Gramp was an
extraordinarily brave and hard-working man. In 1925, he
jumped ship in Baltimore Harbor off a Russian freighter to
which he was consigned at the age of 17. Later, he made his
way to New Jersey where he started a contracting company and
raised a family. At the age of 35, when World War II broke
out, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
By the early 1950’s, he
and his brothers owned four hotels on Miami Beach, but in
the summer of 2000, he died penniless in a South Florida
nursing home. In only a few short years, our family had
spent all of his significant savings, taking care of him and
maintaining his long-term care needs.
Gramp was a craftsman
and he firmly believed in using the right tool for the right
job. His old wooden tool kit was a world of wonder for his
grandchildren. He never tired of explaining to us how each
of the various tools worked and how each was best utilized.
If only Gramp had known
before his illness that there was another kind of tool kit
which needed to be assembled, a tool kit as important to his
success as the old wooden one—a financial tool kit.
Gramp was like most of
us. He knew he needed to prepare for future needs and plan
for adversity. He had much of his financial tool kit filled
with stocks and bonds, investment properties and an
up-to-date will. However, he realized too late that there
was a staggering price to himself and his family for
neglecting to prepare an appropriate long-term care program.
I have spent much of
the last nine years, since founding
Today’s Caregiver
magazine and caregiver.com, working to ensure that other
caregiving families are not faced with financial ruin due to
the increasing cost of caring for their loved ones, and that
each caregiver's financial tool kit includes considering the
option of long-term care coverage.
Caregivers understand
what steps are needed to safeguard their loved one’s
physical and emotional health. We must now become adept at
learning the steps needed to ensure our family’s fiscal
health. The lesson taught by the preceding generation and
the one we must pass on to generations to come is that the
tool kits you carefully assemble during your lifetime must
include all instruments of preparedness to meet any
situation.
Proper long-term care
planning allows your loved ones financial flexibility and
emotional security.
It truly is the gift of a lifetime.
For more information:
articles/tips_buy_ltci.htm
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