OT: Long Term Care benefit & Life Insurance

[dekindy]

Has anyone purchased life insurance with a long term care benefit or done a tax-free exchange from their existing permanent insurance policy(universal, variable universal, or whole life) to a new existing insurance policy that contained a long term care benefit?

I have been thinking about this for awhile. Now that my Mom has went into a nursing home and my Dad will eventually and my wife has lost 70 pounds and might qualify standard or preferred I am thinking about it again.

[peanutgallery]

Are you talking about possibly rolling the cash value of an existing Life Insurance policy in a Long Term care policy?

Unfortunately, that will probably be an issue because of age, pre-existing conditions and most long-term care policies revolve around paying premiums for a while before you need it. I was in the biz for a while and I never was a big fan of long-term care. One of the reasons I "was" in the biz.

That's not to say that you can't put the cash value to work in another way. Get a copy of the policy(s) and talk to your agent and a financial professional to see what your options are as far as accessing the cash value to care for your Mom without getting hosed with penalties. Depending on the type of life insurance policy there is will be varying amounts of $ as far as cash value. Universal and Variable policies can go both ways as far as the cash value - if no one kept up with rising premiums, the cash value is used to pay the difference. If someone did, or the policy isn't really old you should do OK. Once you get copies someone should be able to help you figure it out

See a Pro, good luck with you Mom