The cost of long-term care continues to rise, making many anxious about how they will afford this expense once they get older. One option is Medicaid planning, which restructures your assets and makes it possible to apply for Medicaid and have that cover the cost of care. It’s not something that you’ll want to tackle on your own, but a Des Moines estate planning lawyer from our firm can help you.
How Can I Become Eligible for Medicaid?
Medicaid is reserved for people without significant assets of their own that can be used to pay for medical care, including the cost of a nursing home or other long-term care options. If you have assets, like property, a home, and bank or retirement accounts, you are not going to qualify for Medicaid and your family will be on the hook for some big expenses once you need care.
When you engage in Medicaid planning, you take any family assets and protect them in a way that preserves them for the next generation and allows you to qualify for Medicaid when it’s needed. The most common ways of doing this include:
- Putting home and other properties in a trust
- Giving away assets over time
Whether you choose to use a trust or give your heirs pieces of their inheritance early, an attorney can help you consider any tax implications and handle any of the necessary paperwork.
Why Do I Need to Start Medicaid Planning Early?
We all want to hope that we will stay healthy for a long time, but sometimes that’s just not in the cards. This is why starting the Medicaid planning process early is a necessity. You should begin making moves to protect your assets long before it seems necessary. Otherwise, you could be taken by surprise when a family member suddenly gets sick and requires care.
If you have not completed the Medicaid planning process by the time that someone needs long-term care, you will have to pay out of pocket. This means using up all of your own assets. Eventually you will qualify for Medicaid, but it will be because you have nothing left! If you want to have assets to pass on to your children, grandchildren, and other loved ones then you need to properly plan for this moment.
Do I Need a Lawyer For Medicaid Planning?
We do recommend hiring a lawyer for this. Medicaid planning requires a lot of work and you need to start that work early. You also need to be sure that all assets are accounted for and that you have all of the necessary documentation. Even simple mistakes can make it difficult to qualify for Medicaid and that can have a significant financial impact on your family. So talk to a lawyer and see how they can help you make a plan that meets all legal requirements.
Talk to an Attorney
If you want to learn more about this process, then contact Herting Law, PLLC to set up a consultation. We can tell you more about how you could benefit from Medicaid planning and how you can do it without running into legal issues.
