Estate Planning and Nursing Home Care

The State of Pennsylvania has now made it even more important to do estate planning, as without proper planning, the costs of nursing home care can be visited upon your children.

Nursing Home Care Cost in Pennsylvania

The cost of nursing home care has now risen to an excess of $300.00 per day. That is over $100,000.00 per year.

A Pennsylvania State Appellate Court recently ruled that the adult son of a nursing home resident is responsible for her unpaid $93,000 bill. An informative article published in Forbes Magazine details the information concerning this case and other similar cases throughout the country.

PA says Children are Obligated to Pay the Bill

Basically, Pennsylvania has taken the stance that the current laws obligate children to pay certain bills for their parents. Given that the mother did not have enough income to pay the $9,000.00 per month cost of the nursing home, the nursing home pursued payment from her son.

At this point it is not known how this case will be decided on further appeal; however, it does illustrate how important it is to have proper estate planning documents in place so as to avoid problems with your estate.

Children Burdened with Parents’ Estate Planning Mistakes

Not only is this something that you need to be addressing for yourself, but it is also important to understand that your parents need to address these issues as well.

Typically it is the children who are burdened by the estate planning mistakes of their parents.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment to discuss estate planning and nursing home costs, or to prepare estate planning documents, please contact our office at 724-836-3300 or contact us now.