Most people in New Jersey expect to live long lives. However, many are not prepared legally and financially for their old age. According to one study, this may be especially true for women.
An AARP study of 500 women between 45-years-old to 64-years-old reveals that the majority of respondents do not know what they will need in terms of long-term care, the price of such care and how they will be able to afford it. This is significant, as wives generally live five years longer than their husbands, at which point their assets may already have been depleted. The study concludes that there is a significant need to educate women on how they can execute a long-term care plan.
For example, women should know that across the country, a stay in a private nursing home will set a person back $74,000 on average. Nevertheless, the study found that 60 percent of respondents did not have a plan for affording long-term care. Moreover, one-third of respondents mistakenly were under the belief that all their long-term care expenses will be covered by Medicaid. Moreover, only 40 percent of respondents were aware that long-term care expenses include not just a nursing home stay, but also home adaptations and executing legal documents regarding their end-of-life care.
This study shows why long-term care planning is so important, especially for women. Specifically, having a plan for affording long-term care expenses, as well as executing a living will, health care power of attorney and financial power of attorney are essential to ensuring a person’s end-of-life care will be handled according to their wishes. Those who have questions about how to execute these important documents can get more information to ensure that their estate plan is comprehensive and meets their long-term care needs.
