Medicaid Planning
Did you know that over 70% of people will need long-term care services as they age? We work with you to ensure that you have the right documents to protect your assets so you don’t lose them to the cost of your own care.
In New York, the state will pay for your long-term care, provided that you have taken the steps necessary to protect your assets and get qualified for Medicaid benefits. This is where we can help and guide you through the Medicaid Planning process.
The Medicaid Planning Process:
- First you set up an irrevocable trust to protect your assets. You do not lose control of your assets, since you can be your own trustee. You will appoint someone you trust to step in as the trustee after you, if you become physically or mentally unable to continue to manage your own affairs, or after you pass on. The trust has no impact on your income, so you will be able to maintain the same lifestyle you have now. Most people put their home in trust since that is usually their biggest asset. You receive the same deductions, tax benefits, and exemptions that you have now- STAR program, VA exemption, etc. You can sell your home at any time and buy another home, or simply put the cash in an account. Whatever you do with the home, once it is in the trust you have the peace of mind knowing that it can never be taken from you.
- Then, when you get to the point where you need an aide to care for you in your own home, the Medicaid application itself will be made.
Have you heard that you have to “spend down” your assets until there is almost nothing left in order to get Medicaid? You can avoid having to live in poverty when you are older, but only if you do the planning in time. With our planning, you can avoid the spend down and keep your assets intact for your whole life, so that they are always there for you and your lifestyle is safely maintained.
If you plan properly to qualify for home care you won’t be stuck in a nursing home if you don’t want to go. Using our planning, you can pass your assets to your loved ones, avoid the “spend down,” stay out of the nursing home, protect your assets against the high cost of your own and your spouse’s care, and continue to live in your own home as you age.
Our trust allows you to continue to live your life as you always have, secure in the knowledge that you will be cared for in your home, and you will not lose your home or your money to pay for that care. Then, after you pass on, your assets transfer to your loved ones as you have indicated, without going through the expense and delay of probate.