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Have you ever known any one that has become impoverished as a result of going to the Nursing Home? Most people have had at least one story of someone that they know that has been devastated by the cost of going to a nursing home.

Planning for long term care is an integral part of retirement and financial planning. Long term care consists of a continuum of services including nursing home care, assisted living, home health care and adult day care. The need can arise from an accident, illness or advanced age.

Statistics make a very good case for long-term care planning.

For example, a 65 year old woman can expect to live another 20.1 years, and a 65 year old man can expect to live another 16.8 years according to the Commissioners 2001 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table. During these years it is estimated that the risk of entering a nursing home ranges anywhere from 20 to 49 percent.

Nursing care is expensive. Although there is a large variation from one region to another, the average nursing home cost according to the Genworth Financial 2009 Cost of Care Survey, was $74,208 per year in 2009.

There are typically five ways to protect your assets from Long-Term Care costs.

For an individual with substantial retirement income and assets, self-insurance may be a realistic option. If you can’t self-insure, you could rely on the government, family or friends to help you pay the cost but all of those have major drawbacks to them.

However, for those who cannot self-insure or who do not want to rely on the government, family or friends for your long term care needs, another great option is to buy long term care insurance.

In closing, I believe that purchasing a long term care insurance policy is the best answer for most people. A properly structured long term care insurance policy can help you protect all of the assets that you have worked hard to accumulate your entire life, allowing you to enjoy them in your golden years.

From my experience most people would rather that their assets went to their heirs instead of to the nursing home.