Houston daily journal. (Perry, GA) 2006-current, December 09, 2006, Image 44

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Special Pullout Section! Hometown^w Th 4 easy Oiodzm way to make amazing meals! 4 t I < t"■ i w J&- A ® ■#;&, -X- . ■'.' |Hjg§psc ©2006 General Mills Senior Citizens with Money in the Bank Should Read This Before It's Too Late If you have worked hard all your life and managed to put away a nest egg, you might end up losing most of your life savings because of a defect in Medicare. If you or your spouse suddenly become ill and require extended nursing home care...NO ONE will help you with the nursing home bills. Medicare won’t and neither will your health insurance. By law you are responsible for the nursing home bills yourself. Only after you have used up virtually all of your money, will Medicaid step in. That's because Medicaid, like Welfare, only aids the poor. By some estimates, the average couple's life savings can be wiped out after only 13 weeks of nursing home care. Rich people don’t have to worry because they can afford super-expensive special nursing home insurance, while the poor are taken care of by Medicaid. Now that just doesn’t seem fair to working people with a lifetime of hard-earned savings. The system they have supported with tax dollars, seems to have forgotten them. Savings intended to provide security in retirement, or help for children, can quickly go up in smoke. The fact is, if you don't know how to protect your assets, here’s what can happen to you. By law, before Medicaid will pay nursing home bills, you may have to spend ull your countable assets except S2(XX) (or as low as SISOO in some states). Countable assets mean not only money in checking and savings accounts...but also any funds in CD’s, IRA’s, Savings Bonds, Mutual Funds, stocks, whole life insurance, annuities and other types of investments, as well as most trust assets. They can also take a vacation home or a second car. In Family = M Meal “ L—i W' addition, (except for a small personal spending allowance and a health insurance payment allowance) your entire Social Security or pension check can be taken to cover nursing home expenses. What’s more, if you are single or widowed, you can even lose your house. According to the federal law called the Spousal Impoverishment Act, if one spouse requires extended nursing home care, the healthy spouse can be forced to surrender HALF of their combined countable assets. And if you have a sizeable estate, they can legally take MORE THAN HALF. Is there anything you can do to stop this nightmare from happening to you? Yes. You are protected by law and can use several legal techniques to place your countable (or vulnerable) assets into the uncountable (or protected) category. The problem is, most people are not aware of their legal rights. Unfortunately, most people think Medicare will take care of them, so they unknowingly leave their assets vulnerable and in jeopardy. Your legal rights and the many methods of protecting your money are now revealed in “How to Protect Your Financial Security.” This financial self-defense manual tells you simple legal procedures for preserving your money and wants of pitfalls to avoid. Here is some of the valuable material you leam: • Legal ways to turn countable (or vulnerable) assets into uncountable (or protected) assets • How to protect your house from being sold to pay your nursing home bills • How to protect a second car or vacation home MFR COUPON | EXPIRES 2/3/07 SAVE 35* when you buy any flavor Box or Pouch Betty Crocker® Potatoes (Except Potato Buds) 9 Votd if altered, copied, sok). purchased trmlmed. eicnangedai where proh i&ited or restricied by law One coupon per purchase of specified prodttctisi Good only .n USA APOsifPO'. CONSUMER ’Jo olher coupon may oe used with ll«s coupon Consumer pa,s any sales tn RETAILER General Midi ,uli reimburse you Ihe face .aloe ol ibis coupon plus 8t t submitted m comp'iance with our redemption policy Cop, a.afabie upon request Cash vain 1100 cent Send to GENERAL MILLS PO 6o« 8805S8 El Paso TX 88588 0588 or an authon/ed cleeringhouse IPPS^I A11176A 1206 581625 5 1600053135 7 (8100)0 58162 • If you give your money to your children without following these precise guidelines, a nursing home could get your money anyhow • What you need to know about Living Trusts •What lawyers never tell you about protecting your will As a hard-working taxpayer, you have a legal right to protect your life savings for yourself, your spouse or your heirs. You don’t have to be rich to have peace of mind. You just have to follow the easy steps outlined in “How to Protect Your Financial Security.” Although “How to Protect Your Financial Security" can easily save you thousands of dollars, the price is very reasonable. Right now, you can receive a special press run for only $12.95 plus S2.(X) postage and handling. It is not available in any bookstore. It is only available through this special offer on a 90 day Money Back Guarantee. If you are dissatisfied in any way, just return it in 90 days for a full refund, no questions asked. Order an extra copy for family or friend and SAVE. You can order 2 for only S2O total. HERE’S HOW TO ORDER: Just PRINT your name and address and the words “Financial Security” on a piece of paper and mail it along with a check or money order lo: THE LEADER CO., INC.. Publishing Division, Dept. F8X657, P.O. Box 8347. Canton. OH 44711. (Make checks payable to The Leader Co., Inc.) VISA or Master Card, send card number and expiration date. Act now. Don't leave your assets in jeopardy. ©2(X)6 The l.cadcr Co.. Inc.