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The plan should be custom tailored to each couple, and what works for one, may not work for another. As a result, you should consult an experienced elder law attorney to develop a plan that will work for you. The important thing to know about irrevocable trusts as Medicaid Preplanning tools is that they do work. And there are ways to some limited amount of control as well as limited benefit from the assets. As an elder law attorney, I have helped many hundreds of clients qualify for Medicaid while protecting their assets.
They have jobs and kids and are simply trying to keep it together without also turning their house into a residential care facility. But still, statistics have shown that the longer you are able to stay at home, the less likely you will need a stay at a nursing home. And if you do end up going into a nursing home, then the stay is much shorter. There is an asset protection plan that takes both into consideration. In upcoming options you’ll learn how you can plan to qualify for benefits to help you age in place, maintain control of assets you give away, and if the time comes, qualify for a nursing home. Nursing home costs can take a real bite out of your assets without proper planning.
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As a protection from nursing home costs, you could have your kids take care of you. I’ve had clients come to my office with the child who is the candidate for this honor. They sit in front of my desk and let me explain asset protection strategies.
Medicaid pays for nursing home care for most Americans who require it. However, one must be financially eligible for Medicaid. Medicare does not pay for long term nursing home care. In brief, the federal government has written a law to ensure the healthy spouse does not go broke and is not left without a place to live when their spouse enters a nursing home. In Medicaid-speak, this law is referred to as Spousal Impoverishment Protection, Spousal Impoverishment Law, or Division of Assets. This law ensures the spouse that is not in a nursing home has enough funds to live by protecting a set amount of income and assets.
Statistics Show Most People Don’t Have a Plan
To avoid this, a Medicaid practitioner will be able to help from the beginning of the process. Now that we’ve covered the Medicaid asset limitations for both spouses and the income standard for the healthy spouse, you may be wondering what money goes to pay for the nursing home. For Medicaid purposes, the ill spouse is entitled to $2,000 in countable assets , which is referred to as the Individual Resource Allowance. The spouse at home, however, can keep a separate amount, known as the Community Spouse Resource Allowance . The CSRA varies greatly by state; some states have a standard CSRA, and others have a minimum and maximum CSRA.
In determining your eligibility for MaineCare benefits, MaineCare will not take into account your assets equal to amounts paid out under a qualifying long-term insurance policy. Often the caretaker, in their late sixties, after having taken care of the parent for ten or fifteen years, asks for some legal advice. Sometimes they have had a Mainecare home care aid coming to the house for years .
Spousal Impoverishment Rules for Medicaid
They are offered in a bewildering variety of forms by commercial financial entities, and can involve poorly understood consequences and costs to the consumer. I didn't realize just how much nursing home care threatened personal assets until my mother was admitted to a nursing home after being hospitalized for an accident at home. Medicaid does not take anyone’s home, let alone the primary residence of a community spouse. Instead, the Medicaid considers the primary residence of a community a non-countable, or exempt, resource when determining eligibility. The fact remains, that while the house may need to be sold or when the house sells, Medicaid may be entitled to some of the proceeds, Medicaid does not actually take the home.
There are a number of items that Medicaid does not count towards your overall asset calculation and therefore, by purchasing these items you can reduce your assets to qualify for Medicaid. Some of the assets exempt under Medicaid includeNecessary household items such as furniture or appliances. Medicaid also has monthly income limits that are set on a state-by-state basis.
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But Medicaid also provides nursing home care for elderly ones. They pay your spouse’s bills for the nursing home while you maintain the home he/she left behind. When your spouse goes to a nursing home, you can retain some income and assets and still qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid does not require a healthy spouse to give up all of her income and property so the spouse needing care can qualify for long-term care through Medicaid. It has nothing to do with when a person enters a nursing home.
It was so time consuming, worrisome and nerve-wracking. I have finally been approved after 5 months wait. The state of MD will pay for everything from now on. Well a little in a Bank account that they let me keep.
This makes complete sense, as nursing homes can cost hundreds of dollars per day, depending on where you are. If your spouse has entered a nursing home, you should not lose your income, whether the source is employment or social security. When the agency determines the eligibility of one spouse for Medicaid, the community spouse’s income should not be considered. Only the spouse that lives in the nursing home will have their income considered for eligibility in the program. Having a spouse transition into a nursing home is stressful for everyone involved, including the spouse living at home. It involves difficult decisions and a lot of anxiety.
This planning ideas discussed below focus on utilizing the Government Medicaid program to help protect the financial security of an individual who is married to a nursing home resident. But these techniques can be adapted for unmarried individuals and for those persons, married and unmarried, who are receiving care at home. Content by elder law attorney, Andrew Hook and the Hook Law Center staff. Myth – They only look at one spouse’s assets when determining eligibility. Reduce your assets by purchasing assets exempt under Medicaid.
There are other ways that assets can be protected in addition to the generic legal rights of the institutionalized spouse. Won’t the other non-caretaker children be angry at the caretaker child for getting the whole house? These options are excellent if you have a disabled child or grandchild. But if you don’t Option 3 may be better suited to a Mainecare Crisis Plan than a Mainecare Preplan. Again, these rules are complicated, so it is best you consult with a Medicaid asset protection attorney. In Mainecare asset protection planning it is far more important to know when the right time is to use an annuity than all the details surrounding Medicaid qualifying annuities.
The amount you would receive is based on the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance, which is the long way of saying the minimum monthly amount a healthy spouse is entitled to. Additionally, suppose you or your spouse are trying to get on Medicaid and have given assets to your family members in the last five years. Gifts could make the spouse in the nursing home ineligible for a certain period. The government would extend the ineligibility according to the value of the assets and the state’s average rate for nursing home care. These are things that can be avoided and planned for in advance to maximize the dollars both you and your spouse can have available in this situation.
Is divorce an answer to protect my assets if my husband goes into a nursing home?
I response to Jack's comment about splitting of assets, this is what my parents did with help of Medicaid specialist attorney. My mother still has house, car and a specific annuity that met Medicaid requirements... Also got to keep my dad's monthly pension and SS benefit to maintain her "lifestyle"...and my parents were pretty well off.
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