Middle Class Estate Planning

What is so different about you? What enables middle-class folks to rise and win, time after time? Facing and beating challenges? At seven years old, I began helping another kid on his paper route. Lucky for me, there was a block of triple decker houses and Paulie did not like climbing stairs. A few years later, my next younger brother and I had our own route. Hot in the summer. Cold in the winter. Raining or snowing from time to time. On foot. We did not always whistle while we worked. But the Carrier boys delivered the Evening Bulletin 6 nights a week. And early Sunday mornings, before church, the Journal-Bulletin.

You have done the same. Throughout your life, you took the overtime. The second job. Doing what it took. My weekends at Notre Dame were spent delivering pizza. As a law student, I worked full time on the graveyard shift as a security guard. Just like you. What else could we have done? We had a job. We saw the need. We got it done.

We learned it from our folks. After beating the bad guys in WWII, our parents went to work. Dad taught school all day, came home, changed clothes, and put in 8 more hours at the Narragansett brewery. For 16 years. Mom was an RN. After raising 8 kids, she pinned her nurse’s cap back on and resumed nursing. Details vary, but your family lived the same values. How do I know? Thirty years of talking to and planning for your folks. And you.

And now COVID. The Elder Plague. Death rates: way down. Therapies: better and improving. So much winning. But we are not done yet. COVID is real. COVID can strike close to home.

By a series of commonplace coincidences, a team member tested positive for COVID. Since the beginning, the Carrier Law team has taken every recommended precaution. And come up with a few of our own. Hand sanitizer, videoconferencing, outdoor workshops, social distancing, masks, working from home, plexiglass barriers, temperature checks, screening protocols, Clorox-ing conference rooms, prudent behavior.

Not perfect. Last Friday, I spent a few hours (in the rain) climbing through trees on one of those courses. Team building with several paralegals. Outdoors, yes. Distanced, yes. Wearing masks, yes. Until that triumphant team photo at the finish. Mask off. Picture! Mask on. Well. Then we waited for the results. One more thing to be taken in stride.

Aren’t we all waiting on “test results”? What will your “Alzheimer’s test” reveal? Of course, there is no such “test.” We find out only as time goes by. With COVID, we face reality, we do not wish it away. Most of us will eventually face dementia. Personally. Not just our spouse or a loved one. Lots of statistics. One bottom-line fact.

The trouble in American life today, in business as well as in sports, is that too many people are afraid of competition. The result is that in some circles people have come to sneer at success if it costs hard work and training and sacrifice.
– Knute Rockne

We, the middle class, do not deny reality. We accept it, make our peace, and do the best we can. With optimism and good cheer. Lots of critics have lots to say about us baby-boomers. But all agree that when we see what we want, we go get it. Make it happen. Rejecting the counsels of gloom and doom. With open eyes and stout hearts.

When you are facing long-term care, dementia, end of life issues, there are a million questions and few reliable answers. Many people, including otherwise competent financial planners, well-known attorneys, and respected members of the community, seem to believe that you should go broke when facing these issues. Maybe they are unaware of the options. Perhaps they are in denial. Is there a moral imperative that you should go broke? Some “experts” seem to think there is.

Americans play to win all the time. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.
– George S. Patton

Like you, I completely reject the idea that losing is okay. Like you, I believe in winning. We all have challenges and sometimes we do lose. But we never “get used to it.” Why should we? Losing is a bitter pill. I may have to take my medicine, but I do not have to like it.

If you want to go broke, as some folks think you should, you do not need me. The state is very good at making a bonfire of your lifesavings. The state helps only when you comply with their rules. And for most folks, compliance means poverty, insecurity, loss. Unacceptable.

[W]ith firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in…
– Abraham Lincoln

LifePlanning™ at Carrier Law

LifePlanning™ is middle class Michigan’s tool kit for winning. Comply with their rules? Yes, absolutely. If you want to win, you must know how to play the game. Thirty years of study, experience, testing and delivering results have produced the LifePlan™ system. Techniques and tools that preserve, protect, and defend your right to decide how you will live. You earned that right through decades of work and conscientious stewardship. Isn’t it ridiculous to suggest that impoverishing yourself, your spouse, your family is somehow noble? Isn’t it foolish to reject your own life experience for the defeatist counsels of the “wise”?

