Retirement comes with a lot of complicated rules. It may seem like an easy enough process, but there are plenty of ways to make a mistake along the road. Fortunately, the more common ones are very easy to avoid. Here are some of the more common mistakes that you can make and why you should avoid them.

Applying for Social Security Too Early

One of the first ways to cost yourself a large amount of money is to apply for social security benefits too early. If you take time to plan out your retirement funding, when the best time to retire is and what your full retirement age happens to be, you can maximize your social security benefits well into your retirement. Failing to do so can cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

 

Giving Away Assets

What is an asset? It can be anything that you own or hold that has intrinsic value. This includes money in retirement accounts, savings accounts or invested in the market. It can also mean property, art or jewelry. Giving these things away can cost you if you are going to be applying for Medicaid. Medicaid calls for accounting of all assets, including ones that have been given away during a certain time period. If you are not careful, they can cost you in Medicaid benefits.

Medicaid takes a look back at the last five years (or more, depending on your state) of your financial history. If they find that you have given away a substantial amount of what they consider to be assets, then that can be added into what you have on hand when you apply for Medicaid assistance. These gifts, even if you never intended for them to lower the amount of money that you have on hand, can end up delaying your Medicaid acceptance.

 

Not Taking Advantage of Spousal Protections

Elderly folks who have to move into a nursing home or long term care facility are going to incur a large cost for care. There are, however, protections that can be put in place to ensure that the spouse of the patient is not left penniless.

Look into protections that might be available under trusts. A trust is a special account that money or other assets can be placed into that is administered by a third party. Some of these trusts can even be set up specifically with spousal protections in mind. Your elder law experts at Stano Law Firm can provide you with a number of options that might fit your situation, and even help you to protect your spouse should something happen to your health that requires long term care.

 

Contact Your Elder Law Experts for Assistance in Estate Planning

If you are looking for legal assistance with estate planning, giving gifts to loved ones or any other elder law issues, contact Stano Law Firm.