Is It Too Late To Save Assets If A Loved One Is Already In A Nursing Home?
The only time it’s too late to try to save resources when someone is already in a nursing home is if you have already spent every last dollar on nursing home bills. There is no more money to protect. It has all been spent and there’s no getting it back. However, we have had people seek the benefit of our legal services with only $10,000 remaining in their accounts. They see that it is better to pay our legal fee to protect a small portion of that money than pay all that money to a nursing home and then deal with all the associated hassles of trying to get Medicaid eligibility by themselves. It all depends on the person who needs assistance, the family members, their time resources, and their views on wanting assistance.
Who Is Responsible For Overseeing The Irrevocable Trust Once It Is Set Up?
Once an irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trust is set up, the person primarily responsible for overseeing the trust is the person who is named as trustee of that trust. You, as a creator of the trust, can retain rights regarding the management of that trust including rights to information, rights to fire the person you have named as trustee, and so forth. The right that you give up under these trusts is the right to direct distributions of the principal of the trust assets. The responsibility can also be delegated to anyone you have named under your durable power of attorney or anyone you have named who has rights of access to information and so forth under the terms of the trust.
The trustee is a point of debate amongst elder law attorneys throughout the United States, including whether you can be your own trustee. Typically speaking, doing so can jeopardize the effectiveness of your irrevocable asset protection trust. It is usually recommended that you use a very highly trusted family member as your ultimate overseer and trustee of this trust, with supervision by you and other people involved in your planning.
Who Are Irrevocable Trusts Ideal For When It Comes To Medicaid Planning?
Irrevocable trusts are ideal for anyone with an asset that they do not want to see going to a nursing home or be liquidated. Irrevocable asset protection trusts for Medicaid planning are also ideal for people over a certain financial threshold. Typically, people should consider creating an irrevocable trust for asset protection purposes when they have at least $200,000 in assets that Medicaid would count against them and that they want to protect for either their quality of life, quality of care, or their children’s inheritance. An irrevocable trust does not always require putting all your assets in the trust unless that’s what you want to do.
In certain circumstances, it may be best that you put a limited amount of assets in the trust. The five years look back period and asset protection rules only relate to the assets that you place in that trust and you can then have more freedom and control over your other assets. Irrevocable asset protection trusts are also ideal for someone with life insurance that has a cash value or a primary residence that the family has no attachment to that could be used and sold, and the proceeds used to have quality care. The asset protection trust is very useful for someone who wants to have supplemental care at a nursing home.
Whether you are privately paying, or Medicaid is footing the majority of the bill, you’re only allowed to keep only a certain percentage of your income and the quality of care typically does not change based on who is paying. The trust funds can be used to pay for additional caregivers at the nursing home so that you always have someone there with you in addition to the nursing home staff. This gives you the quality of life when you’re in a situation that most people look to avoid.
What Sets Your Firm Apart In Assisting Clients In Setting Up Irrevocable Trusts Concerning Medicaid Planning?
In Jacksonville, Florida, the irrevocable asset protection trust for Medicaid planning is a highly specialized type of trust and a field of estate planning which only less than five law firms’ practice. The main thing that sets us apart from the other few is that we typically assist 5 to 10 people each month, including assistance with their Medicaid application. Our staff has experience working in nursing homes. Since we have hands-on involvement with our clients in nursing homes, we know the specifics about how to structure the trust to avoid Medicaid scrutiny, how to spot family members who you may not want to involve, and how to word your long term care plan in such a way that you’ll have the best quality of life if you ever need a nursing home. We use technology to assist with our process, so we are able to focus more time on the relationship with our clients. We’re set up to provide a higher degree of client service and specifics when discussing and implementing your irrevocable trust for Medicaid planning purposes.
For more information on Saving Assets When Someone Is In A Nursing Home, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (904) 398-6100 today.
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