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Creating A Plan For Long-Term Care With Medicaid

As we age, many of us fear the impact that a need for long-term care (including a nursing home or skilled nursing care) will have on our loved ones and on the assets we have worked so long and hard to accumulate. Depending on your location and level of care, long-term care comes at a substantial cost. Advanced planning can help you qualify for Medicaid under more favorable conditions, thus ensuring that you get the care you need while preserving your assets for your spouse and other loved ones.

For those not in need of immediate long-term care, advanced planning is critical to allow the distribution or protection of assets and to speed up Medicaid approval when the time comes for long-term care. Certain actions, such as the transfer of assets, have strict time requirements and “look-back” periods.

It is important that transfers be made carefully and with an understanding of the consequences. Improper transfers may not only adversely affect your Medicaid eligibility, but can also have tax consequences for your children and even impact your grandchildren’s eligibility for student financial aid.

We can help you choose the strategy that is right for you to protect your assets going forward. If you have transferred assets within the past five years and now find yourself needing long-term care, you should contact an elder law attorney prior to applying for Medicaid to minimize any penalties.

Using Trusts And Spend-Down Strategies To Preserve Your Assets

Donovan O'Connor & Dodig, LLP, can also advise you on whether a trust, rather than an outright transfer, is a more appropriate vehicle for you to protect your assets. Our experienced trust and estate attorneys can advise you on the different kinds of trusts available to meet your objectives.

We can also advise you and your family on how to protect savings by properly “spending down” assets to qualify for Medicaid. Applicants for Medicaid are permitted to spend savings on noncountable assets such as the prepayment of funeral expenses and making home repairs.

Creating Medicaid Solutions In Vermont And Massachusetts

A lawyer from Donovan O'Connor & Dodig, LLP, can develop a solution to preserve your assets to the greatest extent possible while also ensuring that you qualify for Medicaid when the time comes. For a consultation regarding Medicaid planning at Donovan O'Connor & Dodig, LLP, contact our firm.

We have offices in North Adams and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Bennington, Vermont, to serve you. Call 413-663-3200 in Massachusetts or 802-442-3233 in Vermont.

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