Seniors in Kansas City: Long Term Care the Unbearable Burden on Your Family.

Do you have a clearly defined plan to handle any potential Long Term Care needs you may have?  Have you been taking advice regarding long term care from your friends, neighbors, family, or financially based TV or radio shows?  Well doing nothing about it is very irresponsible of you, maybe even childish, and listening to the advice of people that are not experts in something so important is likely unwise.

When you don't have a clearly defined plan for long term care, it will likely fall back onto your family, the government, or a combination of the two.  If it falls onto your family there are some very disturbing things to know about the impact it will likely have on your family.

• A 2000 study by the American Council of Life Insurers says that the family caregiver that is forced to give up work to care for a family member loses $109 per day in lost wages and benefits.
• Family caregivers experience the highest levels of clinical depression.
• Caregivers under stress die an average of 4 years younger than non-caregivers.
• It gives your children a good reason to gain control over your finances.
• Roles reverse and you become the dependent child of your own children.
• Expensive outside care giving professionals are likely needed to help out.
• It can cause more friction at home within their families, especially over financial issues.
• It could put your kids in the "sandwich generation" caring for you and having their kids in college at the same time.
• If you end up in a nursing home under the care of the government there is no guarantee that there will be a Medicaid bed nearby, your kids will have to drive a long way to see you, which will likely reduce the times they see you and increase the stress on their lives and yours as well.
• Medicaid beds lose nursing homes between $16 and $40 per day so what type of care do you think you will receive in those situations?

Realizing that there's nearly a 50% chance a 65 year old will eventually require 24 hour skilled nursing care in a facility, today's semi-private room costs are more than $66,000 and growing  at 6% per year it would be $149,219 in 15 years, are you willing to plan ahead now or risk disaster later?  Mature planners realize that if care is needed, the emotional grief will be hard enough. There's no need to put your loved ones in a financial bind too.

It's sad that many fall into these situations, especially when so many could use their biggest asset to ease the burden off their loved ones while also getting them better treatment with more options, including staying in your own home.  Too many seniors listen to well meaning yet ill-informed people that tell them you can't do that or it's too expensive or that's a rip off so they just turn a blind eye to a potential way to handle all those concerns and still deliver a sizeable inheritance to their children.

If you would like more information about how to protect your family and get the care you may need and how Reverse Mortgages can help contact Kurt Jackson he is a Certified Mortgage Planner with more than 17 years of industry experience and would be happy to answer your questions about Reverse Mortgages. He even conducts a Free Seminar "Insider Secrets Revealed! The Truth about Reverse Mortgages: Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for You?" They are held every Thursday at 1:30PM at 12 Westwoods Drive in Liberty.  Seating is Limited. Call for reservations at 816-415-1737 or email kurt@stayinyourhomekc.com.