Strategies For New York Asset Protection

Asset protection in this day and age can involve many different rules and regulations, particularly for an elderly person trying to afford long-term care. It can be difficult for the average person in Westchester County to fully understand just how best to protect their assets when it comes time to apply for Medicaid. The right attorney can help you and your loved ones ensure that you can preserve an inheritance for your children while getting the care you need.

Create A Trust

In order to qualify for Medicaid, a person or couple (if filing jointly) must ‘spend down’ their assets and income to reach a certain limit. Medicaid is means-tested, meaning that if a person has assets above that limit, they are presumed to be able to pay for care themselves. However, spending down has very specific rules, including one that imposes a penalty for every asset not disposed of at fair market value.

A trust is a very effective way of preserving some assets from Medicaid’s rules, as assets in an irrevocable trust are no longer in the settlor’s name. Consequently, the assets do not count for Medicaid’s purposes, yet they still may be accessible to the settlor. In addition, a settlor has broad leeway over how such a trust should be structured and who should serve as trustees.

Convert An Asset

In some cases, the best way to preserve an asset may be to turn it into something else. For example, some annuities are Medicaid-compliant, or can be turned into one that is Medicaid-compliant. Some assets may even be converted into Medicaid-compliant annuities, such as the funds from a bank account. Another way to ‘convert’ an asset is simply to sell it, as long as it is for fair market value.

What usually may not be done is to simply give assets away – if this happens, Medicaid will impose penalties on the applicant or, in extreme cases, deny the application itself. Gifts are usually seen as transactions where things are not sold for fair market value – regardless of the intent of the giver, this counts against them in Medicaid’s eyes because that asset could have been used to pay for care.

Contact A Westchester County Asset Protection Attorney

Asset protection seems like a good idea to most people, but it can seem very overwhelming to try and protect your assets against a blizzard of state and federal laws. A Westchester County asset protection attorney from Meyer & Spencer, PC can help answer your questions and structure your estate plan in the manner in which it will do the most good. Contact our office today at (941) 741-2288 to schedule a consultation.