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Moving into residential aged care can be a stressful period with complicated rules, family conflicts and rushed timeframes.

This can easily lead to mistakes, which can be costly and difficult to rectify.

This article highlights three common mistakes and tips to avoid the traps.

1. Rushing your decision

The biggest expense you will face is the cost of your room, which is likely to be quoted as hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, you might choose to pay a daily fee instead of the big lump sum.

When signing contracts, many people feel pressured to make quick decisions which might lock them into arranging a quick sale of the home. We recommend you take time to make an informed decision and understand your options. Your provider must give you 28 days after moving into care to decide how to pay. This gives you time to get advice and be prepared.

2. Focussing on just day 1

You need to know what fees you will be asked to pay on the first day of your stay in residential care. But this is just your starting point as your fees change over time.

Decisions you make after entry and changes to your circumstances can impact your fees. Make sure you get an understanding of what to expect over the following 2-5 years, with projections showing expected changes in fees, age pension, cash flow and asset values.

3. Filling-in forms incorrectly

Services Australia needs to review your financial position to calculate your fees. To enable this assessment, you need to complete some forms and update Centrelink (or Veterans’ Affairs) records.

If you don’t fill in the right form, or make mistakes with the information provided, your fees might be incorrectly calculated or cause long delays with the assessment.

Get advice

Even if your situation seems simple, there are so many aspects to consider in working out the best financial strategy. The value of seeking advice from an accredited aged care adviser is peace of mind to ensure you have made the right decisions to generate enough cashflow while protecting the value of your estate.

If you want to talk through your options or find out more information for your situation, call our office on (07) 4753 9999 to arrange an appointment.

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