Medicaid Asset Protection Planning

Massachusetts Elder Law Attorneys Helping Clients Protect & Preserve Assets

Many elders worry that if they require costly long-term care (such as assistance with the basic activities of daily living) either at home or in a nursing home, they will be unable to support themselves or leave anything for their families. At Hope Elder Law, we help our clients protect their assets and property with proactive planning strategies to achieve eligibility for Medicaid/MassHealth benefits which can pay for long-term care at home or in a nursing home.

Prepare for the Future with Proactive Medicaid Asset Protection Planning

As life expectancies and long-term care costs continue to rise, many elders and their families face the challenge of how to pay for health services. Too often, people assume that Medicare and/or supplemental private Medicare insurance will cover the costs of all necessary health care. Medicare, however, typically does not cover more than 100 days of long-term care services, including time spent in a nursing home. This means that to pay for long-term care costs, without using your own assets, you must have long-term care insurance or qualify for Medicaid through MassHealth.

This is where many people wrongly assume that they have no choice but to use their own savings to pay for essential long-term care; they have not purchased long-term care insurance, and cannot afford to do so, and they have been told that only the very poor qualify for Medicaid benefits. In fact, however, many people in the middle class may legitimately qualify for Medicaid benefits by legally restructuring their finances. As part of asset protection planning, we may help clients:

• Create an irrevocable trust for a home or real estate
• Create a special needs trust for the benefit of a disabled child or dependent
• Set up a testamentary trust for the benefit of a surviving spouse
• Purchase immediate annuities
• “Spend down” on expenses such as funeral costs and home repairs to protect savings

These tools and others can be used to qualify for Medicaid benefits and cover the costs of long-term health care, but Medicaid imposes strict time limits on how soon an applicant can qualify for Medicaid nursing home benefits after a restructure of his or her financial status. Thus, the sooner you develop and implement an asset protection plan, the sooner you may receive Medicaid benefits.

Talk to an Experienced Elder Law & Estate Planning Attorney about Protecting Assets

Even the healthiest among us may need long-term health care down the road. Make sure that assets and property meant for your loved ones are not surrendered to pay long-term care costs that could be covered by other means. Please Contact Hope Elder Law to make an appointment to learn more about asset protection planning. We are confident that our advice and services can give you peace of mind.