Is a Trust Right for You?

John recently attended one of our Elder Law workshops. At the beginning of the workshop, he asked one of the most common questions we get: “Should I use a will or a trust in my estate plan?”. It’s a good question and one you should be asking yourself.

There was a time when most middle-class people used wills. Trusts were reserved for the rich and famous. Those times are long gone. See, it used to be the case that trusts were primarily used by wealthy people to avoid taxes and administrative headaches. Those are still great reasons for wealthy people to do trust planning. But what about the Middle Class?

At the Sechler Law Firm, we frequently recommend using trusts for a very specific reason: we want to protect our clients from nursing home costs. Consider the following: • One-third of seniors will develop dementia. • Two-thirds of seniors will need long-term care. • The average monthly cost of a nursing home is almost $15,000 per month. • The average nursing home stay exceeds two years.

When we are meeting with our retired (or soon to be retired) clients, our job is to help them understand what issues could upend their retirement plans. The answer is almost always the risk of one of them getting sick.

Simply stated, Asset Protection Trusts are the best way for most people to protect their home and savings from the crazy government rules that require you to go broke if you get sick.

John was asking the right question. The answer for him was to plan with a trust to protect his house. What’s your answer for long-term care costs?

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Editor’s Note: This article was written by Certified Elder Law Attorney* Tim Sechler, Esq., Sechler Law Firm, LLC. See our ad on the Back Cover or visit www. SechlerLawFirm.com. *Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation as accredited by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.