Aging farm families face the prospect of making a difficult decision between buying long-term care insurance and keeping farm assets.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average age for all farmers is 57.5 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the average life expectancy in the United States at 77 years. That likely means long-term care won’t be an option for many—it’ll be a necessity.
“Two-thirds of people 65 and older will need long-term care of some kind,” said Robert Moore, attorney and research specialist with the Agriculture and Resource Law Program at The Ohio State University.
“Nursing home costs are now $100,000 a year,” he said. “There are many farms that just don’t have the financial ability to take on that kind of expense.
“If there’s no income or savings available, then farm assets will have to be sold,” Moore said.
Moore will be discussing strategies for those in ag to manage the risks involved in long-term care costs during a webinar hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center on Wednesday, July 20. The webinar begins at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central.
There is no cost to attend the webinar and registration is online here.
“With our longer lifespans, managing long-term care is something that’s an issue for agriculture and beyond,” said Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center. “With
Robert’s focus on farm succession planning, business entities and taxation, we know he will bring practical and proven tactics to help those in agriculture keep the outlook bright for the future.”
For more information on the National Agricultural Law Center, visit https://nationalaglawcenter.org/ or follow @Nataglaw on Twitter.
