Planning Your Healthcare Future

Right now, you're feeling pretty healthy. You woke up, went to work. You might watch some baseball this afternoon. Maybe you're one of the few Americans who exercise regularly and eat healthy. You're seldom ever sick, and you look and feel great.

Or, maybe, like the rest of us, you have trouble finding the time and or motivation to get any exercise in. Eating right takes time and effort, too, and fast food is an easy and convenient option, especially with three kids in the back seat. You're a few pounds heavier than you'd like to be, and your blood pressure is in the red. You're a tutor, chauffeur, erstwhile cook, and occasionally parent to three miniature hurricanes and don't have time to finish washing the dishes or cleaning the house.

Now would be a perfect time to get your healthcare directive put in place.

I know, I know. You feel great, and you don't have the time. Why shouldn't you be able to put it off for awhile? Besides, it's not going to do you any good today, right?

Wrong. You're currently in a time in your life when you are fully aware and able to make decisions on your own. You do it when you choose your jogging route, and you do it when you run that red light because your 14 year old is late for school. But what happens when you get hit by some jerk in a Toyota Sienna who couldn't wait for the light to turn green? Or maybe, you swerve to avoid that crazy runner who just jumped out into the road and wrap your minivan around a pole. Now you're in a persistent vegetative state and need a ventilator and feeding to keep you alive. Maybe you need some kind of experimental surgery in order to survive, but the odds of success are slim.

The medical decisions in both of these situations are difficult for anyone to contemplate. Putting a healthcare power of attorney in place is a good start, but can you imagine making life-or-death decisions for someone else? Creating a healthcare directive (living will works too) allows you to make the really hard decisions ahead of time, taking the added stress and pressure off your loved ones.

Call an advisor today to learn more about using healthcare directives in your estate plan. Your family is counting on you.

*** No second-person pronouns were harmed in the writing of this blog. ***

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Lawyer Joke of the Day

Q: How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Whereas the party of the first part, also known as "Lawyer", and the party of the second part, also known as "Light Bulb", do hereby and forthwith agree to a transaction wherein the party of the second part (Light Bulb) shall be removed from the current position as a result of failure to perform previously agreed upon duties, i.e., the lighting, elucidation, and otherwise illumination of the area ranging from ...."

It Costs a Lot to Die These Days

"They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad to realize I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.”

- Garrison Keillor

One of the most logical and effective ways to plan for Medicaid eligibility is to prepay your funeral expenses. As uncomfortable as contemplating your own mortality is, creating a funeral plan with an itemized list of expenditures can allow you to protect a significant amount of money when you need nursing home care. The reason this is such a logical planning option is that creating a funeral plan allows you to set aside money that will be spent regardless of whether you plan ahead or not. Planning to pay for your funeral is like planning to pay the gas bill. It has to happen eventually.

Furthermore, creating a funeral plan is an extremely effective Medicaid planning tool because funeral expenses are so high. In the town where my physical office is located, the average funeral costs $9,000 - $12,000, depending on which costs you include. Funeral home expenses alone fall in the $9,000-$10,000 range. If you add in the cemetery plot and monument, a single person can easily spend $12,000 before all is said and done.

These expenses are intimidating for a lot of people. And rightly so; funerals are expensive! But the high cost of a funeral allows an individual to place a substantial amount of funds into a prepaid plan which will cover those costs. Because such a prepaid plan is Medicaid-exempt, it’s a good idea to consider prepaying funeral expenses when a Medicaid application is imminent.

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Lawyer Joke of the Day: (Apologies if this one is offensive. It made me laugh out loud.)

Satan was complaining bitterly to God, "You made the world so that it was not fair, and you made it so that most people would have to struggle every day, fight against their innate wishes and desires, and deal with all sorts of losses, grief, disasters, and catastrophes. Yet people worship and adore you. People fight, get arrested, and cheat each other, and I get blamed, even when it is not my fault. Sure, I'm evil, but give me a break. Can't you do something to make them stop blaming me?"

And so, God created lawyers.