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When you or a loved one need home healthcare or must enter a nursing home, you will likely need Medicaid benefits. Nursing homes are expensive, and people with private insurance and Medicare often exhaust their benefits quickly. However, with good planning, almost anyone can qualify for Medicaid benefits without dissipating their assets. Even when the need for a nursing home arises suddenly and unexpectedly, a skilled elder law attorney could help a person get any necessary care.
Whether you want to plan for a potential eventuality or need to arrange for a loved one now, get legal advice from our knowledgeable legal team at Tully Law Firm, PC. A Riverhead Medicaid lawyer from our firm could provide the assistance you need as part of a comprehensive estate plan or in response to a critical need.
The Medicaid program is need-based. A person with relatively few assets may have too much to qualify for the program. The eligibility requirements, including income levels and asset values, change every year, so it is critical to work with a Riverhead attorney who is up to date on the recent changes in the program.
In the past, families had to spend their wealth to qualify for Medicaid, which could lead to hardship for spouses and children. There are now legal ways to secure Medicaid eligibility and preserve many assets at the same time. Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts allow a person to put a family home and other property into a trust. The contents of the trust are not countable assets for Medicaid purposes, meaning the value will not be considered during the application process. A well-drafted Medicaid asset protection trust can allow a spouse to remain in the home, have an income, and provide money for extras to the spouse receiving long-term care.
The sooner a family can set up a Medicaid trust, the better. The applicant’s past financial transactions will be scrutinized during the Medicaid application process. When the applicant is seeking home care, the look-back period is two and a half years, and it is five years when the applicant is seeking coverage for nursing home services.
If the applicant made any property transfers for less than its fair market value during the look-back period, the difference between the property’s value and what the applicant received is counted in their assets. Similarly, transferring assets into a joint account or adding another person’s name to the title does not take them out of an applicant’s countable assets.
A Medicaid asset protection trust is still valuable, even when a family member needs care before the look-back period has expired. Making transfers within the look-back period delays an applicant’s eligibility for Medicaid but does not destroy it, and a Riverhead attorney could explain the consequences in a specific case.
The need for assistance and support does not disappear when the Medicaid application is approved. It might be just the beginning. Our firm offers clients life care planning, which includes services beyond the scope of most elder law firms. Our practice also includes social workers trained in geriatric care issues who could help families with the emotional aspect of entering long-term care. Importantly, they could also serve as patient advocates, ensuring a family’s loved one receives appropriate, quality care and addressing any care deficiencies immediately.
A Riverhead attorney is available to discuss any financial or legal concerns that might arise when Medicaid is a concern. If necessary, they could assist with probate when a loved one passes away.
Hopefully, neither you nor your family members ever need long-term care, but due to the costs of nursing homes, it is wise to plan when possible. Sometimes, a healthcare crisis makes the need urgent, and a family might have to make sudden adjustments.
Whatever your situation, a Riverhead Medicaid lawyer from Tully Law Firm, PC, could help ensure that a person gets the care they need, and the family retains as much of their wealth as possible. Contact our legal team today to schedule an initial consultation.
