Over our many years of serving families, we’ve strategized a number of different ways to pay for long-term care. We’ve encountered the excellent question “But how will we pay for it?” so many times that we’ve created this blog series to help guide families and friends in various “ways to pay” for community-based and skilled nursing home care. In our last post, we looked at the Children of the Parents as the sixth option for paying for long-term care. This week, we’re considering how Family Friends and Service Clubs can be utilized as the seventh way to pay for long-term care.
For some families, close family friends, in-laws and even neighbors will volunteer to contribute toward paying for long-term care. In our years of experience, we often find that family friends may elect to help pay for things such as home health care and adult daycare, or they may simply take care of transportation expenses in helping seniors get to doctors’ visits. Likewise, some seniors who have been lifelong members of private service associations such as The Knights of Columbus, Lions Club International, Kiwanis International and Rotary may find that they are able to get financial support from these groups in times of need.
What Are Some Advantages of Family Friends and Service Clubs When Paying for Long-Term Care?
One of the advantages of utilizing Service Clubs to help pay for long-term care is that it allows for a non-profit organization to give back to those who have sometimes given to their organization over the course of a lifetime. Likewise, for those families with friends who are willing to help contribute to paying for long-term care, it can be a simple solution and one based on love and friendship.
What Are the Drawbacks to Family Friends and Service Clubs When Paying for Long-Term Care?
One of the drawbacks to utilizing Service Associations to pay for long-term care is often the reality of their own limitations, as these clubs are local, and they generally provide limited help to those in their community. Additionally, one drawback to utilizing family friends for the payment of long-term care can include the unknowns of how long their resources may be needed, and the decisions of these family friends may require them to cut off support when they can no longer provide resources. These are often people who may also be aging, and who may soon need support of their own, so this can be a fine line for them to walk. However, for people and Service Clubs with significant financial means, helping to pay for a friend or members’ care can be a great honor.
In the next post, we’ll explore an eighth option for paying for long-term care and consider the pros and cons of that particular way to pay. Don’t miss it.
Need help paying for skilled nursing or at-home care? Download our entire “11 Ways To Pay for Long-Term Care” booklet, and share it with your entire family.
View More from the 11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care Series:
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #11 Medicaid Planning
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #10 Charitable Remainder & Medicaid Disability Trust
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #9 Viatical or Life Settlement
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #8 Leveraging the Cash Value of Life Insurance
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #7 Family Friends & Service Clubs
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #6 Children of the Parents
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #5 Tax Deductions
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #4 Jumbo Reverse Mortgage
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #3 HELOC
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #2 Reverse Mortgage
11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care: #1 Long-Term Care Insurance
