Recorded Webinar: Estate Planning Implications of Residential Aged Care

Residential aged care is depressingly common today, thanks to increased longevity and the scourge of dementia. Aged care financing is a dark art and it’s important that estate planning practitioners and succession lawyers understand the system so that they can take account of its financial implications for the resident and the resident’s family in the estate plan. This presentation will focus on the estate planning implications:

• The key elements of aged care funding:
  • the refundable accommodation deposit – how it works and what are the alternatives?
  • the daily fee and what it covers, the means tested fee, and charges for “extras”
• Understanding the Centrelink assets and income tests
• Funding the RAD:
  • what if only one member of the couple is going into care?
  • cash payment vs daily payment to cover lost earnings from RAD
  • Centrelink implications of sale of family home
  • implications for the main residence exemption if the home is kept and rented
  • if the home is sold – ademption problems and how to address them
  • role of the EPOA in making the decision
• Considerations with residential aged care agreements:
  • common terms and understanding them
  • requirements regarding security for fee payment – personal guarantees from relatives, security over assets
  • identifying and understanding additional fees – capital improvement fees and exit fees
  • does the Aged Care Act permit additional fees?
• Issues on exit:
  • RAD must be paid to the estate
  • what if RAD was paid by a relative?
  • RADs and blended families