Preparing For Tomorrow podcast

Happy New Year! Let's welcome 2023 with the mindset of being prepared for our tomorrows. Schedule that family meeting, whether it's to work with me to design a plan, to discuss your LTC plan with your family, or to implement and manage a care plan for yourself or a family member. This week, Diane shares some relevant topics in the LTC world that came to fruition in 2022. And she also discusses wha...

This week, I'm sharing my top Christmas wish this year. I imagine most 55 year olds would share this wish. I'm seeking a roadmap and directions I can use to help my parents as they are aging. My parents are very private and feel uncomfortble sharing their needs and their spouses' needs with me and my sister. But we'll be the one's managing the next part of their lives. If we knew what they would w...

I am playing an episode from Septembner, 2021, today because we didn't have time to record this week. My husband was in the hospital with "chest pressure". He had been feeling "heavy", in his words for a few days and was concerned that something may be seriously wrong physically. He came home today with a pretty clean bill of health. He's meeting with his primary doctor tomorrow to learn what he n...

This week, Diane explores and brings updates on the Washington Cares Act, a long term care tax on all employees in the state of Washington. There are 14 other states looking closely at adding a state income tax to help fund LTC needs for those or can't or won't plan for themselves. Listen, and learn what some of these states have started considering and why. If you have ever wanted to consider lev...

This week is a great interview with Michael Anthony at Medicaid Success Select. Based in Ohio and working nationwide, Michael's team helps people who need long term care but never partnered with an insurance company to pay for that care. Medicaid planning helps clients take full advantage of legal exclusions and exemptions in the Medicaid system in order to pay the least amount that the government...

This week, our case study will hopefully have a happy ending. The couple was referred to me in 2019, their advisor liked the plan I proposed and told them to wait three years, until they were age 60, to buy the coverage. Today, they are both 61 and still waiting for recent health concerns to be resolved so they can complete an application. They not only had several birthdays, but the plan they lik...

This is a question so many of us ask when an extended care need invades our world. We don't want to have to ask this when a loved one needs help living...we feel guilty even thinking about it. We also find ourselves asking "how long" when we are planning for our own future needs as well. There will always be some questions that aren't answered until LTC is imminent: When will we need care? Where a...

This week, I'm bringing back one of my favorite interviews from the early days of our podcasts. Janeen Salzgeber with https://pathfindersdownsizing.com/ shares what is really involved when we need to resettle into an abbreviated space in assisted living or other care environment. Her Tampa based company helps their clients decide what "stuff" makes their new space feel like home, and sets everythi...

This week, Diane shares a case study of her clients, Mark and Sharon. They started planning at ages 61 and 60. They thought they had done all they could with LTC planning, and then the SECURE Act was enacted in 2020. There were now serious tax concerns when their kids inherit their IRAs. Mark wanted to know if there really is a plan that can be funded with IRA dollars to create tax free death and...

This week, we hear from Michelle Thomas with the Colonnade at Carrollwood, an assisted living community right in my Tamba Bay neighborhood. For many years, a group from our church visited and sang there monthly for quite a while. Michelle shares that this is Resort Style Living with as little or as much assistance as is needed. Some residents move in for the food and social atmosphere, and don't n...

This week, Diane interviews Mary George with Best Years Senior Care. Mary is a geriatric care manager and helps families find help, resources and care providers when a loved one can no longer provide for themselves. Often, family members become overwhelmed when a parent is discharged from a care setting and needs to move home, where family members still have everyday obligations outside of the par...

Bonnie bought LTC insurance over 20 years ago and thought it would be enough to cover her future needs. We discussed adding an inflation rider to keep up with costs, but she didn't want to pay the higher rate. Today, when she needs help with dementia, her plan will pay for 5 hours of home care a day. Compare that to my husband's mom's plan that paid for 10 hours per day and still wasn't as much as...

