How Can A Mahopac Lawyer Help With Elder Law And Asset Protection?
Planning for long-term care can be complicated and difficult, especially when long-term care must involve Medicaid planning. Any long-term care planning should involve extensive thinking about options for protecting your assets, and learning more about the potential penalties and risks associated with transferring assets soon before needing care in a nursing home. How can a Mahopac lawyer help with elder law and asset protection? The attorneys at our firm can discuss long-term care insurance options with you, provide you with information about the Medicaid look-back period, give you detailed information about asset protection options beyond long-term care insurance, and provide you with more information about a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) and whether it is the right option for you.
Your Attorney Can Discuss Long-Term Care Insurance Options with You
There are many different options for purchasing long-term care insurance, and policies can differ greatly from one another. As such, you should seek advice from an experienced asset protection attorney in Putnam County who can discuss different long-term care insurance policies with you and can explain how different policies will pay for portions of long-term care and allow you to protect your assets.
Your Attorney Can Explain the Medicaid Look-Back Period and Options for Protecting Your Assets While Remaining Eligible for Medicaid
When you are planning for long-term care, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to transfer assets to a family member in order to be eligible for Medicaid. You might already know that Medicaid requires you to “spend down” assets in order to be eligible for coverage since the program is for those with limited assets. It also has a “lookback” period, and if any assets are transferred within that lookback period, you can face penalties. Rather than transferring assets and incurring potential penalties or facing other consequences in order to be eligible for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, you should discuss other options for asset protection with your elder law and asset protection lawyer. Your attorney can also provide you with more information about the lookback period and how it could affect your case.
Your Attorney Can Help You to Establish a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
One common option for protecting assets if you do not have enough time to plan ahead for long-term care insurance is to establish a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. With a MAPT, you can transfer assets into the trust without facing problems associated with the lookback period, you can still have assets you need for necessities, and you can be eligible for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care. It is critical to work with an attorney to set up your Medicaid Asset Protection Trust to ensure that it is set up correctly to protect your assets.
Seek Advice from a Mahopac Elder Law and Asset Protection Attorney
If you have any questions about elder law and asset protection, and remaining eligible for Medicaid coverage for nursing home care while protecting assets, one of our experienced Westchester County asset protection attorneys are here to help you. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our firm to learn more about asset protection options for seniors in New York. Contact Meyer & Spencer, PC to learn more about how we can assist you.
Resource:
health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/publications/docs/gis/20ma03_att_1.pdf
