Posts Tagged ‘bath’
Home Renovations that can Save the Estate
12/20/2012
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Jack and Jill went up the hill Up Jack got, and home did trot, |
By Wayne Caswell
Scenario ONE
Jack and Jill were in their late 60s and had been married for 37 years when Jack suffered a severe stroke and required care beyond the abilities of his partner. After leaving the hospital, he went into a nursing home, and the family home was sold to pay for his care, which was expensive and projected exceed $84,000 per year.
Jill couldn’t maintain the big house herself and couldn’t afford it either, so she moved into a small apartment alone, without her lifelong mate. Being separated affected the couple’s morale, but worse was that it affected their health and their finances. Without long-term-care insurance, their life savings were depleted quickly before Medicaid finally kicked in. And now the grown children had two places to visit to support their declining parents. It didn’t have to be that way.
Scenario TWO
Just as in the nursery rhyme, Jack goes home and recovers more quickly there – in familiar and loving surroundings where Jane hires professionals to help care for him. That decision lets the couple stay together, and the kids have just one place to visit.
Universal Design was not offered when they built their home, and even though renovating the home for wheelchair accessibility often costs as much as $50,000, they felt it was financially better than the alternative. The project was entirely funded with home equity, so they didn’t even have to touch their retirement money, or the kid’s future inheritance. You see, Jack and Jill are like most American seniors, 90% of whom would rather live at home as long as possible and are willing to seek help to do that.
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Home Renovations that can Save the Estate
08/06/2011
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Jack and Jill went up the hill Up Jack got, and home did trot, |
Jack and Jill were in their late 60s and had been married for 37 years when Jack suffered a severe stroke and required care beyond the abilities of his partner. He was sent to an assisted-living facility, and the family home was sold to pay for his care.
Jill ended up finding a new place to live, now alone without her lifelong mate, and being separated affected the couple’s morale. Worse is that it affected both their health and their finances. Life savings were depleted before Medicaid kicked in, and the grown children now had two places to visit to support their declining parents.
It didn’t have to be that way with this second scenario.
Just as in the nursery rhyme, Jack goes home and gets better quicker in those familiar and loving surroundings, where Jane hires professionals to help care for him. That decision lets the couple stay together, and the kids have just one place to visit.
Even though renovating a home for wheelchair accessibility can cost $50,000, it can be financially better than the alternative, and the project can be entirely funded with home equity. That way they don’t even have to touch their retirement money. You see, Jack and Jill are like most American seniors, 86% of whom would rather continue living at home for as long as possible, and are willing to seek help to do that.
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