Can Estate Planning Protect from Nursing Home Costs?

You may be making a conscious effort toward saving your assets so that, eventually, they may be passed down to your loved ones. But it is an unfortunate possibility that, with age, you may no longer be able to take care of yourself; and your loved ones may make the executive decision to place you in a nursing home. In a situation such as this, you do not want your protected assets to be lost to nursing home expenses. Follow along to find out whether your estate planning can protect your assets from nursing home costs and how one of the proficient Butler County Medicaid planning attorneys at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can help you in executing this.

Can estate planning protect my assets from nursing home costs?

Likely the most obvious way to protect your assets from nursing home costs is to apply for long-term care insurance. This is because, as a policyholder, you may be able to cover these costs up to a predetermined limit. And while you will have to pay monthly premiums, this may still be less costly than paying out of pocket for these bills.

On the other hand, if you have very few assets, you may qualify for Medicaid planning. With this, you may want to plan for Medicaid coverage at least five years ahead of applying. This is so you may restructure your assets in a way that boosts your chances of being eligible, all while avoiding the five-year “look-back” period.

What else can I do to protect from medical costs?

Once you select an insurance plan, there are other facets to your estate plan that may work to protect your assets from nursing home costs. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Establishing an irrevocable trust can work to transfer the ownership of your cash to a trustee, so that you cannot use this money to pay down your medical bills.
• Establishing recurring financial gifts can work to transfer the ownership of your cash to a loved one, so that you cannot use this money to fund your nursing home expenses.
• Establishing a life estate can work to transfer the ownership of your assets to a loved one, all while ensuring your right to utilize the assets for the rest of your lifetime.

At the very least, these estate planning tactics may reduce the value of your estate to the point that you qualify for Medicaid planning.

You should not have to go through this estate planning process by yourself. Rather, you should seek the assistance of one of the talented Butler County powers of attorney lawyers from Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC. Contact our firm today.