Suggestions needed
Mom and I have also discussed how confused Dad becomes in unfamiliar
surroundings, which to me is another argument against moving him to a
new neighborhood/new home/new environment at this time. However, Mom
waffles on this issue. One minute she'll agree that moving him now
might be a mistake, and the next minute will insist that a new home is
the only option. She isn't willing to consider some sort of senior
living facility for the two of them at this time, only a single family
home, with the maintenance and upkeep that home ownership entails will
be considered by her. She did mention the possibility of a reverse
mortgage, which to my limited knowledge sounds like a good idea for
their financial situation at some point, but as far as I know, owning
a brand new home is not a requirement for obtaining a reverse.
Mom has now placed their home on the market, without having a clear
idea in mind of where they will move if the house does sell. She has
mentioned many times that she would hate to be forced into moving into
a home that wasn't really suitable for their needs. Logically I
cannot follow her actions at all.
Just in the last year, a few companies have gone a step farther. In
addition to age and sex, they now also take health into consideration. This
is a HUGE improvement because the worse your health is, the shorter your
life expectancy, and the larger the monthly payout from the same fixed sum
of assets.
Using this strategy, I was recently able to get a guaranteed life income or
$4500 per month (yes that's $54,000 a year) from a sum of $115,500. In this
case, the woman's son had gone to a lawyer to find out how to divest (hide)
the money and get Mom on Medicaid. The lawyer advised him to consult me for
a better idea and he was pleased with the results.
By converting assets to a life income rather than spending them down and
turning to Medicaid, you may be able to produce the needed income to pay for
care in the setting most appropriate, and desireable. When a person turns
to Medicaid in Wisconsin, they are usually placed in a nursing home whether
they need that level of care or not. It is a real shame to be put there
when you could be having home care or be in a nice assisted living facility
or a specialty Alzheimer's facility. Besides, let's leave the Medicaid
dollars for those who really need them, not for the wealthy who hid their
money.