Stratford Medicaid Planning Lawyer
The thought of how to pay for our healthcare as we decline, both physically and mentally, can be scary to think about. It’s not just the prospect of dealing with our own mortality, but also looking at the reality of how fast costs can add up. The challenges are even more significant when considering that Medicare—the federal program that serves the elderly does not cover many of the long-term medical expenses that routinely arise. Medicaid, the federal program that serves the underprivileged, might be the best answer.
How Medicaid Planning Works
Most people don’t see themselves as economically disadvantaged, and in fact they are not. The problem is that the soaring costs of everything nursing homes to assisted living to hospice to medical treatment itself can leave people from all income brackets dependent on some level of government assistance.
The challenge, from a legal and financial perspective, is that there are limits to the amount of income, based on family size, that a person can earn or have on hand and still be considered eligible for Medicaid. Income includes everything from wages to retirement account payments. Assets on hand range from stocks to bank accounts and any property (i.e., a second home) that is not actually lived in by the Medicaid applicant.
A Medicaid planning attorney must further deal with the legal prohibition on a person giving away assets for the purpose of qualifying for Medicaid, at least all at once. All of these factors must be considered in putting together a Medicaid plan.
Attorney Thomas E. Brennan is a Stratford Medicaid planning lawyer with over 20 years of experience helping people deal with the difficult issues of long-term health care. With offices in both Stratford and Trumbull, Attorney Brennan serves clients throughout Fairfield, Norwalk, Bethel, and Newtown.
Don’t neglect the important legal steps that have to be taken to protect your assets, and those of your heirs. Get the help you need by calling Attorney Thomas E. Brennan at (203) 806-9065 or by filling out our online contact form to arrange for a consultation.
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The Look Back Window
The way the state of Connecticut tries to prevent people from getting on Medicaid by quickly giving away their property is through the look back window. An applicant is required to provide five years’ worth of financial records. The state will be looking for money that has essentially been given away, whether that be directly, or through selling an asset at significantly less than its market value. If it’s determined that the money was simply given away, eligibility for Medicaid may be denied.
It's also important to know that even payments for legitimate services could be considered given away if not properly documented. Let’s say there’s someone in a person’s life who comes over and helps out as a caregiver. The caregiver is paid appropriately for their services. But if these payments aren’t specified in a legal agreement, the government could interpret the payments as a giveaway.
Protecting Your Assets and Still Qualifying
The issue to be dealt with then, is how to manage money and allow income to flow in, yet still keep eligible for Medicaid. Setting up a trust is one way to do this. Money that goes into a trust is exempt from Medicaid limits.
The price of this is that the client can only receive a limited amount of income from their own trust, but this is a way to have living expenses come in, while maintaining eligibility for Medicaid.
Get the help you need by calling Attorney Thomas E. Brennan at (203) 806-9065 or by filling out our online contact form to arrange for a consultation.
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Schedule A ConsultationAttorney Thomas E. Brennan has over 20 years of experience in Estate & Probate legal affairs, he is ready to help you.