New Prague Area Community Education Services

This is an online or in person course geared towards helping residents understand the home buying process from start to finish, starting with the most famous question, "Am I ready to purchase a home?" The course includes information on ZERO DOWN programs, understanding a purchase agreement, contracts, avoiding scams, home maintenance, how to win in multiple offers, insurance and other important steps in the home buying process. If these times, dates or in-person classes do not work for you, contact Lisa @ 612-644-3601 to schedule a private class. Virtual classes available upon request only.

The biggest fear for most baby boomers is how to pay for the nursing home and still leave an inheritance for the next generation. We will walk through the following questions and more including: How will I meet my nursing home goals? Is Long Term Care Insurance for me? What about home healthcare? Should I gift my money away? Would I qualify for Medicaid? What about my current Trust, does it protect my assets and avoid the nursing home? What is the 60-month claw back? What if my spouse goes into the nursing home and exhausts our money? Get the answers to these and other questions and learn how to create an effective plan to deal with these uncertainties. Join us online! This class will be held using the online platform, Zoom. Steve will email you a link to access the class. Simply click the link the day of class and Steve will lead you through the class from the comfort of your own home!

Recent legislative changes now allow – for the first time - the implementation of new long-term care “hybrid” insurance products that remove the major complaints that many have had about traditional policies: high annual premiums at the start with the likelihood of even higher annual premiums in the future due to rate increases. But does this new product really make more financial sense than the older (and still-available) traditional policies? This advanced class is for those who may have ever wondered about buying long-term care insurance OR for those who already have it. This class shows how to accurately compare the cost-effectiveness of different policies / companies. Learn what options should be avoided, where the "gotchas" are often hidden in the fine print, and what is the "best" age to buy. Understand the pros and cons of group plans available from many employers. This class provides the analytical tools for you to design the “right” policy if you decide to buy a policy – and the tools to decide if you should keep your existing policy. Instructor: Gerard Goulet, 507-269-9036 COVID-19 has required us to make some changes to the way we have conducted classes in the past. This program will follow all Minnesota Department of Health guidance including small group sizes, sanitation procedures, participant health screenings, etc. Please stay home if you show any signs of illness. PLEASE NOTE: Students and instructors are required to wear a mask for the safety of everyone.

Long-term care insurance IS NOT for everyone. But, simply because we’re all living longer, what IS for everyone is getting educated on exactly how – and why - recent MN and Federal laws have significantly changed the asset protection part of retirement planning. Learn how new Minnesota laws now guarantee that you can shelter/protect your retirement assets from future long-term care costs. This class is a "must" for you to determine whether or not some type of long-term care insurance should be part of your own retirement and estate planning. Instructor: Gerard Goulet, 507-269-9036

One Should Ask: Is it better to have a formal plan in place, or leave things to future family dynamics and the ever changing benefit system? Did you know with proper planning, both while they are alive and after they have passed, grandparents, parents and family can take care of a child, grandchild or family member with special needs in their estate plan? Yes, and such planning will not adversely affect the benefits and programs which the person with special needs has available to them! This class will discuss how to properly protect your assets and provide for the future benefit of the loved one with special needs. Whatever the type of the asset (tangible, income producing or other) there are options you should know. We will discuss how the special needs trust fits into your estate planning, planning for the future of your loved one with special needs, and pros and cons of a special needs trust.

The trust is a very popular component and tool to be used in our Estate Planning. However, there is a variety of vastly different Trust options to be used and the question arises: “Am I using the right Trust for my needs and goals?” Often used Trusts include: Living Trusts, Testamentary Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts, each serves a different purpose, each has a different result. One common problem that often needs addressing is the over-utilization of the Living Trust for goals or problems that it does not resolve. For example, “Does my Living Trust protect my assets against Medicaid and the nursing home?” The answer is probably not. The Irrevocable Trust and the Testamentary Trust each have their strengths and weaknesses as well. We will clearly define the strengths and weaknesses of these different types of Trusts and when to use them. Explore your goals and wishes to see where they fall in the realm of Trusts. Class encourages questions and we hope to provide answers that will set your mind at ease or assist you in the decision making in this area. Join us online! This class will be held using the online platform, Zoom. Steve will email you a link to access the class. Simply click the link the day of class and Steve will lead you through the class from the comfort of your own home!