Reply #24: Depending on the size of his estate, you may have several options. [View All]

[A HERETIC I AM]

1st, you need to know how much everything in his estate is worth. What is the total value of all his assets (house, securities**, cars, antiques, collectibles, etc.) if they were to be liquidated tomorrow?

2nd, What are his total liabilities? You mentioned credit card debt. What else is there?

If the total of his estate after settling all obligations is substantial - say $500,000 or more, there may be a way to leverage those funds in such a way as to not have it all be gone by the time he passes away or at least guarantee there will be an income stream as long as he lives.

You most definitely need an Attorney and a qualified Financial Advisor. There are various ways to preserve wealth in a situation like this if done properly. Properly titling the assets in a Trust or vehicles such as a Charitable Remainder Trust for instance. Perhaps a "Life with Period Certain" immediate annuity. If he needs $30,000 now to stay in the facility and he has had a stroke, he could likely live quite a while but have a deteriorating condition that could push the annual care expenses up into the 6 figure range. The problem with using assets to fund ongoing expenses is how much the money can yield. 5% is perfectly and safely doable. 7% can be done too. Much higher than that and the risk of loss or reduction of principal becomes much greater. There are Closed End Funds out there right now yielding up to and over 15% but they aren't anything I would buy my mom.


Your situation clearly illustrates the value of a properly sized Long Term Care Insurance policy.

You have my sympathies for you and your fathers situation.

See an Attorney.

** On edit to add this ** You need to ask him SPECIFICALLY if he has any stock certificates stashed in a safe deposit box somewhere or in the house. Many of your fathers generation do. Many, many children of deceased parents find stock and bond certificates hidden in their homes or in one or more safe deposit boxes. Had they known they were there beforehand, the funds could have alleviated much hardship. You never know. Maybe he has 500,000 shares of some stock he paid $.10/share for 45 years ago that is worth a considerable sum now.