 
WHERE IS HEALTH CARE?Health Insurance -Health care used to be covered by your friendly doctor, your clinic, or your group insurance plan. Now, the government has installed socialized medicine. The costs have always increased, but government plans will raise the costs even more. Worse yet, coverage will be more difficult and will be reduced.In truth, hardly anyone ever had medical care that would cover assisted living, caregivers, rehabilitation, or convalescent care. Medical Costs -There are many costs and expenses in the world of health care, especially emergencies, or residence in a hospital or care facility. Usually the costs far exceed your estimates, and can easily exceed your ability to pay.Qualifying for Health Care -A proper Private Asset Trust Plan can protect you from extreme medical costs and can allow you to qualify for state or Medicare coverage.For the government to pay, there are requirements that you do NOT have valuable personal assets or ability to pay medical costs. To make sure that you do not simply give all the assets away to a close relative, there is a waiting period of approximately 30 months after transferring away assets, before you might qualify. A proper trust plan can meet all requirements if it is set up thirty months in advance. The government doesn't want to pay for people that still have money in the bank or other assets like a house, or a modern car. The only way to still have assets available to you legally is to own them separately in a trust that provides asset protection. A Living Revocable Family Trust is NOT the right type of trust for this protection. There has to be special language and provisions such as are included in the Private Asset Trust to protect bank accounts, vehicles, stock, business, and investments. Assisted Living -Most seniors want to stay in their home for the remainder of their life. If this becomes a problem because of declining health, vision, competency, or safety, then they prefer a caregiver, or assisted living.Many have planned for their children and grandkids to get everything when they leave this world. They feel they selected beneficiaries and that family would respect their wishes to remain in their lifelong home. What they might not realize, is that many of the beneficiaries start considering ways to transfer their parents into care facilities "for their own good" before the parents want to be moved. Of course, the beneficiaries say that it's the best way to take care of the seniors, but it also allows early access to their inheritance. Some might say that the early inheritance is the real cause of their moving. A Private Asset Trust can protect against those events as well. Medical Decisions...For medical and health care, be absolutely sure to complete the following:
All members of the family need each of the above completed, listed, and available. Keep the records close and keep copies in a second location in case of damage or loss. Health Emergency InformationThe doctors and nurses cannot legally release information or allow you to make decisions about health care without the Durable Health Care Power of Attorneys and Health Care Directives.It is VERY IMPORTANT to sign the forms on ALL MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. Typically, a wife has powers regarding her husband and kids, while the husband has powers regarding his wife (and also the kids). It's also reasonable to have best friends, parents, and adult siblings put these safeguards in place. Healthy people and young adults tend to ignore these possibilities. Accidents and emergencies are almost always unexpected. Traveling locally (as well as farther) can make it even more difficult. It's important to do these BEFORE any emergency.  |