Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Although not certain, it is more likely than not that someday you will need long term care.

Statistics say that 52% of those over 65 will someday need long term care. And 58% of women over 65 will someday need long term care. Of those in long term care facilities, about 7 out of 10 have some sort of cognitive decline—which means that when you reach the point of needing long term care, you may not be able to make that decision on your own. This means that it’ll probably come down to family members making that decision for you. This can cause a lot of stress and even division among them.

The probability of long term care is often seen as just a financial planning issue. In reality, it’s also a life planning issue. There are seven questions that I think you need to answer ahead of time before you actually need long term care:

1. When should I no longer take care of my home and yard?

2. When should I no longer cook and clean?

3. When will I need help paying my bills?

4. When should my checkbook be taken away?

5. When should the keys of my car be taken away?

6. When is the right time to move into long term care?

7. When I reach that point, where is it I want to go?

These seven questions should be answered before you reach the point of long term care while you still have the cognitive ability to do so on your own.

If you’d like to discuss how to incorporate the possibility of long term care into your financial plan, please let me know, as I’d be happy to help. You can click below to schedule a meeting.