No one wants to end up in a nursing home.  However, if you do, it is best to have planned ahead.

People who need nursing home care do not have a choice. One of the big problems is that staying in a nursing home for any length of time is incredibly expensive. It is also likely to get more expensive as the population ages.

The government will actually pay for people's nursing home stays.  However, before the government will provide assistance, a person needs to have no assets or only have protected assets, such as a home where someone else still lives, according to the Brentwood Home Page in "Long-term planning for long-term care."

There are ways around this problem.  However, planning needs to be done well in advance. For some people, purchasing an insurance policy will be an option but long-term care insurance is expensive and not always available. Other people will need to get creative, so their assets can still be passed on to their heirs and the government will still pay for nursing home care.

Another challenge is that it needs to be done at least five years before a person enters a nursing home.  Figuring out how to do this, can be solved by visiting with an elder law attorney or an estate planning attorney.

Reference: Brentwood Home Page (May 28, 2018) "Long-term planning for long-term care."