Law Offices of
Hehr & Myers Co., L.P.A.
440-449-3266
4401 Rockside Road Ste 200
Independence, OH 44131
Top Mistakes People Make Regarding Medicaid Qualification
- Thinking it's too late to plan.
Even after a senior has moved into a nursing home steps can be taken to protect their assets. - Failing to take advantage of protections for the spouse of a nursing home resident.
Virtually all of the assets can be protected for the spouse of a nursing home s still living at home. - Selling the house to qualify for Medicaid.
There are several "exempt" assets available for a nursing home resident to keep, including a car and a primary residence (with equity at or less than $500,000). - Giving away assets too early.
Make sure you take care of yourself first. Transfers done too early can cause difficult tax and Medicaid problems. - Failing to Plan Ahead.
After the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 protecting assets from nursing home expenses is much more difficult without advance planning. If you have any reasons to believe a loved one could eventually be placed in a nursing home you should seek counsel immediately. - Believing that gifting creates a 36-60 month period of ineligibility.
- Putting assets in joint names with children.
Adding anyone's names to your property creates risk and exposes your assets to another person's liability. Our observation is that joint property works if no one gets sick, sued, dies out of order or is greedy. You can see why we don't like joint assets. - Not getting expert help.
This is a very complicated field, which has been made more complicated by the signing of the Deficient Reduction Act. One small error could cost you tens of thousands of dollars and make you ineligible to receive Medicaid.
Our firm is dedicated to helping provide families with expert care and advice. We encourage all family members who want to understand what is happening or would be involved in the decision making process to attend appointments.
