3 Ways To Help Pay For Senior In-Home Care Expenses

In-home care for your parent can be expensive, depending on how much care is needed, your location, and whether or not insurance chips in to help with the costs. Even if you do not have insurance, there are other methods you can use to cover the costs. Here are several different methods of paying those expenses. 

Social Security Benefits

If your parent is divorced and receiving Social Security benefits, there is a chance he or she could get an increase in payments to help cover the costs of in-home care. 

To get this increase, your parent has to prove that he or she was married for 10 years or more and that the ex-spouse is entitled to receive more in Social Security benefits than he or she is currently receiving.

For instance, if your parent is currently receiving $1,000 in benefits, but his or her ex is entitled to receive $2,000, your parent can receive an increase in benefits as long as the marriage lasted at least 10 years. How much your parent can receive depends on various factors. Contact the Social Security Administration for help with applying. 

Reverse Mortgage

Your parent can take out a loan against the equity in his or her home. The loan would give your parent tax-free advances on the home. Your parent will not have to make any payments on the loan that is received during its duration.

Once your parent is no longer living in the home, then the loan is due. Your parent can opt to take out a loan that pays monthly or a lump sum. In addition to paying for in-home care, your parent can take care of estate planning costs and any other expenses that he or she has. 

Life Insurance

Chances are, your parent has a life insurance policy that he or she took out at a young age. If so, there is also a good chance that your parent is paying for a policy that he or she no longer needs. 

For instance, the policy might be in place to help cover expenses that would have occurred throughout life, such as rearing children, college education, and starting a business. Now that your parent does not have these needs, it is time to re-evaluate his or her insurance needs. 

Do not cancel the policies. You can instead take the cash surrender values of these policies and apply them to the costs of in-home care. 

Talk to a financial planner or even someone at an in-home care agency like ComForcare - Hazelwood, MO to find other ways to help cover the costs of care. With a little work and creativity, you should be able to find the money needed for your parent's expenses.