With the help of a good Elder Law attorney, establishing eligibility for Medicaid for a spouse in a nursing home can occur much sooner and is much easier to accomplish than what you might expect. Within the Medicaid eligibility rules, there are plenty of opportunities for achieving this.
Because of the way the income rules work in both Missouri and Illinois, it’s much more common than not that through asset preservation planning, we can take a couple with a house and more assets than the asset limits allow, and get the spouse in the nursing home on Medicaid right away.
Don’t assume that you have to wait. Call and get help as soon as that need arises and you will like the result a whole lot.
In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, O’Fallon Illinois Elder Law attorney, discusses another topic from the video series Married Couples and Medicaid and explains that with the help of a good Elder Law attorney, establishing eligibility for Medicaid is much easier and will get you a result you are happy with.
Married Couples and Medicaid: Establishing Eligibility is Much Easier and Can Happen Much Sooner than You Probably Think
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Wes Coulson from Dent-Coulson Elder Law, your St. Louis area and Southwestern Illinois Elder Law attorneys. This is another in our series of videos on Married Couples and Medicaid. Today I want to make sure that you realize something that is tremendously important and that is that with the help of a good Elder Law attorney, achieving Medicaid eligibility for a spouse in a nursing home can occur much sooner and is much easier to accomplish with the right help than what you would expect.
Most people will go online and they will see the asset limit numbers and they will make the assumption that they have to spend down to those numbers before they can do anything to get help from Medicaid. Worse yet, I think in a lot of cases there are a lot of nursing homes where well-intentioned people who don’t understand the rules of the planning are telling people that.
Well, I’m going to tell you something different and that is that you need to see a good Elder Law attorney. Within the rules, there are plentiful opportunities. Because of the way the income rules work in both Missouri and Illinois, I’m going to say it’s much more common than not that we can take a couple with a house and what might seem like two or three times as much as the asset limits and get the spouse in the nursing home on Medicaid right away. How we do it is going to be different from one couple to the next, to the next.
But, there’s a clear moral of the story and that is: Don’t assume that you have to wait. Call, get help as soon as that need arises and you’ll like the result a whole lot. Thanks.
For more information on planning for married couples, visit these articles:
- Will Transferring Assets Between Spouses Cause A Medicaid Transfer Penalty?
- What’s the Difference Between Estate Planning and Asset Preservation Planning?
- Married Couples and Medicaid: Understanding the Division of Assets 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.
