Guide To Medicaid Planning Through Trusts – You’ve been taking care of your loved ones for years, but now they need more care than you can give them home. What are your options if you don’t have the money to pay for them to stay in an assisted living facility? Medicaid planning through trusts may be the answer. But it requires some knowledge and preparation to ensure that the system treats your loved one fairly.
What Is The Medicaid Asset Protection Trust?
The Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is an irrevocable trust that can protect your assets from being used to pay for long-term care expenses. When properly structured, the trust will not count as an asset to determine Medicaid eligibility. This means that you can keep your hard-earned savings and still qualify for government benefits. However, the application process might be a nightmare, especially when you don’t know the steps to take.
What Are The Benefits Of A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust?
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can help you protect your assets from being used to pay for long-term care expenses. This trust can also help you qualify for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can be revocable or irrevocable. If you create a revocable trust, you can change the terms of the trust or even dissolve the trust entirely if you wish.
On the other hand, an irrevocable trust cannot be changed once it has been created. There are pros and cons to both types of trusts, so it is important to speak with an experienced elder law attorney to determine which type of trust is right for you and your family.
Steps to Medicaid Planning Through Trust
If you find that you need to apply for and receive Medicaid planning through trust, you’ll need to undergo the following steps:
Step 1: Complete a Medicaid application
First, you will need to fill out and complete a Medicaid Home Care Benefits application. You will apply for this in your home state. The application process can be strenuous and time-consuming. Ensure you provide the required documentation at the right time to avoid delays.
Step 2: Provide documents and information required by law
To complete your application, you must provide some documents. The documents required in most cases are proof of legal citizenship, residence, and medical information. Also, you will provide financial information on monthly income and other assets.
Step 3: Qualifying to receive benefits.
After the tedious application process, you might find that you don’t qualify for Medicaid benefits. This can be due to several eligibility requirements. But don’t fret! You can remedy this by joining a pooled income trust.
Step 4: Join a pooled income trust
This will help with your income eligibility requirements. If you reach this stage, you must join a Pooled Income Trust. Without it, you might be forced to pay Medicaid instead of using your extra income to pay for other expenses. The application process for a pooled trust is synonymous with the Medicaid application, saving you lots of time and resources.
Conclusion
With Medicaid planning, you can provide your loved ones with the financial resources they need while retaining control of your assets. Speak to a Medicaid planning expert for more information on how a trust can help you protect what matters most.
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