Vegas Voice 11-18

Ignorance can be EXPEN$IVE
By: Jerry Creed / Trust Jerry
Failing to plan, is planning to fail. The threat
of enhanced Medicaid recovery is real.
Situation: A daughter came to our office.
Her parents divorced years before. Both had paid off their individual
homes.
Mom had done some asset protection planning with a fellow elder
attorney and she passed away without having to use her Medicaid
assistance. Dad had a simple estate plan in place and had been declared
incompetent because of dementia but was otherwise in superb health.
He appeared to need a memory care or skilled nursing facility in the
coming years. The cost of the facility would likely be $8,000 per month
and he would be forced to use the $320K from the sale of his home to
pay for his care before Medicaid assistance would kick in.
Threat: When the daughter came to our office, she wanted to move
Mom’s house into Dad’s trust. This was a red flag because Mom’s
house was beyond the reach of Nevada’s enhanced recovery.
Moving her home would have made the funds from the home
sale available to Medicaid “recovery”, an estimate $350k. Medicaid
assistance has a 60 month look back period to “recover” any transfer
of assets. The family plan was for Dad to move in with his daughter
until his disease progressed to a point of needing to be moved into a
facility, 5 to 8 years away.
Solution: We met with Dad, and he seemed lucid and sharp. We
suggested the family get him formally tested by a doctor, and it turned
out he was very competent. Competent enough for us to get a better
Durable Power of Attorney in place, and for him to get advanced Elder
Law planning in place.
The end result was $320k would now be protected and not available
for Medicaid “recovery.” Dad would stay with the family as long as
possible and when the time comes for Dad to move into the skilled
nursing facility, the cost of care could be covered by Medicaid
assistance.
The funds from the sale of both homes would be safe from Medicaid.
The daughter and her Dad now have their assets and funds protected.
What Is Imperative to Understand: Had the daughter not
gone to an Elder Law Attorney, Dad’s assets and funds would HAVE to
have been used FIRST before Medicaid kicked in. He would only have
about $2k in assets left; he would not have enough money to change
facilities if he decided he didn’t like the staff, food, facility or fellow
patients.
He would have been left with no options. Medicaid would be
controlling his care and residency.
Now when the time comes to move Dad into a facility, the family
has a sum of money from their assets, worth $670k, to supplement his
care, make changes they desire and allow Dad to have options. Dad is
no longer a burden, but a blessing.
How Do You Protect Yourself and Your Family? Simply
put - Elder Law.
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