Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys If your spouse is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, you understand how devastating the disease can be – both to the patient and to the caregiver. Alzheimer’s doesn’t just rob the patient of memories, it also robs loved ones of their time and energy. In most cases, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s progress slowly, making it relatively easy to care for a loved one during the early stages of the disease. As … [Read more...] about Caring for an Alzheimer’s Patient— Can Medicaid Home Based Services Help?

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys For many people, owning a small business remains part of the “American Dream.” If you are one of those people and you have managed to make your small business a success, you are to be congratulated. Getting a business off the ground is challenging enough. Actually turning a profit is nothing short of impressive. What happens to your business though if you (or your spouse) need to qualify for Medicaid to … [Read more...] about Can I Keep My Small Business and Still Qualify for Medicaid?

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Deciding you can no longer adequately care for a spouse in your home is heart-wrenching. However, once you have made the decision to move your spouse to a nursing home, you will need to make a number of practical, financial, and legal adjustments as a result of the move. One of those adjustments may be to get your spouse qualified for Medicaid to help cover the high cost of nursing home care. If you have … [Read more...] about How Can I Continue to Help My Nursing Home Spouse and Pass Down an Inheritance to My Children?

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys The longer you live, the greater the odds are that you, or a spouse, will need long-term nursing home care. To cover the cost of that care, you may find yourself turning to Medicaid for help. You may have heard, however, that in order to qualify for Medicaid you need to sell your home and use the proceeds to cover expenses first. Someone else may have told you that you can probably avoid selling your … [Read more...] about What You Need to Know about Medicaid Estate Recovery

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Over half of all seniors who need long-term care end up turning to Medicaid for help covering the cost of that care. Many of them know little, or nothing, about the Medicaid eligibility rules because they never needed Medicaid prior to their retirement years. The result is that there are a number of misconceptions surrounding the Medicaid rules, particularly when it comes to making financial gifts just … [Read more...] about Frequently Asked Questions About Gifting and Medicaid Eligibility

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys You’ve heard the horror stories about married couples who lost the majority of their nest egg as a result of the Medicaid “spend-down” requirements when one of them needed help paying for long-term care costs. Understandably, you don’t want this to happen to you. Are the stories true? Will you really lose a considerable portion of your assets if you, or your spouse, go into a nursing home? The good news … [Read more...] about Does a Married Couple Have to “Spend-Down” Assets to Qualify for Medicaid?

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Family members, friends, and neighbors devote countless hours to providing care to their relatives or loved ones. During National Family Caregivers Month, we recognize and thank the humble heroes who do so much to keep our families and communities strong.” President Barack Obama, NFC Month Proclamation 2012 The words of President Obama remind us how important the caregivers are who devote their time … [Read more...] about Help Celebrate National Family Caregiver Month

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Like many people, you may not have given much thought to the possibility that you will need to qualify for Medicaid later in life. More importantly, you may not realize that the retirement nest egg you have worked so hard to establish over the course of your lifetime could be at risk if you do ultimately need to qualify for Medicaid benefits. Often, the best way to explain something is by using an … [Read more...] about Can Purchasing an Annuity Allow You to Keep Assets and Still Qualify for Medicaid?

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys David and Amy have been happily married for over 50 years and are now well into their retirement years. They have two grown children. Their daughter Sarah is an engineer, while their son Allen has special needs and lives in a group home. Amy is very concerned lately because it looks as though both she and her husband will be living in a nursing home in the near future. She is unsure how that will affect … [Read more...] about How You Can Provide for Your Disabled Child and Still Qualify for Medicaid

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Across the nation, about half of all seniors who require nursing home care depend on Medicaid to cover the cost of that care. Medicaid, however, has both income and asset tests that must be satisfied before a senior will be approved for benefits. If the applicant’s assets exceed the limit, the applicant will be told to “spend-down” the excess assets in order to reach the asset limit (typically $2,000 for … [Read more...] about A Funeral Plan is Not Always the Best Medicaid “Spend-Down” Solution