Nursing home care can be astronomically expensive. If you need the services of a care facility as you get older, you should first make sure you’re able to afford that care without shifting the burden to your children, or liquidating all your assets and depleting your savings. An experienced elder law attorney could be helpful in preparing for this situation.
Protecting assets from a nursing home in Wexford is an area in which our attorneys could potentially help. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust might be a great option to shelter certain assets from being used to finance nursing home care. Reach out to us now to get connected to the resources you need to plan for your financial future.
Nursing homes can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. This will likely break the bank for many families. Someone who has worked hard all their life could easily have their monthly budget and savings depleted by spending just a few years in a nursing home, let alone the several years someone might stay as they continue to enjoy life.
At the same time, people are concerned about becoming a burden to adult family members who offer to take them in as they age, even when those offers are made with the best of intentions. You hope to maintain some level of independence, but you might also worry things could get to the point where you need more care than even the most well-meaning son or daughter could provide.
It is no wonder that hard-working folks in Wexford are interested in learning more about possible ways of protecting savings and assets from being used for nursing home care.
Medicaid is a government program that provides health coverage for low-income individuals, which can include many of the elderly. While Medicaid could be used for nursing home care, strict financial eligibility requirements end up disqualifying people with too many resources.
As part of the estate planning process, individuals in Wexford could evaluate different ways of potentially reducing their countable assets, so they could qualify for Medicaid and be eligible for nursing home coverage, while also protecting their property.
One possible option is to place the family home in an irrevocable trust with a child or someone other than the grantor as the beneficiary. The home (or sale proceeds, if the home is sold) is placed in a trust that lasts until the grantor dies, at which time it goes to the beneficiary. In the meantime, the grantor could still live in the home and receive trust income.
As long as the trust is created at least five years prior to accessing Medicaid benefits, the home or sale proceeds will not be counted for Medicaid. Moreover, the trust assets will not be subject to a Medicaid lien after the person who made the trust passes away. These assets won’t be included in the probated estate either, because they are no longer owned by the grantor.
An attorney could provide more information about a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) for your home or other investments. This is an important part of a comprehensive estate planning discussion that includes ways of sheltering assets from a nursing home in Wexford.
Given the high cost of nursing home care, you might be concerned about how you could finance this expense while keeping certain assets safe for your family. The reality is that you may need or want the option for such care as you age, which is a conversation for an experienced attorney.
Our lawyers could help you explore ways of providing for long-term care costs, including potentially protecting assets from a nursing home in Wexford through a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT).
Don’t let the assets you’ve worked so hard for get lost in the shuffle. Our attorneys have the resources you need to understand your options and protect your rights. Call today for a consultation.
