Elder Law & Medicaid Services

First, in many cases, a healthy spouse will still be residing in the home. Secondly, there is a Medicaid estate recovery mandate, so the home’s value would not be ignored. After the death of a Medicaid beneficiary, there is an estate recovery process. The state will seek reimbursement from assets that remain in the estate. This could include a home, so these are the reasons why you can qualify as a homeowner. To protect the home in light of the circumstances, you could convey the property to the Medicaid trust. You can continue to live in the home as usual, but it will not count if you apply for Medicaid at least five years after you transfer the house to the trust.

In Texas, where we practice, and in most other states, the asset limit is just $2,000. There are some assets that do not count, including:

• Your home
• Wedding and engagement rings and heirloom jewelry
• Household items
• Personal effects
• One motor vehicle used for transportation
• $1500 set aside for final expenses
• $1500 in whole life insurance
• Unlimited term life insurance

No, there is a rule in place to prevent this type of thing. Medicaid has imposed a five-year look-back period. After you fund this type of trust, you are ineligible for Medicaid coverage for five years.

No, you can no longer touch the principal that has been conveyed into this type of trust. This is why the assets would not count if you seek Medicaid eligibility. However, there is a silver lining when you take this approach. A lot of senior citizens rely on income that is generated by their savings. They have no intention of spending the assets that are working for them to provide income. When you have a Medicaid trust, you can continue to accept income produced by the assets in the trust.

You can build your nursing home asset protection plan around the utilization of an irrevocable trust. Assets that are held by the trust would not be counted if you apply for Medicaid to pay for long-term care.

If you work with an elder law attorney, you will learn about Medicaid planning strategies. This jointly administered federal/state government health insurance program will pay for long-term care if you can gain eligibility.

Incapacity planning is an important part of the equation, as many seniors eventually face challenges with decision-making. While that alone warrants careful planning, there is one elder law matter that often takes center stage—long-term care. Nursing home stays and in-home custodial care are extremely expensive, and unfortunately, Medicare does not cover these costs. For your information, seven of ten people reaching the age of 65 will need living assistance eventually, and over half of seniors will incur professional long-term care expenses.

An elder law attorney addresses matters of particular interest to senior citizens and those preparing for their elder years.