Boca Raton Medicaid Planning Lawyer
Over the years, the cost of long-term care has risen significantly, with Floridians paying nearly $90,000 annually to live in a nursing home. Unfortunately, the expense catches many families off guard, and few consider how they will pay until the need for nursing home care is imminent. When there is no plan in place, it doesn’t take long for a family to substantially deplete their financial resources paying for nursing home care, sometimes leaving a healthy spouse without adequate funds to live on, and cracking a carefully amassed nest egg meant for future generations. At Schwartz | White, we help clients prepare for the eventual cost of nursing home care, contact our careful Boca Raton Medicaid planning lawyers today.
Qualifying for Medicaid to cover the cost of nursing home care requires planning and expert advice from a lawyer well-familiar with elder care issues
Medicaid covers the cost of nursing home care for most Americans, but there are numerous restrictions that make qualifying for Medicaid difficult. For this reason, your best option is always to lay out a plan and put it in motion before the need for nursing home care arises. For example, reaching the level of need required to qualify for Medicaid benefits necessitates a sound asset protection strategy to exempt assets from income consideration. If your assets are organized and titled appropriately, you can safeguard most of your estate while preserving Medicaid eligibility.
When you apply for Medicaid, there is also a five-year lookback period, during which any assets you have transferred or gifted to others could generate large penalties, including the withholding of Medicaid benefits. This provision is one of the primary reasons it is important to plan early. If you want your spouse and children to receive a meaningful portion of your estate, you will need a carefully executed strategy designed with the help of a lawyer well-versed in Florida law as it relates to Medicaid issues.
Crisis planning can help you work out the best-case scenario to qualify for Medicaid when the need for nursing home care is imminent
A Medicaid crisis is a situation where an individual has already entered a nursing home or will be admitted to one soon, and has too many assets to qualify for assistance from Medicaid. While this situation is far from ideal, there are still several tools you can use to obtain Medicaid eligibility. At Schwartz | White, we have helped many clients who are just starting the process and need to qualify immediately. We will assist you in spending down to qualify for Medicaid in a way that doesn’t waste assets or drain the estate, and we will work with you to complete the Medicaid application to ensure eligibility.
Please contact us for help with Medicaid planning in Palm Beach County
At Schwartz | White, we have the knowledge and experience to help you avoid exhausting your family’s estate to cover the high cost of nursing home care. Contact our office in Boca Raton today to learn more about the issues surrounding Medicaid eligibility, and to begin the Medicaid planning process.
