This is one of the most commonly asked questions I receive during “nursing home” asset protection consultations. The healthy, at-home spouse is often anxious and concerned about his or her spouse’s medical condition; many just assume that the life savings must be spent on the nursing home care, which undoubtedly feeds the anxiety.
Transitioning from home to a nursing home is a very stressful situation for not only the spouse needing care, but also for the healthy, at-home spouse, and the entire family. It is one of the most difficult decisions many of us will ever face. It’s important for the at-home, healthy spouse and the family to know that many options exist to protect most, or even all, of the life savings…if Medicare days have just ended, and even if they have been paying out of pocket (private paying) for nursing home care for months, or years! The purpose of this article is to let spouses and their families know that they don’t have to walk alone while navigating the stressful, often-misunderstood, confusing arena of “nursing home” Medicaid planning.
I have a dedicated team of Medicaid planners and support staff whose sole focus is to walk clients through the entire Medicaid eligibility process, from beginning until the end, as long as that may take. In cases where one spouse is in a nursing home and one remains at home, we can often protect all of the life savings, along with the home. In order to achieve maximum asset protection, my team will develop a personalized plan based on the client’s unique situation. We must also take into consideration that assets must not just be protected now, but also in the event that that healthy, at-home spouse passes away before his or her “nursing home” spouse. While the team of Medicaid planners is working on preserving assets, my estate planning team will be drafting new estate planning documents which serve to protect the life savings and home from having to go to the nursing home or to Medicaid if the healthy spouse passes away first.
It’s never too late to protect the life savings and home. If you or your loved one is faced with needing nursing home care soon, or is already receiving nursing home care, please consider calling or texting my office at 812–423-1500 to request a free consultation with my team to discuss how we can help.