Reference no: EM132054593

Helen Adams, 81 years of age, relates to you that her husband, Jim, 83 years of age, has Alzheimer’s, but she is caring for him at home. He is still quite manageable for the present, but she has no idea for how much longer. They own their own home subject to a line of credit secured by a mortgage. It is worth $300,000 and the balance on the line of credit mortgage is $20,000. Jim has an IRA worth $160,000 from which he is drawing $2,000 per month, the minimum required distribution. They have joint ownership of a bank account with $24,000 in it, and one automobile worth $9,000. Helen has $700 per month and Jim has $1,200 per month in Social Security income. Helen and Jim have a son, Don, 57 years old, who is married with three children and who lives twenty minutes away by car. They also have a daughter, Marie, 53 years old, who is married with two children and who lives half way across the country. Helen says she has a power of attorney document from Jim, who cannot understand financial matters. She asks what can be done to protect their assets from nursing home costs. What preliminary issues (prior to actual planning) do you need to discuss with Helen? What might be able to be done to protect assets against a spend-down upon Jim’s admission into a nursing home? Explain your answers.