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Home » BLOG » Mistakes that Families Make With Medicaid and Nursing Home Expenses

Mistakes that Families Make With Medicaid and Nursing Home Expenses

November 16, 2011 by Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney

Medicaid often enters the lives of senior citizens when it comes to paying for the catastrophic costs of nursing home care.  Not being familiar with the complex Medicaid system, many families make mistakes within this confusing area of elder law.  Some of the most common mistakes include:

1.         Relying on Medicare or health insurance to pay nursing home expenses.

Neither Medicare nor regular health insurance pays for the cost of long-term care in a nursing home. With the average cost of nursing homes in Colorado exceeding $70,000 annually, without proper planning most families will quickly run through their life savings.

2.         Transferring assets to children or other relatives.

This almost always results in lengthy, unnecessary periods of ineligibility for Medicaid due to the lookback period, which allows Medicaid to examine transfers as far back as five years.

3.         Relying on a will or a living trust to protect property from Medicaid.

A will takes effect only upon your death, and a living trust will not protect your assets from being used to pay nursing home expenses.

4.         Putting property into joint ownership with a family member.

This is often regarded in the same manner as a transfer and can result in an ineligibility period.  It can also create unfortunate legal problems for families.

5.         Selling the family home to pay for nursing home care.

In some instances, the family home is exempt from having to be sold to qualify for Medicaid assistance to pay for nursing home expenses.

6.         Not seeking the advice of a Medicaid attorney.

A Medicaid attorney can help you not only understand  the complexities of Medicaid law, but they can help with Medicaid planning.  Medicaid planning allows you to maintain Medicaid eligibility while preserving as much of your family’s wealth as possible.

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Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Stephen Mendel is an attorney who focuses a substantial part of his practice on estate planning. Mr. Mendel’s guiding principle is to provide his clients with quality legal services tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals.
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
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Filed Under: Medicaid Tagged With: Estate Planning, medicaid attorney, Medicaid Law, Medicaid planning

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  • About Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney

    Mr. Stephen Mendel is an attorney who focuses a substantial part of his practice on estate planning. Mr. Mendel’s guiding principle is to provide his clients with quality legal services tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals.

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