Diagnosis of debilitating disease at early age difficult

Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease can be debilitating at any age. However it seems that the younger one is diagnosed the more tragic, the more consequential to the rest of a life; especially if there is a healthy spouse. More frequently today, the healthy spouse is opting out of the marriage and the agreement to remain together “until death do us part”. If there were no provisions for life insurance that can be redeemed to cover the costs of care or no long term care insurance purchased the physical and financial demands of caring for a loved one diagnosed at a relatively early age – fifties or sixties can be devastating. Many bankruptcies today are caused by unplanned and unexpected health events. With the cost of care in a nursing home averaging $75,000 per year, most families do not have this much saved for retirement, let along for a long term care event. And imagine the affect of care on a retirement plan for the healthy spouse. All the years of savings can be wiped out short term and difficult to replace even after many years of work. In this situation, what is the right thing to do? How can the healthy spouse be protected? Is the answer divorce?

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