In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, Illinois and Missouri Elder Law attorney, discusses what happens when an applicant acquires new assets while their Medicaid application is pending or when it has been approved and Medicaid benefits have been started.
What if the Applicant Acquires New Assets After a Medicaid Application has Been Filed or Approved?
Transcript:
HI, I’m Wes Coulson and this is your Elder Law Minute. This is another in our series of videos on Medicaid eligibility planning and applications. Today I want to address a question that we don’t come across very often, but when we do it’s often the single most important question that people need answered. And that is: What if someone has already applied for, or been approved for, Medicaid and then they acquire new assets, what’s going to happen then?
Well, the first thing I’m going to tell you is that, that applied for and the application is still pending or the application has already been approved, is something that’s going to make a big difference.
If the application is still pending and the amount of the new assets is significant enough, that’s going to be a judgement call for an elder law attorney. Sometimes the smartest thing to do is to simply withdraw the application and do planning with those additional assets and then to reapply.
If the application has already been approved and the person is already on Medicaid, then we get into some critical timing issues. You have the rest of the month in which the money is received to spend it down. Again, you’re going to need guidance from an experienced elder law attorney as to what is or isn’t permissible for spending it down at that point. But, that can be done in the same calendar month in which the money is received and then after that it simply becomes an asset. You have too much in assets and you’re going to have to spend it down paying for nursing home care and you will have your Medicaid benefits suspended until you’ve done that.
So, I guess if you want some advice here, it’s that if you have that situation the smart thing to do is to contact an experienced elder law attorney, like us, right away to get some help because this is tricky, but in many cases there are still things that can be done to protect a good chunk of that new money. Thanks.
For more information about Medicaid Eligibility and Asset Preservation Planning, visit these articles:
- How an Asset Preservation Trust Protects Your Life Savings From Long-Term Care Costs
- Long Term Care Costs: The Biggest Threat to Your Financial Future
- What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Understanding the Medicaid Application Process
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
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 (618) 632-7000 or (314) 567-9292, or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
