes on to say that in order to avoid negative inheritance, children need to take time to plan with their parents and make a decision about Long Term Care Insurance. 

     Most people consider inheritance an asset, but as parents continue to live longer,  they are depleting their bank accounts.  Research has been forecasting the problem of aging Baby-Boomers, who will eventually need their children to play the parent role in the event of injury or illness.  Now this role reversal is becoming reality.

     More and more financial advisers are beginning to take notice of this growing problem, especially due to the sheer high cost of Long Term Care and the damage it can do to a financial plan.  The national average cost of $80,850 for one year in a nursing home, for example, can quickly ruin one financially.

     The key to avoiding all of these problems is to sit down as a family and have a realistic heart-to-heart talk with Mom and Dad.  Help them face the truth about their mortality and the high risk of needing Long Term Care.  Opening communication before things turn bad can save a family's future as well as protect its legacy. If families don't plan for Long Term Care, the responsibility for the parents' care typically falls into the lap of the oldest child (or daughter, in most cases), and this can lead to resentment and tension among siblings.

     The solution is to purchase long term care insurance before injury or illness occurs.  Otherwise, it becomes difficult or impossible to qualify for a plan.  Even when children have to pay for their parents' Long Term Care premiums, they are saving themselves from further financial hardship down the road. 

     "According to Ken Langa, a physician and associate professor at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, caring for an elderly relative can itself require as much time as a part or even full-time job. The average older person requires about five hours of help per week, he says, adding that the care-giving workload can balloon to an average of 40 hours when the patient suffers from severe dementia, and especially Alzheimer's disease."  Wall Street Journal 1/22/08 

     No one likes to talk to their parents about the problems of becoming elderly, but having this uncomfortable conversation before the need for Long Term Care occurs may prevent having to give Mom or Dad a sponge bath later on.  Don't wait.  Plan today by filling out the request link below.  A licensed insurance agent will send Long Term Care Insurance quotes from the top 5 companies.