Case #1: Donald Bloss and his wife, Mary Ann, figured they were all set for their golden years. Although they did not own a home, he had sufficient cash in the bank, several CDs and a host of blue chip stocks. He and his wife, both having worked all their lives, were drawing decent Social Security, and Medicare took care of nearly all medical bills. What he hadn't figured, however, ruined their well-laid plans. Mary Ann after a debilitating stroke had to enter a nursing home. But this time, Medicare was of no help at all and Medicaid asked them to exhaust their savings - well, nearly all of them - before it would consider them for nursing-home assistance.

Don and Mary Ann didn't know that they could have protected their life savings perfectly legally, only by slightly rearranging their finances and assets. They simply got blindsided by some complex rules written by our folks in Washington, D.C.

Case #2: Hilda Sawyer had gone even a step further in her planning. She knew, through her friends' experiences, how expensive nursing-home care could become. So she had bought a long-term insurance policy from a well-known company expecting it to pay nursing-home bills, if ever the need arose. Well, it did but the insurance company would not pay, citing an obscure loophole in the policy. This came as a total shock, and all her planning was for nothing.

Case #3: John St. Clair's story, however, ended differently. He knew about Medicare, Part A and Part B, for which he had signed up as soon as he had become eligible. He knew that Medicare was not panacea for all his needs. Sure, there are gaps in coverage for doctors and medical supplies, inpatient hospitalization and home health nursing. But that's exactly why he had purchased a Medigap policy, choosing carefully one of the ten state-approved plans.

He even had looked into various nursing homes because there existed a real possibility that his wife may have to be put up in a nursing home, as she was showing early signs of Alzheimer's disease. He had carefully investigated various long term care insurance plans, and after checking with the state insurance commissioner purchased a policy that made sense. But above all, he had arranged his finances so that his wife would become eligible for nursing-home assistance almost immediately.

He knew what were 'countable' assets and which were 'exempt' assets; he knew the latest twists and turns in the Medicaid rules. He didn't go to some high-priced attorney for this, for he didn't have the kind of money the attorney wanted. He had all the help he needed; all he wanted to do was protect his nest egg that they had built up just for those years when everything has to be budgeted. He wanted to be sure that his wife was being well cared for in a nursing home and that he had enough money left to take care of himself at home.

There's nothing far-fetched about these cases. These scenarios are being played out in thousands of homes all across America as the elder citizens grapple with the awesome burden of medical care, just when they need it the most and seem the least capable of getting it. America is getting older. The group over age 85 is now the fastest-growing segment of the population. The golden years, however, are not without their problems.Forty-three percent of those who turned age 65 in 1990 will enter a nursing home at some time during their life. Since women generally outlive men by several years, they face a 50 percent greater likelihood than men of entering a home after age 65.

Nursing-Home Costs Can Wipe You Out

How much does a nursing home cost? Plenty. As a national average, a year in a nursing home now costs between $25,000 and $30,000, and in some places as much as $50,000.

Who pays for your nursing home stay?

In nearly half the cases, the answer is you. It is not uncommon for a person who is forced to enter a nursing home to spend their entire life savings on nursing home care within the span of only a few months. Half of all couples with one spouse in a nursing home lose their life savings within only one year. It is tragic to see these people work hard all through the years, building a nest egg for their golden years, only to have everything taken away by a nursing home. There is absolutely nothing left to show for their years of earnest labor.

Many people are under the mistaken notion that Medicare would step in and pick up their nursing-home bills. They'll be shocked to find out that Medicare pays only about 2 percent of nursing-home bills with individuals picking up nearly half the tab. Medicaid would come to the rescue if you're at least 65, blind or disabled and meet certain income and asset limitations. And therein lies the rub. In most cases, you'll be required to turn over most of your life savings to the nursing home before Medicaid will pay a cent.

Protecting Your Assets, Perfectly Legally

But this need not be so. Medicaid rules are fairly complex, but if you know them and arrange your finances accordingly, you might be able to keep your nest egg and still qualify for nursing-home assistance.

Protecting your Assets from the Catastrophic Costs of Nursing-Home Care does just what the title suggests.

Federal Spousal Impoverishment Act - how the spouse at home can protect his assets while the other spouse is in a nursing home.What is the best time to obtain a resources assess.How you can transfer assets without being penalized. Beware of the 1993 tax law change which has sprung another trap for the unwary.Medicaid trusts - are they what they are touted to be? Again, watch out for the restrictions imposed by the new law.What are permissible transfers?Cornerstone of your strategy: Convert non-exempt assets into exempt assets.Four strategies to maximize the exempt value of your home.Transferring assets to your spouse after entering a nursing home.Little-known, but highly effective, strategy: Buy an annuity.Four additional strategies to protect your assets recommended by experts.You see, there's nothing illegal or immoral about arranging your financial affairs in a way as to maximize your benefits allowed under the law. In fact, this is fully sanctioned by the law. The trick is doing the right thing at the right time.

