Planning for Nursing Home Admission and Medicaid
No one wants to see the wealth they built up over a lifetime exhausted paying for nursing home expenses. Yet that is exactly what can happen without Medicaid and long-term care planning. Average nursing home costs in the New Jersey and New York area are approximately $7,000 a month, and if you are unprepared you can quickly spend all of your assets before you qualify for assistance from Medicaid.
At the law firm of Avelino Nitkewicz LLP, our elder law lawyers help families in Summit, New Providence, Madison and other communities in north-central New Jersey, New York City and all of its surrounding suburbs protect their assets from the high cost of nursing home and long-term medical care.
What is Medicaid Planning?
Medicaid is a federal program that will pay for nursing home and custodial care costs that aren't covered by Medicare. However, to qualify for Medicaid, you must first spend your own assets down to approximately $2,000.
Medicaid planning is the process of protecting your assets through transfers, gifting, estate trusts, special needs trusts and other instruments to help you qualify for Medicaid. If you don't own your assets, then you will not have to spend them before you can qualify for Medicaid.
Medicaid planning should be done while both partners are healthy. The U.S. government could undo any asset transfers that occurred in the five years before you applied for Medicaid. However, even if you don't do planning until a spouse has been admitted to a nursing home, there are still things an elder law lawyer can do to preserve your savings for your beneficiaries.
Free Consultation With An Elder Law Attorney
For more information about elder law and Medicaid planning or to schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney at Avelino Nitkewicz LLP, call 888-334-7310 or fill out the contact form on this Web site.
