Protecting Your Home Against Medicaid (Part 1)

In this Elder Law Minute, Illinois Elder Law Attorney Wes Coulson explains what the Medicaid exemption means in regards to protecting your home.

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Wes Coulson and this is your Elder Law Minute. Let’s talk about Medicaid and your home. What a Medicaid Caseworker will tell you if you apply for Medicaid is a dangerous half-truth. What they will say is your house is exempt. What they are not telling you is, that is a temporary exemption and it is only exempt, meaning you don’t have to spend it to become eligible, until you either sell it during your lifetime or die still owning it.

Now to me, one or the other of those is going to be the case. At that point what they are going to do it take all the money from the sale and use it to reimburse the Medicaid benefits that you have been paid. So as I say if you own a house and you are on Medicaid you are not really eligible for Medicaid, you are just sort of on a deferred payment plan. If you own a house and you need nursing home care we can do great planning to protect either the house or at least a good portion of the proceeds of the sale of the house. It’s something you need to do. Thanks.

For more on protecting your home, visit these articles:

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.