This article about nursing home spend downs by Michigan estate planning and elder law attorney Nicole Wipp and the Family and Aging Law Center is not legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For legal advice on your situation, consult with a qualified elder law attorney.

How Do We Avoid A Total Nursing Home Spend Down?

Family & Aging Law Center paralegal Sharon Kwolek and attorney Nicole Wipp show a nursing home medicaid application - 272 pages long - saving the client $250,000.00 ++.  This could not have been accomplished by the clients themselves - they needed a qualified elder law attorney!

Q: I’ve been told that if either of my parents needs nursing home care, we have to spend all of their money.  Is this true?  Can we legally protect some of my parent’s money?

A: The answer is, without a proper, legal plan, you do have to engage in what is called a “Spend Down.”  How much your parents are allowed to keep...

For the final topic in our series on Medicaid qualification rules, we'll be looking at important information in regard to spousal protections. As with part six of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere. To start at the begining of our series, click here. 

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Spousal Protections

The spouses of nursing home residents are provided certain protections under Medicaid law. Here is a brief overview:

• Snapshot of Couple’s Assets – With married applicants, Medicaid takes a “snapshot” of the couple’s assets when the ill spouse enters a hospital or long term care facility for at least a 30-day stay.
• Community Spouse Resource...

Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trusts With David Zumpano (Part 1)

What is an irrevocable pure grantor trust, and why would someone want one? In this episode, David Zumpano, a nationally recognized expert on asset protection, estate planning & elder law, discusses with our attorney Nicole Wipp, this little known (although widely used) trust – what it is, why we use it, and who it is for.

In Part One You Will Learn:

• about the goal of helping a loved one to protect their autonomy
• why people end up in nursing homes (how failing to plan makes this more likely)
• why retirement isn’t necessarily what you think it is
• why we want to engage in an asset protection strategy for financial security in our later years
• what is an irrevocable pure grantor trust, and how it differs from tax trusts and revocable living trusts
• the history of trusts and what they were traditionally used for (tax trusts – the “traditional” irrevocable trust – no access, no control, no...

What Are the Rules for Medicaid Qualification (Part 6)? - Some Simple Planning Options

Below are possible options to keep in mind when considering Medicaid planning. As in part five of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

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• If you are married, your home is exempt and cannot be taken if one spouse applies for Medicaid. If you are single or widowed, up to $552,000 of equity in your home is exempt (many states have raised the limit even higher). Some states permit a “Homestead Exemption” which protects a married or single applicant’s home regardless of value. Transferring your home to your children will result in immediate ineligibility for...

Revocable Living Trusts (Part 2) with Nicole Wipp

This is Part 2 of a two-part series on Revocable Living Trusts. To listen to Part 1, Click Here.

Options

When it comes to revocable living trusts, people often don’t know the options that they may be able to include to protect loved ones.  When given these options, however, many people definitely want them!  Know the different types of options you can have to help those you love and help ensure your money goes to who you want, when you want, in the way you want.

Thank you for listening!

Be a SMART PLANNER!

Contact Us Today at (248) 278-1511. We Can Help.

The information in this podcast is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For advice, specific to your situation, consult with a qualified attorney.

What Are the Rules for Medicaid Qualification (Part 5)?

As in part four of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue....

Do I Have to Wait 60 Months?

The Asset Transfer "Box”

Many people believe that if you give your assets away, you must wait 60 months to qualify for Medicaid. This is not the case. The 60 month requirement only applies to the financial disclosure you must provide, not eligibility.

Think of it this way: When you go to apply for Medicaid, imagine you’re bringing a box with you. In that box is every financial transaction you’ve made for the previous 60 months. That is all you need to provide – if you made a transaction 61 months ago, it’s not...

Revocable Living Trusts (Part 1) With Nicole Wipp

How Do Revocable Living Trusts Work?

In this episode, host Nicole Wipp discusses what a “RLT” is and the importance of “funding your trust” – a commonly missed step.

You will learn:

• What the primary purposes of revocable living trusts are
• What a revocable living trust does NOT do for you
• Common misunderstandings as to how this trust works
• What trust funding is and why it is critically important

This is Part 1 of a two-part series on Revocable Living Trusts. To listen to Part 2, click here.

Be a SMART PLANNER!

Contact Us Today at (248) 278-1511. We Can Help.

The information in this podcast is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For advice, specific to your situation, consult with a qualified attorney.

As part 3 of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue...

Allowable Income

How much income are you allowed under Medicaid law?

There are different answers for the “community spouse” and the individual who resides in a nursing home.

• Nursing home residents can only keep $60 a month as a personal needs allowance – the rest of their income must go to help cover the cost of their care.
• If the resident is married, the community spouse can keep between $1,966.25 - $2,980.50 a month (in 2015), including income from the nursing home spouse.
• Many states permit the community spouse to retain all of their individual income without limit. In other states, the community spouse...

As in part two of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue....

PROPERTY LIENS

In addition, the state can place a lien on an unmarried Medicaid recipient’s home, unless certain dependent relatives live on the premises or the state permits a “Homestead Exemption”.

Sale of the property, while the person receiving Medicaid is still living, could result in the loss of Medicaid coverage (due to excessive assets) and an obligation to use the sale proceeds to satisfy the lien that Medicaid places against the home.

There are exceptions to this rule. Satisfaction of the lien is not required if the applicant returns home prior to their death or one or more of the following...

What Are the Rules for Medicaid Qualification (Part 2)?

As in Part One of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue....

ESTATE RECOVERY

What happens to a Medicaid recipient’s estate when he or she passes away? Like so much else, that depends on whether they have properly planned to protect it.

When a Medicaid recipient dies, the state may attempt to recover the benefits paid to that individual from his or her estate – that is a requirement under federal Medicaid law. However, the state cannot proceed with this recovery process if any of the following applies:

• if the recipient’s spouse is still living
• if the recipient has a child under age 21
• if the recipient has a...