West Palm Beach Elder Law Lawyer
Elder Law / Medicaid Planning
Issues concerning older clients can be unique. In particular, older clients need to be sensitive to their potential medical needs and the possibility of requiring assistance with daily life.
All of the standard issues regarding estate planning apply, including gifting to children and possibly grandchildren, setting up trusts for education, and protecting nest eggs for daily needs.
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Occasionally, and unfortunately, parents are the victims of exploitation by children, other close relatives or caregivers, and a guardianship is needed to stop the drain of assets.
Older clients also need to be aware of the possibility of disability and need for assisted living facility or nursing home care. For some, that means planning for Medicaid benefits to pay the costs of care at a nursing home facility.
Medicaid planning is a rule driven area of practice. In order for an applicant to qualify for benefits, the applicant must be below certain financial thresholds as to both assets and income. If the applicant is married, the spouse must also be below certain income and asset limits. There are various assets that are exempt from consideration when filing a Medicaid application. Proper Medicaid planning can save a family thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars that can be used for the non-qualifying spouse and later passed on to heirs.
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Medicaid planning is a very rewarding area of practice. Typically, an older couple with some assets and a home is faced with a situation where one spouse will require nursing home care in the near future and no reasonable way to afford that care is available. Additionally, the other spouse is quite naturally concerned for his or her own needs for the future. Finally, the couple would like to see to it that some of their hard-earned money goes to their children and grandchildren when they are gone. Every situation is different, of course, but such a couple is typical of the Medicaid planning challenge that we handle on a regular basis.