Recently
I wrote about how death taxes impact Pennsylvania residents and their heirs.
The conclusion was that for most of us, federal death taxes are not an issue.
And Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax can take a modest bite from our accumulated
wealth. [See my recent article Death
Taxes For Pennsylvania Residents]
For
many Pennsylvania seniors a much bigger risk to their goals of lifetime
financial and personal security and passing along an inheritance is the
possibility that their life savings will be used up paying for their care
before death. Most seniors require care during an extended period of time prior
to their deaths. The cost of that care, whether it is received at home, in
assisted living, or in a nursing home, can quickly deplete a modest estate. The
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services recently announced that the average
cost of a private room in a Pennsylvania nursing home is $330 a day.
That’s over $120,000 a year!
Before
my father passed away some years ago he spent 2 ½ years in a nursing home. At
the current rates his 2 ½ year stay in a nursing home would have cost over a
quarter of a million dollars. That is enough to wipe out the savings of most
Pennsylvania seniors.
So,
for most seniors, it’s the potential cost of long term care rather than death
taxes that should be the focus of their estate planning. Expert long-term care planning
with the help of an elder law expert can help ensure that seniors will be able
to:
* remain financially independent,
* maintain control,
* maintaining privacy,
* involve family members without burdening them,
* maximize available government programs, and
* leave an inheritance.
It
is possible to put together a plan that will reduce the risk of long-term care
costs.
Pennsylvania
seniors and their families can get expert planning guidance at any one of the
four offices (Williamsport, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Jersey Shore) of my law
firm, Marshall, Parker and Weber. Visit our
website www.paelderlaw.com or call us
toll free at 800-401-4552 for more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment