In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson discusses Medicaid planning, and if it is ever too late to get started.
Transcript:
I had a gentleman call me this morning on behalf of his mother, and he said, “Before we go any further, the first thing I want to ask you is, is it too late to get any help? My mom has already been in the nursing home for two years.” Really good (and) really important question, because it goes to an essential issue which is:
Does it ever become too late to do medicaid planning?
My answer to him, and therefore my advice to you is, not unless your mom doesn’t have any money left or she has already applied for Medicaid and had that application decided. As long as somebody has assets left, they have assets left to protect and we can do planning and in fact, quite often do planning for people in situations in which the first contact to us comes either after somebody is already in the nursing home or they’re in the hospital in rehab and have found out the only care option available at this point is nursing home care.
Incidentally, that includes situations in which someone has essentially depleted their savings and is down to only owning their residence or some other property. Those are still very valuable assets and so they’re something that you really want to do something to protect.
The lesson here this week is pretty simple. Don’t assume that it’s too late.
If you are facing a situation in which a spouse, parent, or other loved one is in a nursing home and they have some assets, give us a call because for one thing you definitely need the help, and for the second thing, the help is still very much available.
- Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:
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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 (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
