Most Seniors and their
families face similar challenges as they begin their search to find the ideal
Senior Living Community. This article is intended to provide comfort (you
are not alone) and identify resources who can make your transition less stressful.
Where Do I Begin? Developing a plan and identifying
the expert resources who can guide you through the process is often the most
important and difficult first step. The good news is that an extensive
network of experts exists and many will provide a free consultation.
Certified Senior Relocation Specialists can help plug you into that
network and then assist you in developing and implementing a detailed plan in
order to eliminate or greatly reduce the overwhelming stress that is often
associated with making a change of this magnitude.
"How Will I Move,
And What Do I Do With All My Stuff?", is often the next question that comes to mind. We spend a lifetime
collecting our possessions but as time passes the value we find in having those
possessions subsides and they, our possessions, actually become the very thing
that hold us back from making a transition into a facility that can better meet
our personal, social, or medical needs. Many will forego making the
change in order to avoid the daunting task of downsizing, sorting, packing, moving,
and setting up our new homes. This “to do” list can be overwhelming,
especially for older adults in poor health or for family members, who are often
busy supporting jobs and families of their own.
Certified Senior Relocations Specialists can assist in developing the
plan and ensuring coordination across the network of resources and family members
How Will I Pay For
Senior Care? Equity in a home can
certainly help offset long term care expenses. According to the Genworth 2015
Cost of Care Survey, the average annual cost of a one-bedroom apartment in an
assisted living community is $43,200 per year. This is almost a 3%
increase over last year. A private room in a nursing home averages more
than $88,000 per year. Paying for care requires understanding options
through research and careful planning. Care financing options include VA
benefits or local public and private programs. You can find out more about
these benefits at the National Council on Aging’s benefitscheckup.org.
Social security benefits are a long term care staple which may be optimized
through deferred retirement credits. Long term care advisors can help you
navigate benefits of various long term care insurance policies. Agents can help
you understand options when it comes to funding care from traditional life
insurance policies, including cash surrender, death benefit loans, accelerated
death benefits and life settlements.
How Will I Prepare And
Sell My Home? Often,
older adult clients have lived in their current homes for a substantial amount
of time and the home needs to be staged or may need minor repairs. A detailed plan will also address these
activities in order to minimize delays related to placing the house on the
market. Additional resources on the
value of staging a home can be found in a prior blog, see http://www.caringtransitionsfirstcoast.com/About-Us/Blog/ID/322514/The-Value-of-Home-Staging
for more detail. When selling an older
home, it is best to understand the state of the market, including competitive
pricing and current listings in your market area. You may be able to find
an overview of this information at Realtor.com, but there is no better resource than your
local, licensed real estate agent. You may also choose to contact a local Senior Real Estate Specialist. They are usually better equipped to help
support older adult clients and their families. If your “care needs”
require immediate attention and there is no time to complete a home sale, a
bridge loan may also be an option. Elderlife Financial, offers a unique line of
credit designed to provide temporary financial assistance for assisted living
and skilled nursing.
Conclusion:
You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed when
faced with daunting task of making the transition into a Senior Living Facility. Fortunately, resources who can help
you exist and they specialize in developing and implementing plans the will greatly reduce your stress. Better-still, those possessions that were holding you back
can be passed onto the next person who will enjoy them and also provide you
with funding to help defray transitions costs.
Caring Transitions has been supporting Seniors who
have made the transition into Senior Living Facilities since 2006 and remains
the nation’s largest and most trusted service provider. Please call Caring Transitions of First Coast
today at (904) 416-0685 for a free consultation if you need help making that
move into a new community.