LifePlanning™ means your choices matter, whatever the test results. Are you like thousands of Michigan families who played by the rules and earned homes, cottages, farms, lifesavings? Would you like the rules to work for you, for a change? Are you waiting for the test results? Are you waiting until it is too late? Would you like to know now?

GET ANSWERS NOW… CALL THE LIFEPLAN™ HOTLINE
1-800-317-2812

Special Medicaid Rules Extended

Everyone knows about the COVID Elder Plague now. The facts are well accepted. Victims are overwhelmingly older. And in long-term care facilities. Tragic truth: nursing home residents are 70 times more likely to die of COVID. Executive Orders in New York, New Jersey and Michigan have been deadly.

Last summer, we gave you the good news about at home care. Emergency, limited changes to the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (“PACE”). New opportunities for thousands of families to get at-home care without more sacrifice. Keep life savings, cottage, farm, rental properties, business. No Poverty! If you follow the rules. Care services: free. Income: keep it. No co-pay, doughnut hole or other payment.

Many Michigan families acted immediately. We have helped dozens secure at-home care for their loved ones. PACE saves families from the deadly COVID virus stalking long-term care facilities. But we warned you: “COVID-19 emergency rules are temporary. The benefits are permanent. When the emergency is over, these favorable rules will be gone.”

The rules expired November 1, 2020. But now, the emergency rules were extended to April 1, 2021. Five more months for families to get back a little of what they have paid in. That is a big deal. Let’s not put it off again.

Threat to Middle Class Security

You are middle class. You have worked and saved. Since you were 10 years old. You and your spouse have a bit set aside. You are fine! But then…
You are caring for your loved one at home. You applied for help. Rejected! Too much income. Too much savings. A cottage, a business, a farm, stocks, bonds, IRA. Your financial advisor, the accountant, your lawyer. All say the same thing: You must “spend down” all you have achieved. No help until you are broke.

Medicaid Five Year Look-Back

The emergency rules eliminate the “Five Year Look-back”. You truly can preserve what you have earned. Thousands more families could benefit. But tragically, they refuse to believe it is possible. Healthy skepticism hardens into stubborn rejection. Everyone suffers. Clinging to the idea that it is “too good to be true” or “fake news”? Talk to folks who are uncertain and suspicious. Accurate information and proof beat unfounded fears every day.
Fact: You do not have to accept nursing home poverty for yourself or your loved one.

P.A.C.E. Qualifications

Answer Yes to 3 Questions:
1. Need help with activities of daily life? Memory problems? Oxygen therapy? Blindness? Dialysis? These are just a few of the many ways to qualify.
2. Are you safe at home?
3. Social security (gross) less than $2349? (Special rules for pension income.)

We can do the homework together. Most families benefit. Hugely. But it costs nothing to find out.

Get Answers Now: 800-317-2812.

Benefits of Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly

What can PACE do for me? Why not find out? Your team is standing by. PACE is doctors, therapists, dieticians, nurses, physician assistants, administrators. All working together to provide your best solution. Want more detail? Call us.

PACE includes:
On-Site Physician/Medical Supervision; Nursing Care; Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Recreational Therapy; Activities and Exercise; Breakfast, Lunch, Snack; Nutritional Counseling; Social Services; Dental Care; Audiology; Optometry; Podiatry; Women’s Services; Dentistry and Dentures; Optometry and Eyeglasses; Audiology and Hearing Aids; Podiatry, Diabetic Shoes and Orthotics; Cardiology; Rheumatology; Lab Tests; Radiology; X-Rays; Outpatient Surgery; Primary Care Physician: On call 24 hours a day, seven days a week; Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living; Personal Care; Chore Services; Meal Preparation; Emergency Room Visits; Hospitalizations; Inpatient Specialist; Skilled Inpatient Rehabilitation; Transportation Services; Prescriptions; Over-the-Counter Medicines; Transportation; Respite Care and Caregiver Education; Wheelchairs; Walkers; Oxygen; Hospital Beds; Diabetic Testing Supplies; Adult Day Care.

No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste.

We are your team, united by 3 goals and 1 mission.
1. No Poverty. Your family will NOT go broke.
2. No Charity. You paid for these benefits with a lifetime of work and taxes. You earned this.
3. No Waste. Your beneficiaries get whatever is left. For certain.

