Legal-Ease: Nursing homes and life estates

Among the requirements needed to be eligible for Medicaid, an individual’s financial net worth must be less than $2,000. That individual must not have given away property to become that poor within five years before the application.

Medicaid eligibility means that the government will pay for a person’s long-term care, which includes nursing home care as well as in-home care.

Long-term care and asset protection plans that are undertaken early almost always help the individual later.

Among several requirements, to be eligible for Medicaid, a person must have a financial net worth of less than $2,000 and must not have given anything away to become that poor within the five years before application. Of course, Medicaid eligibility means that the government will pay for a person’s long-term care, including nursing home care or in-home care.

The five-year lookback does not mean that a person’s planning is useless if the person is already in a nursing home or if the person is admitted to a nursing home within five years of the nursing home planning. And, long-term care/asset protection plans that are undertaken early almost always help later, even if five years have not elapsed since the plan was put into place.

Read more about nursing home and life estates in Lee’s article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Nursing homes and life estates

Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Nursing homes and life estates,” by Lee R. Schroeder, February 10, 2018

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LLC in Putnam County. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at Lee@LeeSchroeder.com or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

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