Redo Your Estate Plan When You Remarry
If you are getting remarried, you obviously want to celebrate, but it is also important to focus on less exciting matters lik...
Read moreBy Deborah Pierce, AIA
Rebalance portfolio: check! Update the will: check! Adjust insurance coverages: check!
Local Elder Law Attorneys in Your City
Estate planning is an ongoing process, one we should re-visit during life’s milestones, such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, or retirement. A “home access audit” should be on this checklist as well. This audit is a review of the physical environment so that it can be adjusted to make living easier. After all, a home is one of the most significant investments most of us ever make, and one that can continue to serve us well into the later years with thoughtful accessible features.
Accessible means useable, without impediments or barriers. For someone who has difficulty walking due to injury or illness -- or simply as a result of normal aging – steps can be barriers. Dim lighting is an obstacle to communication for people with low vision or hearing loss and who need to read a speaker’s body language.
You may already conduct a periodic building review in the process of doing routine maintenance. A leaky roof or foundation, peeling paint and loose tiles, or malfunctioning appliances and hardware can lead to a variety of remodeling projects. These projects offer a golden opportunity to improve the home’s accessibility.
Accessibility Opportunities, Both Inside and Out
Time for a bathroom face-lift? Choose a wall-mounted sink and add grab-bars, which now come in an array of attractive styles, and switch out the tub for a curb-less shower with a fold-down teak seat. Have your builder fashion built-in cabinets to fit between studs for a super-sized medicine cabinet. Choose a “washlet” toilet to manage personal care in privacy and comfort. And while you’re at it, widen the doorway and opt for wall sconces (it’s easier to change light bulbs when the fixture is not at ceiling height!) and rocker-type light switches (simpler to operate than old-fashioned toggles).
The opportunities presented by a kitchen remodeling are even greater. New “smart” appliances are safer, easier to use, and more energy efficient than the old ones. Some even have voice-activated controls or are linked to the Internet for remote operation using an iPhone. Choose induction cooktops (cool to the touch but hot under pots) and fridges with a low freezer-drawer. Cabinet hardware options include pull-down shelves, soft-close doors, full-extension drawers, and a variety of other handy devices that reduce the amount of reaching and stretching needed – and therefore lower the risk of injury.
Putting a sleeping area and accessible bathroom on the main floor is one of the single most important things you can do to make a home more comfortable, and sometimes it’s more about re-using than adding space. Make a den or family room more private with a door. For accessibility, make them a pair of pocket doors that slide inside the wall. If you favor casual meals at the breakfast bar or in front of the TV, make the dining room into your swing-space with a sleep-sofa and armoire (but don’t forget to widen the doorway!). Doing some landscape work? Have your earth-movers re-grade ground levels to substitute gentle ramps for stairs. Rebuilding a rotted porch? Place the new one level with the first floor for a step-free entrance. Even if you don’t have to use a wheelchair or walker, your friends and relatives may, and they’ll thank you for it.
How to Do the Audit
To conduct your own access audit, take two weeks to observe yourself in the activities of daily living. Take notes, and be specific. List items that are broken, inconvenient, crowded, cluttered, noisy, unsafe, dark, hard to clean and harder to use. Invite friends and family members to offer their opinions; anyone who uses the house or knows you well can add to the list. After all, an accessible home is a “visitable” home too – user-friendly to those who visit as well as live there.
Now convert that list of problems to solutions. You’ll likely need outside help to see the possibilities right in front of you. Lots of professionals are out there, and their expertise, skills, and work styles can vary greatly, even within a single field.
While this list of helpers is long, you don’t need them all, and many will come out to the house at no charge (strange but true, it’s how the construction industry works). As you ponder all this new information, certain projects and priorities will become clear, and you’ll have a plan of action, as well as a team of design and building professionals who can help you implement it.
Now that you have conducted your access audit and identified solutions, your job is to enjoy seeing your dreams come to fruition. Construction is dusty and noisy – can you live offsite for a while? It’s also somewhat unpredictable, as plaster walls can conceal pipes and rotted wood that need to be addressed, so include a contingency in your budget. With realistic expectations, these issues are hiccups along the path to a longer and happier life at home.
With a roadmap for improvements, a supportive team of helpers and the knowledge that home remodeling can provide greater comfort, independence, and safety, it’s a wonder more people don’t take the plunge. The alternative to renovating is not to do nothing. The alternative is actually the cost of at-home care and take-out meals, or of moving to assisted living -- easily $4,000 a month for an indefinite period of time. Access improvements, beautifully conceived and artfully executed, can both expand the market as well as increase the value for future sales – a good investment. Like re-balancing the portfolio or updating a will, having an accessible home gives peace of mind, and it also brings more enjoyment to everyday living.
Deborah Pierce, AIA, is a principal at Pierce Lamb Architects in Newton, Massachusetts. She is the author of The Accessible Home: Designing for All Ages and Abilities (The Taunton Press, 2012).
If you are getting remarried, you obviously want to celebrate, but it is also important to focus on less exciting matters lik...
Read moreMy 89-year-old mother-in-law was cut off from Medicaid because she did not fill out some forms. She has been in and out of th...
Read moreWhile you generally do not have to sell your home in order to qualify for Medicaid for nursing home coverage, it's possible f...
Read moreIn addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.
READ MORETo be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.
READ MORESpouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.
READ MOREIn addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.
READ MORETo be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.
READ MORESpouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.
READ MORECareful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.
READ MOREIf steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.
READ MOREThere are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.
READ MORECareful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.
READ MOREIf steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.
READ MOREThere are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.
READ MOREMost states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.
READ MOREApplying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.
READ MOREMedicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.
READ MOREMost states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.
READ MOREApplying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.
READ MOREMedicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.
READ MOREDistinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.
READ MORELearn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.
READ MOREUnderstand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.
READ MOREWe need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.
READ MOREDistinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.
READ MORELearn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.
READ MOREUnderstand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.
READ MOREWe need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.
READ MOREUnderstand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.
READ MORELearn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.
READ MOREWe explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.
READ MOREFind out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.
READ MOREUnderstand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.
READ MOREWe explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.
READ MOREFind out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.
READ MOREGet a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.
READ MORELearn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.
READ MOREExplore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.
READ MOREGet a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.
READ MORELearn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.
READ MOREExplore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.
READ MORE