Medicaid Planning

Texas Medicaid Planning and Long Term Care Insurance

One of the greatest fears for many elderly people is that all of their money, which they have worked so hard for over the years, will be quickly eaten up if they have to enter a nursing home or other long term care facility. These fears are not unfounded. Depending on the type of facility and the part of the country, the average annual cost of nursing home care can range from $75,000 per year to well over $100,000 per year.

At the Houston law office of McCulloch & Associates, our estate planning attorneys provide effective legal counsel to clients regarding Medicaid planning, long term care insurance and other asset protection strategies. Contact our offices today to schedule a confidential consultation.

Helping You Access and Understand Medicaid Assistance

Medicaid is a means-tested program that disqualifies persons of a certain net worth and income from receiving federal medical benefits to pay for medical or nursing home care. It is impossible to state general rules about planning for Medicaid eligibility, either before or after you or a loved one enter a nursing home. Every case is unique, just like you and your circumstances are unique.

Whether or not different planning strategies to protect your assets from nursing home costs will be effective is dependent on each person's specific circumstances. Your level of income, the value of your assets, your marital status, whether you own a home and other factors must be considered.

The Importance of Careful Medicaid Planning

While the rules of Medicaid eligibility are complex, it is still important to plan for the possibility you will need long term care. Through careful long term care planning, whether in advance of the need for care or in response to an immediate, unexpected need for nursing home care, you may be able to protect your estate for your spouse or your children and grandchildren.

Because the federal and state Medicaid eligibility rules are complicated and subject to frequent changes, you should consult an attorney to be sure you are working with up-to-date information. In general, some methods of effective Medicaid planning may include:

Spending down assets on expenses not counted under Medicaid rules, such as paying off a mortgage, paying for in-home nursing care, purchasing a car, prepaying funeral expenses, or remodeling your home.

Certain types of irrevocable trusts can be used in Medicaid planning, but the downside is that you have given away all of the assets in the trust and you can no longer control the assets.

Alternative Methods of Paying for Nursing Home Care

One answer to paying for long term care for many people could be to purchase long term care insurance as early as possible. If you have existing policies, they could be reviewed to determine coverage and exclusion issues, and whether or not they meet your specific needs. Other possibilities include accessing certain veteran's benefits and obtaining a reverse mortgage.

The Medicaid planning lawyers at McCulloch & Associates can advise you about winning strategies to protect your home and your assets while finding ways to pay for the nursing home care you need. We can also review any existing estate plan that you might have in place today in order to ascertain the impact of the five year lookback period or any existing long term care policies for scope of coverage.

To learn more about your options with this complex area of elder law, contact McCulloch & Associates.