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If you are getting older and own your home, you may have a difficult decision ahead of you: will you continue to live at home, or will you move into assisted living? This choice is particularly important because it affects not just you but your loved ones as well.
If you’re unsure about where you stand on the issue, you should discuss your options with loved ones and an elder law attorney. To help guide these conversations and assist you in making that crucial final decision about living at home vs. in assisted living, consider these three factors.
What Happens to Your Home
Your home is one of the most valuable things you own. Depending on how you plan for retirement, it may be worth more than the rest of your life savings combined. If you have children, you may be planning to pass your home to the next generation.
That goal is still possible when you go into assisted living, but it does become more difficult. Typically, people who enter assisted living need to sell their homes to pay for it.
If one of your children can afford to purchase your home from you, that may resolve this dilemma. However, if that isn’t the case, you might have to give your home up to afford the costs of assisted living. An estate administration attorney from Merlino & Gonzalez can help you understand your options and pick one that works for your situation.
Whether It Is Safe to Live at Home
One of the major advantages of assisted living is that there is always someone nearby to make sure you are safe. That isn’t necessarily true if you live at home. Unless you live with family, being at home can be dangerous if you have a medical emergency or need more frequent care.
This doesn’t mean you have to move into assisted living, though. You can instead arrange for home care and take advantage of modern technology to monitor your health when home care isn’t an option.
Proximity of Friends and Family
One factor that people may not give as much weight as they should is the proximity of family and friends. Even if you live alone, having plenty of loved ones within a short distance may mean you don’t want or need to move to assisted living. Companionship is important and can help keep you healthy.
Similarly, if you are considering moving into assisted living, location should be a main concern. Family and friends are far more likely to visit if the facility is located only a few miles away rather than in another county or state.
If you have other friends around the same age, you may want to all try to move into the same assisted living facility. This means you will have loved ones who are always nearby.
Contact a Staten Island Estate Law Lawyer at Merlino & Gonzalez as Soon as Possible
Planning for your final years can be difficult because it means having to admit that you will die someday. However, just because it is hard doesn’t mean you should avoid making these important decisions.
Where you live is one of the most crucial choices you can make about your later years. Contact an estate law attorney at Merlino & Gonzalez today to discuss your options for living out your remaining years in Staten Island.