This week, Diane and her guest, Dean Lambert with the Love Always Project share how talking about uncomfortable end of life topics long before a need to talk occurs, it's better for the whole family. Dean shares how the Project helps us change thoughts of death and dying into thoughts of life and living. Share your comments and experiences at www.lovealwaysproject.org

This week, our 31 year old son asked when he should be adding LTC coverage to his retirement plan. Diane shares things to consider when planning to be sure you can both qualify and afford LTC insurance. 11 states are working on creating a mandatory LTC tax. As of today, it looks like the only way to avoid the tax is to not be working or to own your own private LTC plan. Washington state has alread...

Most people state they don't want to burden their children with long term care needs like bathing, dressing and going to the bathroom, but they too often don't consider the financial burdens that go along with that. Affluent people often believe that they don't need to discuss LTC needs because they have enough money to pay for any care they will need. It's more important to have a plan when there...

Because I included a case study in last week's episode, go back and listen to Aaron's options for a plan to provide LTC and also reduce his tax obligations. This week, listen and learn about two laws that have been enacted, LTC Partnership Act and Pension Protection Act, to help consumers preserve assets and let insurance companies create tax reducing strategies for policyholders. Contact me for g...

Last week, I attended my first ILTCI conference in Raliegh, NC. I met a bunch of great people, and I learned so much valuable information that I will share with you here and over the next months. What are states doing to alleviate the Medicaid system? How will state programs work alongside private LTC insurance? What can we do to encourage solid legislation that works? How is our country going to...

This week, Diane and her guest, Angelett Johnson with Small Assited Living Coalition, share how having a guide, a plan and a team to help us live safely when we can no longer care or provide for ourselves. Visit www.smallalfcoalition.com to learn more about how they can work to help families help their loved ones better.

This week, Nancy & her daughter Tammy decided to choose a hybrid, cash indemnity plan that will let Nancy use the money to pay for whoever and whatever care she needs, or it will pay a tax-free death benefit to Tammy if Nancy never needs care. Disclosure: In this episode, I stated that the hybrid plans were not available prior to the Pension Protection Act (PPA) being implemented in 2010. They wer...

Nancy found a cash indemnity hybrid LTC insurance plan that will pay her daughter and pay for licensed professional care if needed. She just needs to decide if whe wants a larger and level LTC benefit or if she wants to start small and grow the benefits over time. Listen to her options and email me at diane@preparing4tomorrow.com to share what you think she would choose, or what you would choose....

Nancy is moving into an addition her daughter has added onto their home for her. She wants a long term care plan that can pay her daughter to help her or pay for professional care at home or in a facility. She wants to know if there are plans that do both. The answer is yes, and Diane shares several options for cash indemnity LTC plans available for Nancy as she prepares to protect her family from...

Diane interviews Kelly Stuart Williams with Pegasos Public Relations and learns how her parent's LTC insurance helped Kelly and her kids manage two parents' needs with two different forms of dementia. Without a plan, the family could have and would have been thrown into a medical, financial, physical and emotional catastrophe. Dementia is a big problem already, and having financing and resources f...

The best Valentine's gift you can give your family is a plan for when you need extended care. The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP recently published "Caregiving in the U.S. 2020", and Diane shares some of their statistics on unpaid caregivers. When you own LTC insurance, you are helping your family to be care managers rather than care providers. Let paid workers do the work while your ki...

Marilyn in New York thinks she knows what amount of LTC benefits she wants, but she's not sure. She's also concerned that the company she wants won't accept her. She wants to know what people do when in this predicament. What steps can we take to ensure we have the right amount of benefits with a company that is most likely to approve our application? Diane shares her insight and experice in these...

Diane interviews Judy Kane, Psych-K facilitator and author of "Your 4 Truths: How beliefs Impact Your Life". Judy coaches her clients to quickly recognize and adjust false beliefs and to perceive new truths that can help them to make better every day and life decisions. When planning for future LTC needs, it's sometimes difficult to make decisions about things we don't want to happen. We learn fro...