In this Elder Law Minute, Kaye DeSelms Dent explains why keeping receipts and financial records can be essential for Medicaid planning and future long-term care needs.
Introduction
Hi, I’m Kaye DeSelms Dent with Dent Coulson Elder Law here with an elder law minute for you. These videos are intended to educate you about the elder care journey which begins earlier in life than you might think. We hope that you find them useful and if you have further questions, please call us at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Why Financial Records Matter
In an earlier Elder Law Minute, I encouraged people to give away stuff while they’re still alive, not leave their kids with a storage facility or a basement full of stuff to go through.
But there’s an exception to this.
As you get older, and by older, I mean 50s or so, start keeping really good records and keep receipts.
Planning for Future Assistance
There’s a possibility that in the foreseeable or even a little bit distant future, you might need some assistance in life.
That assistance might require you to seek financial assistance from the state.
And guess what?
The state is going to want your financial records.
Keeping Better Records
Start keeping the most pristine financial records you’ve ever kept in your life.
Remember how your grandmother used to write down every week? I don’t know about your grandmother, but grandmothers would write down every week how much cabbage cost and and how much they spent at the grocery store so that when they went back, they would know if things were on sale, if prices were going up.
They were very diligent about keeping financial records.
And a lot of people used to really keep receipts.
Well, keep those receipts because you might have to prove sometime why you spent money, especially if you’re spending cash.
If you give yourself an allowance or use an envelope system and fill up an envelope with cash every week or every month, keep the receipts to show how you spent that money.
Protecting Your Records
If you’ve got today’s receipts, they’re on thermal paper and they fade pretty quickly.
So, make copies of them or scan them in to a device with a backup or better yet somehow into the cloud securely.
This is where a younger family member might come in really handy.
Closing
Now is the time to start keeping those financial records in case you need to provide them later because it can be difficult, if not impossible, for your family to explain where all this cash went or all this money went.
Little tip of the day, if you’d like more guidance on preparing for the possibility of long-term care, please give us a call at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.