Tips on long-term care planning for farmers

It’s never too early to start planning for your farm’s future. That’s especially true as it relates to laying the groundwork for your successors.

Long-term care planning is part of that process. Nationwide® has a range of long-term care coverage options to help give any farmer the peace-of mind that his or her needs can be met late in life. All to help minimize any undue financial burden on your successors.

1. Start planning for long-term care needs early

The McAfees are young farmers. They recognized early on the importance of planning for their long-term care needs. They hope to one day hand over the reins of their farm to their children. “Even if you don’t have active farming heirs, you still should review whether farm revenue can cover long-term care expenses,” said Nationwide Advanced Consulting Group Director Steve Hamilton, JD.

“Farming is a dangerous business with a lot of risks involved,” said Kirsten McAfee, who farms with her husband Wade near Delaware, Ohio. “I wanted to make sure that should something happen to one of us, we would have the care we needed and still have the farm business operational.”

2. Review estate planning documents

Financial and legal professionals are critical to long term care estate planning, given the required estate planning documents. The process often involves preparing forms like a will, Durable Power of Attorney and Medical Advanced Directive (living will). While it’s important to prepare for the worst case, often your long-term care needs may mean hiring a home health aid to help you when you’re injured or ill.

If you plan on a spouse or family member being there to help, carefully consider how well your family member can juggle any increased responsibilities to care for you while caring for the farm or juggling their own responsibilities. If they can’t do it all, consider that the national average for a monthly home health aide is $4,385 a month1 (that’s potentially over $50,000 a year, depending on where you live). A little planning now can help ensure your farm assets are managed while your long-term care needs are being met.

3. Include how your farm will be managed

Planning for long-term care should include how your farm will be managed and operated while you’re away. In cases like the McAfees, that plan should lay the specific groundwork for the next generation to take over the farm temporarily or permanently. Kirsten McAfee said she and Wade worked with their Nationwide Farm Certified agent to go through these options and zero in on the right strategy for their operation.

“Nationwide met our needs by providing us with the products that we were looking for, like the long-term care embedded in our life insurance policy,” she said. “We wanted to be able to provide for ourselves and our children. We don’t want to be a burden in any way to our kids.”

A major part of the process is regular communication between the farm family and agent, reviewing their needs every few years. That’s enabled the McAfees to account for farm growth and changes over time as they plan for how they’ll meet future potential long-term care needs.

“We have a yearly On Your Side review when our agent comes out and we discuss any changes or additions we’ve made. I had never really done that before. That’s really peace of mind for me," Wade said. "Every farm is different. Our Nationwide agent has provided us the individualization we need.”

Watch how Nationwide helped the McAfees prepare and plan for life and farming unknowns.