By Chuck Roulet, Estate and Elder Law Attorney | Licensed in Florida and Minnesota
Long-term care costs are the single largest financial threat to most families' savings and inheritance plans — and yet they remain one of the most consistently underestimated expenses in retirement planning. The numbers most families carry in their heads bear little resemblance to the actual cost of care today.
Here is a current, realistic picture of what nursing home and long-term care actually costs in Florida and Minnesota — and what those numbers mean for the assets your family is counting on. These numbers are based on the 2024 Genworth Cost of Care Guide.
Current Cost of Care in Florida
Florida is one of the most expensive states in the country for long-term care, driven by high demand from the state's large retiree population and the cost of operating memory care facilities in a warm climate.
- In-home care from a licensed home health aide: approximately $28 to $40 per hour, or $55,000 to $82,000 annually for full-time care
- Assisted living facility (standard): $4,000 to $6,500 per month, or $48,000 to $78,000 per year
- Nursing home, semi-private room: averaging $11,000 per month, or approximately $128,000 per year
- Nursing home, private room: averaging $13,000 per month, or approximately $155,000 per year
These figures reflect current market rates in the Sarasota, Venice, and Tampa Bay region — Chuck's primary Florida market. Costs in South Florida and the Orlando area may vary.
Current Cost of Care in Minnesota
Minnesota's care costs are similar to Florida's overall — and costs in the Twin Cities metro area, where Roulet Law Firm's Minnesota office is located, tend to run at the higher end of the state range.
- In-home care from a licensed home health aide: approximately $25 to $32 per hour, or $50,000 to $96,000 annually for full-time care
- Assisted living facility (standard): $3,500 to $6,000 per month, or $42,000 to $74,000 per year
- Nursing home, semi-private room: averging $12,000 per month, or approximately $144,000 per year
- Nursing home, private room: averaging $12,800 per month, or approximately $153,000 per year
What These Numbers Mean Over Time
The raw monthly or annual figure is only part of the picture. The more significant number is the total cost across the duration of care — and for conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, that duration can be substantial.
The Alzheimer's Association reports that the average person with Alzheimer's disease lives eight to ten years after diagnosis. The final three to five years of that progression typically require full-time residential care — meaning memory care or nursing home level supervision.
Applied to current Florida rates, three years of nursing home care at $150,000 per year equals $450,000. Five years equals $750,000. For a family whose parents have $600,000 in total assets between their home, savings, and retirement accounts — this math eliminates the inheritance before anyone receives a dollar.
In Minnesota, at $130,000 per year, the same three-to-five-year window costs $390,000 to $650,000.
Does Medicare Cover Any of This?
This is the question that creates the most dangerous misconceptions in inheritance planning. Medicare does not cover long-term custodial care — the kind of care that dementia, Parkinson's, and similar conditions require over months and years.
Medicare will pay for short-term skilled nursing care following a qualifying hospitalization. It covers the first 20 days at full cost, applies a significant daily co-pay from days 21 through 100, and provides nothing after day 100. For sustained memory care or nursing home residency, Medicare is not a factor.
Medicaid is the government program designed for long-term care — but qualifying means spending down most countable assets first, and even after qualifying, Medicaid estate recovery allows the state to file a claim against your parent's estate after death to recoup what it paid for care.
What Families Can Do to Protect Against These Costs
The most effective legal tools for protecting a family's assets from long-term care spend-down include Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts, which begin a five-year lookback clock when established, and — in Florida — Lady Bird Deeds, which can protect the family home from Medicaid estate recovery after death. That being said, for reasons that go beyond the scope of this article, I do not recommend Lady Bird deeds to our clients.
For a comprehensive breakdown of how these costs interact with your family's inheritance plan, and the legal strategies available in both Florida and Minnesota, read our full guide here: Click here to read the article.
Ready to Protect Your Family's Inheritance? Call Us Today.
Whether you are a parent who wants to protect what you have built, or an adult child who wants to make sure your family's plan actually works — a conversation with an experienced estate and elder law attorney is the most important step you can take. Call us today at (941) 909-4644 forour Sarasota County, FL office or at (763) 420-5087 for our Minnetonka, MN office.
Or fill out the contact form on this page and a member of our team will reach out to schedule your consultation.
If you would like to discover more, here are some additional resources for you:
Free Resource: Download "Save Our Home"
Our free guide walks through exactly how families use legal planning to protect their home and savings from long-term care and nursing home costs. Click here to download your copy.
Free Online Masterclass
Register for our free estate planning masterclass — learn the strategies Chuck uses with his private clients to avoid probate, protect assets, and build a plan that actually works. Click here to register.
Chuck Roulet is an estate and elder law planning attorney at Roulet Law Firm, P.A., with offices in Minnetonka, Minnesota and Venice, Florida. He is licensed in both states and has nearly 30 years of experience helping families protect their homes, life savings, and legacies.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.