This highly-acclaimed book gives you all the ins and outs. You'll know exactly what to do. Few attorneys know enough about this subject to advise their clients, and many would charge you a bundle for what little they'll tell you.

Asset Protection Strategies That You Need To Know

• 11 asset protection strategies: How to use them without falling into the Medicaid trap. See P. 37.
• Your home is no longer a safe harbor. Recent changes in the law allow authorities to seize your home. How to protect your children's inheritance. See P. 45.
• Federal Spousal Impoverishment: A big bureaucratic nightmare created by the government or a real boom to married couples helping them to stay out of the poorhouse? See P. 5.
• Shopping for a long-term care policy. 14 factors you should weigh before choosing a policy. See P. 115.
• Under the old law your maximum wait for nursing home assistance was 30 months. The new law has changed all this. Before you do anything, read P. 29.
• Who pays for long-term care insurance? You, Medicare, Medicaid or long term care insurance? See P. 101.
• How to transfer your assets to your children or relatives to put them out of the reach of a nursing home. See P. 24.
• Medicaid trusts have been used very effectively to shelter a person's assets against nursing home costs. But beware of the recent change in the law. It may make you ineligible for 5 years. See P. 30.
• What do long-term care insurance policies actually cover? See P. 110.
• Durable power of attorney: all the planning you do may come to nothing without this. See P. 164.
• Convert "countable" assets into exempt assets and become eligible for Medicaid -all perfectly legal. See P. 39.
• Why you should have a living will. See P. 118.
• If you have to go into a nursing home, you should know your rights as a resdent. See P. 146. Checklist for selecting a nursing home.
• 59 questions you must ask yourself. What does Medicare cover? Get a complete skinny on Medicare. See P. 54.
• Generally, if you transfer assets to someone, you'll become ineligible for Medicaid assistance. But there are certain "permissible transfers." Learn how to take advantage of them. See P. 35.
• Durable power of attorney or living will? Pros and cons on P. 180.
• Eight things to know about long-term care insurance. See P. 107.
• For a form of living will declaration, See P. 132.
• How to transfer "excess" income of the nursing home spouse to the spouse at home and become eligible for Medicaid. See P. 51.
• Gaps in Medicare coverage: inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health, hospice, inpatient psychiatric hospital, and doctors' and medical suppliers' coverages. See P. 57-69.
• A little-known asset protection strategy: Buy an annuity. See P. 49.
• How to appeal Medicare decisions. See P. 74.
• Medigap insurance. Is it for you? See P. 79.
• The new tax law (Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993) has thrown up another barrier in your ability to obtain Medicaid assistance for nursing-home care. See P. 29.
• Seven exempt assets that are protected under all circumstances. See P. 33
• Timing is of crucial importance in protecting your assets. How to do right. See P. 48.
• Four very effective asset protection strategies your lawver may not know. See P. 5l.
• Ten standard Medigap plans and how to choose the right one. See P. 90.
• Medicaid Part A and Part B Full details on P. 71, 72.
• What you should consider in selecting a nursing home. See P. 135.
• Complete directory of State Insurance Departments and Agencies on companies selling long-term care insurance, see P. 192.

Bonus: Medicine, Insurance, Living Will, DPA

This book isn't only about protecting your assets from nursing-home care. In this book we also tell you all about Medicare, knowing your benefits and rights, and also knowing the vital gaps in the coverage. Is Medigap insurance for you? How to choose the right plan?

Long-term care insurance - is it for you? How to tell a good policy from one riddled with loopholes. Factors to evaluate while shopping for a long-term care policy. Also, a checklist for selecting a nursing home. Your rights as a resident.

We go one step further and give you two basic tools - most critical in your nursing-home, old-age planning but little understood and less-frequently employed: living will and durable power of attorney.

Unless you have armed yourself with this vital information, it's quite possible that your life's savings, what you had worked so hard for, would go to pay nursing-home bills, leaving you and your spouse destitute.

Special Offer - Satisfaction Guaranteed

In this remarkable book you'll find a wealth of information for your retirement years all under one cover, and it comes with complete money-back guarantee. If you find for any reason that the book isn't everything you expected, simply return it for a full refund. No questions asked. But we also guarantee that if you implement even one strategy, learn one bit of information about protecting your assets, you would have saved for yourself thousands of dollars.

The regular price of Protect Your Assets from the Catastrophic Costs of Nursing Home Care is $39.95, but in this Special Introductory Offer you pay only $29.95. And you can save even more by ordering the second Kit - for your parents, a relative or friend - for half price. So act now while you're thinking about it. As we've said before, timing is of critical importance in all planning, especially nursing-home planning. Once you have lost that opportunity, it's often too late.

The Nursing-Home Care book is one of our most popular books. Maybe because it's a subject so close to everyone's heart, maybe because it answers many concerns about security and well-being when we're at our most vulnerable point in life. We urge you to decide this for yourself.

Product Code: HS05  Price: $29.95.