Are you afraid that you cannot afford the costs of nursing home care without losing your own assets?
There are few areas of the law that are quite as challenging as Medicaid, with its constantly evolving set of laws and regulations. That’s why planning for Medicaid is best when done well in advance. A Medicaid attorney can help you develop a comprehensive asset protection plan. At The Law Office of Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC, we help to devise strategies that conform to federal and state law and help protect a significant bulk of assets belonging to a couple or individual, should Medicaid assistance ever be required at some future date.
A fixed fee consultation with Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC will typically involves a thorough examination of assets for Medicaid qualification and estate planning purposes, as well as an explanation of Medicaid planning strategies and estate planning options. There will always be a follow up letter detailing what was discussed in the meeting and recommended.
Call today at 845-481-5001
to learn more about how to best structure your assets to maximize your eligibility for Medicaid benefits so you won’t have to deplete your own assets. If Medicaid planning is not applicable, we will help you determine whether long term care insurance is a viable plan or review existing policies as to suitability.
CRISIS MEDICAID PLANNING
“What happens if we have not planned and my spouse is now requiring skilled nursing costs?”
Failing to plan ahead for Medicaid can be a costly mistake but a common one; either because people fail to engage in any kind of long term care planning, or because they are struck with a serious medical issue without warning, requiring immediate skilled nursing assistance.
It is always better to preserve one’s assets by planning several years prior to the entrance into a nursing home. However, if you haven’t had the opportunity to plan ahead, we can help you develop a crisis Medicaid planning strategy that can save hundreds of thousands of dollars that would otherwise go to the nursing home.
Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC prides himself on innovative, comprehensive crisis planning for families that includes co-ordination with experts in health care and financial services. He understands that finding and affording quality care on short notice can be stressful and draining. Let Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC determine the best options for care and how to qualify for Medicaid to help finance them.
MEDICAID ESTATE PLANNING
When developing a Medicaid plan for an individual (or couple) Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC believes in the holistic approach: he studies the matter as a whole, and not just the sum of their parts. Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC ensures that every client’s estate plan is reviewed and amended, if appropriate, when a Medicaid strategy is being implemented. Here are two examples of how unknowledgeable Medicaid planning can drain the assets of families.
1. Medicaid can be lost and an estate depleted with the wrong Will
As an example, look at a couple with a classic ‘I love you Will’. This type of Will leaves everything to the other spouse on the first death, and then to the children on the second death. Now consider what happens if either husband or wife requires nursing home care and has Medicaid coverage. The ‘healthy’ spouse dies leaving their entire estate to the institutionalized spouse. The institutionalized spouse loses their Medicaid coverage and must maintain private monthly payments upwards of $11,000 until a significant portion of the estate has been depleted.
Among the options, an appropriate Will could have incorporated a trust for the benefit of the institutionalized spouse, or left the estate outright to any children. Every client is unique in the types of assets they hold, so a variety of options must be explored before an appropriate estate plan is settled upon.
Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC will review the myriad of variables in place to help ensure that the appropriate estate plan is implemented (alongside any proposed Medicaid strategy) to best ensure continuing eligibility for Medicaid benefits, protection of the bulk of the estate, and protection against the placement of a Medicaid Lien.
2. Medicaid can be denied because of a standard New York Power of Attorney
This office frequently deals with powers of attorneys that do not have the necessary language to enable an agent to implement a proposed Medicaid strategy. Such documents are usually those downloaded from the Internet or from a stationary store.
Take, for example, the mother who has appointed her son as agent under her standard power of attorney. Mother has now lost capacity and requires Home Medicaid coverage. Her ‘standard’ power of attorney does not have a specific provision allowing for a pooled income trust – a typical New York trust that enables people with excess income to qualify for Community Medicaid Coverage. The son makes a Medicaid application anyway, and his mother is subsequently denied because she has too much income. If mother’s power of attorney had the necessary language, her son (as agent) could have acted to divert any excess income to a pooled income trust, thereby qualifying mother for Home Medicaid.
A power of attorney with “teeth” is the cornerstone of any Elder Law planning. Let Antony M. Eminowicz, PLLC help you prepare such a power of attorney by utilizing the necessary language and enable your chosen agent to help you with any of your future long term care needs.