How Much Time Do You Think You Have? Why Waste It?

Get the straight story. Your loved one is counting on you. Satisfy yourself that you have the right information. It is simple and free. Call and schedule your Discovery Meeting where we will learn about your unique situation and guide you through the process.

Supreme Court Justice Nomination

Who cares? The Constitution and the Supreme Court don’t affect your daily life. Right? All that political food fight going on in Washington, D.C. has little to do with me and you. Pretty irrelevant, eh?

Well. You may want to rethink that one. In many ways, large and small, Supreme Court rulings govern our daily life. What we can say. How we can say it. What we can sell. What we can buy. For whom we can vote. How we can vote. It’s kind of a big deal.

Why Do We Have a Constitution?

Over 40 years ago, as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, I took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same….” What does that mean? How do you “support and defend” a document? What is the job of the Supreme Court? Why do we have a Constitution?

There are Constitutional Law scholars who spend their lives puzzling over these issues. Writing, Theorizing. Advocating. I am not that smart. And there have been other things to do. Over several decades as an interested observer, I have developed some opinions. This is how it seems to me.

The United States Constitution

Folks view the Constitution and Supreme Court in one of two ways (of course there are gaps and overlaps, but…). The Constitution is either a fundamental Rule Book that applies to everyone or a mysterious relic of ever-increasing, unpredictable power. Justices are honest umpires, here for the length of the game, or avenging angels in black robes whose wishes must be honored beyond the grave.

Is the Constitution a sturdy shield against tyranny? Protecting ordinary folks going about their daily lives; planning for the future. Well-understood, fair, predictable. “Equal Justice Under Law.”

Or is the Constitution a flaming sword of righteousness? Fearsome weapon against bad thoughts, bad acts and bad people. Ever evolving to battle new grievances. Discovering and pursuing hidden evils. Vengeance against historic wrongs. Therapy for all distress.

Supreme Court Justices Apply the Rules

Is the Supreme Court a committee of honest umpires? Given the Rule Book, their job is to apply the Rules. The Supremes do not make the Rules. We the People, Congress and the President do that. And the Supremes shield us from the Congress and President’s urge to trample our inalienable rights.

In 1776 and beyond, the Founders of the United States were surrounded by murderous, tyrannical governments. Kings, queens, pashas, sultans, emirs, Kaisers, czars, emperors and Pharaohs, despotic overlords of every description. The Founders experienced unrestricted governmental power. They knew the evil that lurks in the hearts of men (and women) to control and dominate. And they didn’t like it. Not a bit.

Our Constitution provides a basic, reliable structure. Balancing co-equal branches of government. Restraint on Power, not the People. Individuals and families living together with maximum liberty and freedom, minimal interference and control. A mighty defense against tyranny. Everyone can thrive when left to their own initiative and effort, in a framework of ordered liberty. Governs best, governs least.

Avenging Angels

Is the Supreme Court a squad of avenging angels? Life is nothing but a tawdry power struggle. Oppression, exploitation, bias, unfair advantage, -isms of all sorts. The Constitution is a mighty flaming sword of righteousness. Smite the evil doers!

Of course, new evil doers unceasingly arise, so the Constitution must evolve. Who cares what those dead guys wrote over 200 years ago? The words do not really matter. We have the power; now let us enjoy it. Liberty, tolerance, virtue: meaningless propaganda. Supreme Court Justices embody wisdom and concentrated virtue. The People are an undisciplined mob. Ungrateful wretches! If they will not learn, they will be compelled. You will be made to care.

Who Should Be A Supreme Court Justice?

How to explain the wailing and gnashing of teeth by politicians, commentators, and others on the recent death of a Supreme Court Justice? Gushing floods of despair, anxiety, and fear… from whence do they arise? Parents brag on social media of their minor kids’ emotional devastation. Another videoed herself in the shrieking throes of a nervous breakdown. While driving.

Was that your reaction? Or did you maintain a calm confidence that soon another umpire would be found. Not from a mystic mountain but nominated by an elected official. That individual’s fidelity to the rules as written, amended, interpreted would be tested. By other elected officials. And life, under the light yoke of the Rule Book will go on.

Why is it not enough that a Supreme Court Justice be skilled, intelligent, hard-working? Faithful to The Rule Book that has worked for almost 250 years of self-government.

