Practice
Medicaid and elder law
Planning for nursing-home or in-home care, and the papers a family needs when a parent can no longer decide.
Long-term care can use up a lifetime of savings in a few years. Medicaid can help pay for it, but the rules on income, assets and gifts made in the past five years are strict, and a mistake can delay coverage for months.
We look at what your parent owns, what can be protected and what can't, and then prepare the application with you. When a parent can no longer sign a power of attorney, we handle the guardianship or conservatorship petition instead.
What we handle
A written asset and income review
A plan for what can be protected
The Medicaid long-term care application
Guardianship or conservatorship petitions
Updated powers of attorney while they can still be signed
Step by step
How Medicaid planning works
- 01
Step 1: A family call
Usually with the adult children. We hear about the care needed now, and the care coming.
- 02
Step 2: The asset review
Bank statements, the house, the policies and any gifts in the past five years.
- 03
Step 3: A written plan
What can be protected, what it costs, and the timing, in plain English.
- 04
Step 4: The application
We prepare it with you, file it, and answer the agency's questions until there's a decision.
Questions
Questions about this plan
When should we start Medicaid planning?
Ideally years before care is needed, because of the five-year look-back on gifts. But it's rarely too late to do something useful, even after a parent has moved into care.
Will Mom have to sell her house?
Not necessarily. The home is often treated differently from other assets, especially while a spouse lives there. It depends on the family, which is what the review is for.
What if Dad can't sign anything now?
If he has a durable power of attorney, his agent can act. If not, a court can appoint a guardian or conservator. We handle that petition.
Book a family call about a parent's care
Tell us what you have and who you want to look after. You'll leave the call with a written flat-fee quote, and no obligation to use it.
The first call is free and doesn't make us your lawyers; an engagement letter does.