Medicaid Asset Protection Planning—What are the Goals?

This post is excerpted from Evan H. Farr’s book How to Protect Your Assets From Probate PLUS Lawsuits PLUS Nursing Home Expenses with the Living Trust Plus™.  Buy the book on June 21 and get $1,250 in special bonuses.

The goals that families have for doing Medicaid Asset Protection differ from person to person and family to family. However, it is most important to point out that preserving an inheritance for children is most often not the goal. On the contrary, generally for a married couple the most important goal is to ensure that the spouse remaining at home is able to live the remaining years of his or her life in utmost dignity, without having to suffer a drastic reduction in his or her standard of living. For a single or widowed client, the most important goal is typically to be able to enjoy the highest quality of life possible in the event of an extended nursing home stay. When there is an adult child or grandchild who is disabled, the primary goal is typically to protect assets to be used for the benefit of that disabled family member who is often also receiving Medicaid and Social Security Disability benefits.

Money that is protected through proper planning can be used to:

• provide a nursing home resident with an enhanced level of care and a better quality of life while in a nursing home and receiving Medicaid benefits.
• to purchase things for the nursing home resident or disabled child that are not covered by Medicaid — such as special medical devices, upgraded wheel chairs, etc.
• can be left to your children or grandchildren, particularly if there is a disabled child or someone who needs special financial help.

An unmarried applicant may have no more than $2,000 in “countable” assets in his or her name in order to be “resource eligible” for Medicaid. Does this mean that if you need Medicaid assistance, you’ll have to spend nearly all of your assets to qualify? No — there are
dozens of Medicaid asset protection strategies that can be employed with the help of a  Certified Elder Law Attorney, such as Evan H. Farr. These strategies are explored in chapters 15 and 16 of Evan H. Farr, CELA’s new book, How to Protect Your Assets From Probate PLUS Lawsuits PLUS Nursing Home Expenses with the Living Trust Plus.™ See below for details about why you should wait until June 21 to buy the book!

To discuss strategies specific to your situation, please call 703-691-1888 to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation at The Fairfax Medicaid Protection Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C.

P.S. How to Protect Your Assets From Probate PLUS Lawsuits PLUS Nursing Home Expenses with the Living Trust Plus™ is available now in pre-release on Amazon.com – but don’t buy it yet.  If you wait and buy this new book on the June 21 Official Release Date, you’ll get $1,250 in bonuses including:

• Free copy of Evan Farr’s other book released this year: the Nursing Home Survival Guide;
• Free 45-page Special Report: Legal Research Behind the Living Trust Plus™;
• Two $500 Gift Certificates towards legal services from the Farr Law Firm.

This special one-time offer is valid only on Friday, June 21, 2013. Once purchased, simply email your Amazon.com receipt to renee@farrlawfirm.com. Please allow 1-2 weeks to receive bonuses.

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