Many have been advised by a financial planner, estate planning attorney or other professional that they have enough assets to "self-insure" future LTC needs. The question is not "can I afford it?" but "Is this the best use of assets to fund future care needs?" This episode is full of questions you should be asking yourself and your advisors if they tell you you can afford to self-fund. Listen and schedule some time with me to consider the risk and search for the most cost-efficient ways to pay for extended care  View current and projected costs of care where you live Learn what your state Medicaid system lets you keep

This week, I'm sharing what I learned about public LTC funding in Germany and how it's managed.  Their national/local public funding initiative is alreaday underfunded by taxes, and the aging population there is expected to increase by 37% over the next 30 years.   This is miniscule as compared to our aging population in the U.S.   We need to learn from our past mistakes as well as from what other countries are attempting in this arena. Thank you to the Center for LTC Reform for their articles and And please schedule some time to Prepare for Your Tomorrow today

This is an episode from 2020 when I interviewed my travel advisor about COVID or other family health issues interrupting travel plans. He created the best 25th anniversary trip to Europe we could have imagined! Contact him at to create your most memorable vacation We find differences in planning for vacations and planning for our LTC needs.  We learn from Carmen Palogruto with Cruise Planners that there are tools available to change travel plans for medical and other reasons.  A LTC event cannot be postponed until convenient or affordable.  It happens when it happens, and we need to be prepared for that tomorrow.

This week, we're describing who may consider different types of LTC planning strategies and why. Stand-alone/traditional LTC  vs. Hybrid Life/LTC vs. Hybrid Annuity/LTC. All provide tax-free benefits for extended care needs. Thank you to team for creating easy to understand documents that agents can share with their clients. Listen and consider which category of coverage can fit your needs and financial structure best and let's talk. Schedule a free consultation to learn more

In our third week with our couple in their 80s, we consider options to obtain the most LTC benefits from annuities. If you already own annuities, check for a Chronic Illness rider or LTC rider.  If there is one, read it carefully as different rules apply to access enhanced benefits for care.  If you need help understanding your rider, ask me for guidance Some pay the LTC benefits tax-free and some don't.   Some require your need to be permanent, some don't. Some will enhance benefits for both cognitive and physical needs, and some don't. If you own an annuity (non-IRA) with a good amount of earnings, it can be repositioned to an annuity that can pay potentially three times the account value of the annuity, or more, tax-free when used for care.  This eliminates all the taxable gains your current annuity has earned over the years. If your annuity IS your LTC plan, there are wiser ways to use it than simply withdrawing the earnings and paying taxes on the gains. Schedule with me to learn more

Last week, I shared how not having a plan can create chaos throughout the whole family when long term care is needed. This week, I used the same need and family but added LTC insurance as a tool to help pay for care expenses. Listen and learn how helpful even a small plan can work to make life a little less difficult during a very difficult time. Then schedule some time with me to design your plan See current and projected costs of care (use 5% COLA to project Learn what your state's Medicaid program let's you keep and qualify for help

This week, Diane shares a story of what can happen when there is no plan for extended care or long term care. With cataract surgery adjustments today and super dialated eyes, rhis is all that can be said this week. Sorry for any typos, I can't see well at all. Listen sand schedule to design your family's plan

We're getting bad news from what seems like every direction these days. Governments and media are all talking about wars and destruction. But this is not new.  We've been through these kinds of events before, too many times, and we're still here and moving forward. We can't let panic, wars and market crashes control our choices.  These thnigs happen without our input. We can control our clarity, courage and conviction to stay on course. If you've been considering planning for future extended care needs, or if you've been working on your plan, don't stop now.  Too many find a reason to pause and then forget their reasons for planning in the first place.  Then, 10 or 20 years go by, and something happens to them or someone close to them, and they restart their search. At that point, plans are much more expensive or not available due to age or health concerns. Let's work together to design your plan today and protect those you love most tomorrow. Schedule

Hello all,    I recently had cataract surgery in both eyes, and my eyes get tired if I look at the computer too long.  I need to take breaks while recovering. Instead of discussing shared and individual LTC annuities this week, I need to share an episode that was aired last summer. This will remind you how LTC annuities can help both protect your family if you need extended care and also eliminate all those gains on your non-IRA annuities you've been holding on to because you don't want to pay more in taxes.   LTC annuities have very few health questions and are more easily approved.   Schedule with me to learn how you can avoid sharing your annuity earnings with Uncle Sam.

After reviewing planning strategies for hybrid or linked benefit LTC plans, this week we are comparing shared and individual traditional or stand-alone LTC plans. Yes, there have been rate increases on these plans, but over the last 20 years or so, traditional LTC plans have gotten much healthier.  Listen and learn how. When funding using income or on a budget, these plans can help families afford to get through an extended care need without bankrupting their loved ones.   It's easy to see that there are several ways to design and fund your long term care plan. Schedule some time to start preparing for your tomorrow  Learn what your state Medicaid program lets you keep to qualify for state Medicaid benefits (not recommended by us) View both current and projected costs of care