In last week’s video, What you can and can’t keep with Medicaid: Farm Land – Part A, we learned that farm land can be treated as an exempt asset, when determining Medicaid eligibility, if it is considered as part of your residence. But, this isn’t the end of the story. There are other circumstances that can put your family’s heritage at risk without some special planning to protect it.
In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, Illinois Elder Law attorney, continues with the series What You Can and Can’t Keep with Medicaid and discusses the Medicaid rules on farm land, highlighting other issues that can arise even if the land is determined exempt.
What you can and can’t keep with Medicaid: Farm Land – Part B
Last week, Wes Coulson began this discussion on how Medicaid treats farm land in What you can and can’t keep with Medicaid: Farm Land – Part A.
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Wes Coulson and this is your Elder Law Minute. I want to continue my discussion on how the Medicaid rules treat farm land.
In the first video, I talked about circumstances in which farm land can be treated as exempt. The problem is, that’s not the end of the story. Even if it is exempt, farm land would be subject to the state’s rights, either to place a lien against it so that if it’s sold during the Medicaid recipient’s lifetime the state’s going to get the money, and if the Medicaid recipient dies still owning it, it would be subject to what is called estate recovery, which means they can force the sale to pay back whatever Medicaid benefits they paid out.
So, my object lesson here is, if you have farm land you have a tremendous need for Elder Law planning because very literally what for most farmers is their most valuable asset, from every respect (monetarily, family heritage, everything) is very much at risk and it requires some special planning to protect it. I guess the good news, if I want to end on a happy note here, is that we’ve had a lot of experience dealing with that and it’s something we can help you with. Thanks.
For more information on Medicaid and Asset Preservation, visit these articles:
- What you can and can’t keep with Medicaid: Cars and Trucks
- What you can and can’t keep with Medicaid: Life Insurance
- What’s the Difference Between Estate Planning and Asset Preservation Planning?
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Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (877)995-6876 or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.