Whether you are caring for your loved one in the home, scrambling to make arrangements for nursing home care or trying to make sure nothing goes wrong in the nursing home, you know how difficult, time-consuming and isolating caregiving can be. Imagine what life would be like if you had a team of advisors helping you get the right care, preserve family resources and make difficult decisions. That’s what life is like when you have a Life Care Plan. A Life Care Plan helps you respond to every challenge created by the long-term illness or disability of your elderly loved…
Similar to traditional elder law firms, Senior Life Care Planning helps families make immediate arrangements for long-term care in order to promote an elder's health and safety, handling all the legal work and helping families find and pay for the right care (including Medicaid, Veterans Benefits, and other public benefit qualification as needed and desired) without bankrupting the elder. But we offer so much more: First, we have care coordination and support to families whose elderly loved ones are still living at home or with family. Our on-staff care coordinators locate and coordinate needed care and community services, offer family…
To qualify for Medicaid, if you are single you can retain $2,500 in assets. For couples, the spouse can keep the home, one car, and about $109,000 in assets. The best protection from long-term care costs is long-term care insurance. LTCI does not just pay for the nursing home, but for home-care services, and may help pay some or all of an assisted living facility. If you cannot get long-term care insurance due to a medical decision, age or finances, the next best protection is an Irrevocable Medicaid Trust. However, this trust must be funded for at least five years…
If you have assets under $2,500, and reside in a nursing home, the State of Maryland through Medical Assistance (Medicaid) will pay the nursing home. However, a house that is a person’s primary residence is exempt for purposes of Medicaid eligibility provided that the community spouse is still residing in the house, and the net value of the house does not exceed $500,000. Additionally, if you are a single, then sign the application that you have an “intent to return to the house,” even if that it’s impossible and you remain in a nursing home. The home is an exempt…
Elder Care Attorney, David Wingate, of Senior Life Care Planning, will present a free workshop on “Life Care and Medicaid Planning,” at 10.00 am on March 15 th at Senior Life Care Planning’s Frederick office, and on March 16 th at Senior Life Care Planning’s Rockville office. This workshop is designed to help seniors and their loved ones learn about protecting hard-earned assets from the staggering costs associated with long-term care, whether for assisted living, nursing home, or in-home care. The laws have changed, and attendees will discover that good planning opportunities still exist for those who plan ahead, as…
The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), signed by then President George Bush significantly changed the rules regarding transfers, for non-services, or gifts of assets (Gifts). Any Gifts made prior to enactment of the DRA on February 8, 2006, Maryland Medicaid officials review all documentation, bank statements, mutual funds, CD’s etc. for any Gifts made within the 36 months of the Medicaid application (or 60 months if the Gift was made to an irrevocable trust). However, for Gifts made after the enactment of the DRA the so-called "look back" period for all Gifts is 60 months. The “look back” period determines what…
A single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) is a contract with an insurance company where the non-nursing home spouse pays a sum of money to an insurance company. Consequently, the insurance company sends a monthly check to the non-nursing home spouse for a certain time period or for the rest of their life. In Maryland, and some states, the purchase of a SPIA is not considered to be a transfer (gift) for purposes of Medicaid eligibility, because it is an income stream. Therefore, it transfers countable assets into a non-countable assets. In order for the annuity purchase not to be considered…
If you are applying for Medicaid, the institutional spouse (spouse in nursing home) and their community spouse (spouse not in nursing home) may protect their assets and lifelong savings, retirement IRA etc. by spending those assets on noncountable assets. These expenditures may include: prepaying funeral expenses, paying off a mortgage, making repairs to a home, purchasing a new automobile, updating home furnishings and equipment, purchasing insurance up to $1,500 buying a new home, if under $500,000, (in some states $750,000) puchasing an annuity In the case of married couples, it is often important that any spend-down steps be taken only…
A new mortgage product is making "reverse" mortgages more affordable. Reverse mortgages typically have high fees, but the new Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Saver allows borrowers to get a reverse mortgage with lower upfront costs as long as they are willing to borrow a smaller amount. A reverse mortgage allows homeowners who are at least 62 years old to borrow money on their houses. The homeowner receives a sum of money from the lender, usually a bank, based largely on the value of the home, the age of the borrower, and current interest rates. The loans do not have…
Generally, you do not have to sell your home for Medicaid qualification of nursing home care. However, the state can file a claim against your home after your death. If Medicaid pays for your nursing home care, the state must attempt to recoup from your estate the amount it paid for your care. This is called "estate recovery." Consequently, with the rules for Medicaid eligibility i.e. assets under $2,500 the only property of substantial value that a Medicaid recipient is likely to own at death is their home. Therefore, you should consult with an elder care attorney before or after…
Frederick, MD 
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