Today I’ve helped a family restructure assets to help minimise the ongoing costs of aged care.

Last year the wife inherited a relocatable home in a retirement village. Those properties never sell quickly and can’t be lived in by anyone other than the owner; so renting the property to offset costs was out of the question.

Because the asset hadn’t been their family home it was included in means testing for aged care purposes and the cost of the husband’s aged care went through the roof. And if we toss into the mix their overseas assets that can’t be sold, due to local landholder disputes, they’re in a mess financially.

So today we’ve used a strategy that allows the house sale proceeds to be hidden in plain sight, we’ve effectively ‘lost’ some money until she reaches aged pension age. The advantage of this will be their Centrelink entitlements will go up and his cost of care will go down.

For anyone questioning the value of advice; it’s far more than making people money, it includes emotional aspects as well financial.

As a result of our advice the woman is:

– less stressed

– financially better off and

– can now focus on spending time with her ill and aging husband.

It’s yet another reason why I love what I do!