What Does All This Legal Philosophy Have To Do With LifePlanning™?

Quite a bit. LifePlanning™ is how regular middle-class families avoid nursing home poverty. You do not have to sacrifice your life savings, your security, your loved ones’ well-being. LifePlanning™ is based on strict compliance with the rules and regulations provided for long-term care. What if we could not depend on the rules and regulations? What if your future or that of your loved ones depended on a caseworker’s feelings? Or who you voted for? Or who likes or does not like you?

What if some groups got extra benefits, based on their political orientation? What if other groups got extra restrictions, based on their beliefs? Aren’t we living through that experiment, right now? How does it feel? Whatever happened to do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

Middle-class Americans are not looking for special treatment. No extra privileges. No special deals. Fairness is all we ask. And that means everyone plays by the same set of rules. And the rules apply evenly to everyone.

Basic Fairness. We’ve been helping Middle-class Michigan get their earned benefits for 30 years. We make the rules work for the folks who play by the rules.

By David L. Carrier

Find Out How to Avoid Nursing Home Poverty

Call The LifePlan™ Hotline Today! 800-317-2812

COVID-19 is the Elder Plague

COVID-19. Everyone has an opinion. Fear-mongering headlines are everywhere. Widespread destruction of American middle class hopes and dreams. Out of work. Out of school. Out of money. Out of hope. Why is anyone surprised that some young people turn against fundamental American ideals of honor and fair play? What if America had responded to polio, yellow fever, whooping cough, German measles, other devastating disease pandemics by depriving regular citizens of their rights to worship, associate with others, seek their fortune, pursue happiness?

COVID-19 falls heaviest on older Americans. It is truly an Elder Plague. The numbers have not changed. The older you are, the more deadly COVID-19. Americans over the age of 85 make up only 3.4% of COVID-19 cases, but a full 32% of deaths. Almost ten times as many. Younger Americans, under age 50, suffer 64.1% of COVID-19 infections. What percentage of deaths? Five percent. 5%. FIVE PERCENT. So. Older folks – ten times MORE likely to die. Younger folks – thirteen times LESS likely.

Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Take your temperature. Take care. Be on guard. Be wise. COVID-19 is a killer. That 5% of under-50 deaths represents almost seven thousand, five hundred Americans whose lives were cut short. Seven thousand, five hundred Americans who will never reach their full potential. Seven thousand, five hundred American tragedies.

And now, for the rest of the story.

High School Kids’ Despair Equals Suicide and Drug Abuse

“But there has been another cost that we’ve seen, particularly in high schools. We’re seeing, sadly, far greater suicides now than we are deaths from COVID. We’re seeing far greater deaths from drug overdose that are above excess that we had as background than we are seeing the deaths from COVID.”

Idle Hands are the Devil’s Workshop

We are not doctors, virologists, epidemiologists, or data analysts. But something seems odd here, doesn’t it? COVID-19 falls heaviest on the elderly. Hardly at all on working age and younger people. Yet rather than focus on those in need, politicians completely lock down society. No work. No play. No school. No church. Unsurprisingly, teenage suicides and drug deaths skyrocket. Frustration and boredom find outlet in politically correct protests, riots, and violence. Why do so many politicians embrace mindless destruction now and a defenseless future? Fear? Sympathy?

Some people ask, “Is there a better way?” We wonder, “Could there be a worse way?”

Middle Class Will Prevail

But as we all know, something that cannot go on forever, will not. Sooner or later, the pendulum swings back. Can you feel it? Did you get that sense, sometime last week, that things had gone far enough? Too far? We are patient. We are kind. We do not think ill of others. Slow to anger. But enough is enough. Too much waste. Too much greed. Too much self-righteous, self-satisfied, smug entitlement. Too much disrespect. “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7

LifePlanning™

Wealthy folks are fine. They have lots of lawyers chasing them. Deserving poor get it for free. The Middle Class pays. Until there is nothing left. Then, scraps. We are here to serve you. LifePlanning™ is designed for and serves the Michigan Middle Class. Now. While you are still here. And who else even talks about it? You could do worse than give us a call and discover the choices LifePlanning™ and your hard work have made possible for you.

Get Answers Today! Call 1-800-317-2812