[Porsche-O-Phile]

I know more than I should about this subject - a very close personal friend who I see at least 2 or 3 times a week is a hospice nurse. There are some woefully crappy situations that people can get into when it comes to end-of-life care. I saw one happen first-hand with my deceased grandmother (moved in with us, costs were supposed to be shared between my mom and her two brothers - she got royally screwed and never saw a dime). My dad's mom was the victim of flat-out senior abuse (his sister bled her estate dry when she contracted dementia and by the time my dad realized what was happening she was destitute - over $100k pissed away in about four years on vacations, designer clothes, manicures, etc.). There wasn't a damn thing the DA could do by the time the light was shone on it.

The stories can be way worse than that. Assisted living is a good way to go but it's not cheap - though cheaper than a nursing home. They will NOT do anything for you though - especially involving medications - so a person needs to be reasonably functional there. Nursing homes range from good to downright scary. They ALL will absolutely bleed any senior's estate dry. Their stated goal is often to ensure that they get every last dollar out of a person's estate before Medicaid kicks in. Yes they're that blunt about it. They can and will leave heirs with nothing if they are given any chance.

In home care is absolutely the best but it's damn expensive. If you can make it work at all, do it. I strongly recommend everyone over 65 setting up a Medicaid trust - my parents did it to protect what they worked for their entire life. They want it to go to charity, to their kids and grandkids as THEY want - not as some sleazy probate court decides or worse still, gets all seized and liquidated by a nursing home. That's the game. It may sound nasty and sleazy but you're up against institutions that are orders of magnitude more nasty and sleazy - and much more experienced at it. If you care about what happens to your estate at all, set one up and do it before you get too old (yes the look-back is now five years for Medicaid "impoverishment" so the difference between doing it when you're 65 and 70 is huge).

All the best Mike. It totally sucks and I hear about how it can and does go bad for too many people far too often. Makes me want to blow my life's savings on hookers and blow, then go drive off a bridge.