To begin my series on advanced Medicaid planning strategies, I would like to address a question that I am often asked: How can I protect my assets if I’m not likely to enter a nursing home within the next 5 years? * The following is a discussion on the protection of non-real estate assets. To learn about advanced Medicaid planning strategies to protect your home and other real estate, please view my blog titled, “Medicaid
While there are strategies to protect the home of those who are entering, or already in a nursing home, the focus of this article is on advanced Medicaid planning: for those who will not be needing nursing home care within the next 5 years. I will discuss crisis Medicaid planning techniques in a future series of articles. Why consider advanced Medicaid planning to protect the home and other real estate? Indiana has a 5‑year look
A Power of Attorney is a written document which gives a person, or persons, of your choice the authority to take actions or make decisions on your behalf. Once you’ve chosen a person (or persons) to help you make important decisions, that person (or persons) is called your “attorney-in-fact”. Your attorney-in-fact may have authority to act in your place for financial or other purposes. It is important to trust this person with your finances. There
#1 Transfers to spouse. A married Medicaid applicant/recipient who is an inpatient at a nursing facility may, without penalty, transfer all assets to the spouse who is still living at home. #2 Transfers to a blind or disabled child. A Medicaid applicant/recipient may transfer assets to his or her blind or disabled child, according to SSI criteria, or to a trust fund for such a child, without penalty. #3 De Minimis gift. Each year, a Medicaid
Your Medicaid application has been approved. Fantastic! The approval notice mentions something about a “liability” owed to the nursing home each month. What is a liability and how did they arrive at this figure? Once you’ve been approved for Medicaid, you will likely owe a portion of your monthly income to help cover nursing home costs; this is referred to as the liability to the nursing home. The monthly liability owed to the nursing home