Medicaid and Nursing Home Planning

Dear Clients, Colleagues and Friends,

An older lady came to my office last week accompanied by two of her adult children. Her husband was admitted to a nursing home last fall, and she had been “spending down” their retirement funds at a rate of about $10,000 per month for the past six months. She (and her children) wanted to know if there was anything that could be done to preserve the family’s assets during the “spend-down” period before filing a Medicaid application to pay for her husband’s care.

I can often do much more for a family if they come see me five years before a Medicaid application, including an evaluation of long-term care insurance options and transfers to an irrevocable trust outside of the five-year lookback period.

However, even inside the five-year window, strategies like caregiver contracts, Medicaid-compliant annuities, and investments in non-countable assets like the marital home can preserve a surprising amount of resources for the healthy spouse – and your children and grandchildren.

With Medicaid or nursing home planning, TIME IS YOUR ENEMY. Don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from protecting yourself and your loved ones. Call me today at 603-554-8464 to arrange for a Medicaid consultation.

Best Regards,