Page 8 - Understanding Aged Care

UNDERSTANDING AGED CARE

How professional advice can help First, you will be able to clear much
of the confusion by raising questions that are
An experienced adviser can reduce the stress worrying you and receiving clear answers and
of the decision to move into aged care, such practical solutions. You will have a trusted
as dealing with the complexities of choosing a adviser by your side to help you make your
facility, negotiating costs and understanding the decisions. And once the issues are explained,
issues that arise from what, for most people, will you will feel far more confident and in control.
be their final move. Your adviser will also be able to manage, on an
ongoing basis, any funds you may have, should
These can include: you so wish.

• whether to sell, retain or rent the family Without an adviser, it may just seem too hard
home and the result could be procrastination, leading
to an emergency, or to making the wrong
• how moving into aged care might affect choice. Your adviser will take time to understand
Centrelink entitlements the need of the person entering aged care as
well as the family circumstances. Going into
• the taxation implications aged care is not only about the individual,
it involves family members and the need to
• how best to invest other capital to ensure manage family dynamics.
there is enough to pay the ongoing care
costs As we have said earlier, this is not just about
money. It is about love, care, responsibility,
change, loss and acceptance. This is why
a financial adviser who specialises in aged
care planning needs to be sensitive as well as
practical. They must be able to bring a calm,
external, independent perspective and provide
solutions that will serve the needs of all parties.

Without an adviser, it

may just seem too hard
and the result could be
procrastination, leading
to an emergency, or to
make the wrong choice.

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