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Thumb of Michigan | Mrs B - 2/20/2025 10:02
It's not like you can paste pages back on the calendar, but age 66 is pretty late to begin looking at long term care coverage. It won't be inexpensive at all, and may not fit your needs. Your son is probably in a better window to set up his own long term coverage, in all honesty. Talk with a good financial planner or an independent agent and see what their suggestions are.
+2, which means I agree and talk to at least 2 DIFFERENT financial planners and/or insurance agents.
I think of what you are describing as being similar to a chess game. You (and your better half) will need to decide what you want to give up with different scenarios (Plan A, B, C, etc.). A couple of things to keep in mind, is YOUR situation/thoughts/ideas are most likely different than anyone else's. Make a list and determine what's most important, to what's second most, etc. You might find that your list and your better half's list are not exactly the same. That's you battle to figure out however.
Somethings on the list might be:
1) your income during your retirement years, remember the smaller SS check disappears at first death, doesn't mean the household expense drop by the same.
2) preserving the family farm (legacy).
3) being equal to other siblings.
Then ask yourself, are you willing to tell the other parties YOUR decisions (which is highly recommended you do as joint meeting, so everyone is on the same page).
Lastly, remember estate planning needs to be updated (possibly changed) as time goes on. There can be births, deaths, marriages & divorces (your SIL or DIL would be getting half of what you discounted or maybe ALL in the event of death).
By now, you most likely have an idea of why an estate/LTC plan is highly individualized and needs to be reviewed/updated on a regular basis.
FWIW, my spouse and I purchased our LTC coverage before age 50. If you have the resources available LTC is still an option at your age. An idea I toss your direction is maybe your son contributes to the cost. Or even all the kids (beneficiaries) kick in a few bucks.
Keep in mind, there's a five year look back period, if you plan on using the taxpayers to support your LTC needs (Medicaid/Welfare). Where you give everything away, so you are 'broke' to get free care.
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Long Term Care
