STRATEGIC ADVICE
There are strategies that may be employed to minimise the financial impact of a person’s entry to permanent aged care. Being able to consider these strategies long before the potential entry date is a great advantage over trying to handle the entry on a ‘crisis basis'.
Strategic decisions include:-
- How to deal with the interests of any protected person
- Keep the home empty, rent or sell it.
- Down-sizing property value to liberate cash and retain home-owner status
- Unwinding a member/trustee from an SMSF before loss of cognitive ability
- Choosing which assets/monies to direct and pay all/part of the RAD
- CGT issues on disposal of assets now, or in the future
- Potential tax on superannuation benefits paid to adult, non-dependant beneficiaries
- How much to pay of the RAD, alternative opportunity cost analysis
- Centrelink/DVA impacts of alternative strategies
- Short-term and long-term opportunities in gifting assets
- The use of annuities and insurance investment bonds to manage assets/income values
- Planning for the entry of the second partner to permanent Aged Care
