Knowledgeable Middletown Lawyers Assist with Medicaid Planning

Concerned elder law attorneys protect your assets

Healthcare is often the greatest drain on a senior’s resources. Even with Medicare picking up a large part of the tab, seniors too often need treatments and services with only limited Medicare coverage. So, many seniors live in fear of a prolonged stay in a skilled nursing facility where out-of-pocket expenses can quickly exhaust their retirement savings. For married couples, there’s a serious risk that a healthy spouse could be reduced to insolvency while providing palliative care for a dying spouse. But the specter of a prolonged illness doesn’t have to haunt your retirement. The elder law and estate planning attorneys at Combs, Schaefer, Ball & Little help seniors with advanced planning that protects their assets while qualifying them for Medicaid benefits.

Middletown estate planning lawyers help seniors qualify for Medicaid

In 2016, the average cost for a private room in a nursing home in Ohio per day was $240; that averaged to $7,300, monthly and $87,600 annually. Those totals don’t include the costs of medical treatment, rehabilitation and medicine. For most Ohioans, a prolonged stay in a nursing home would be devastating financially. The inheritance they hoped to leave their children is an early casualty, then their savings are exhausted, and finally their home would be at risk. It’s only at that point that they would be sufficiently poor to get Medicaid assistance for their nursing home expenses.

It’s a bleak picture, but, fortunately, prudent estate planning can reduce the size of an estate so assets do not count against a senior for Medicaid eligibility. A combination of trusts and annuities and a long-term-care insurance policy can help you qualify for Medicaid.

However, transfers of assets to a trust or a relative must be done well in advance of your need. Under Medicaid rules, for every $5,000 in assets you transfer to a trust or a relative, you incur one month of ineligibility. For this reason, early comprehensive estate planning is critical. With a comprehensive plan, our attorneys can also help you overcome certain obstacles, such as estate recovery and home equity limits.

The laws on Medicaid planning are quite complicated, so you must only rely on an experienced and knowledgeable elder law attorney who can help you with a comprehensive plan.

Contact a caring and diligent elder law attorney in Middletown, OH

At Combs, Schaefer, Ball & Little, our elder law attorneys care about your financial security in retirement and your ability to leave a legacy to your heirs. For reliable estate planning advice with built-in contingencies for a possible nursing home stay, call us at 513-424-1660 or contact our Middletown office online. We offer free consultations to new clients.