In this Elder Law Minute, Kaye DeSelms Dent discusses how most people believe that revocable living trusts come with asset protection from the costs of nursing home care when, in fact, they do not.
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Kaye DeSelms Dent with Dent Coulson Elder Law, Here with an Elder Law Minute for you. These videos are intended to educate you about the elder care journey, which begins earlier in life than you might think. We hope that you find them useful, and if you have further questions, please call us at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Revocable Living Trusts:
Today we’re going to discuss how revocable living trusts are not asset protection tools. It’s not uncommon for people to say to me “Well, I’m all set. The nursing home can’t take my assets because I have a trust.” And then I ask, what kind of trust?, (reply) “Well I have that revocable living trust!”
A revocable living trust does not provide any asset protection, and doesn’t protect your assets from the cost of nursing home care. So if you have a revocable living trust, you probably have a good estate plan setup, but you don’t necessarily have an asset protection plan setup.
Here at Dent Coulson Elder Law, we can help review your estate plan and your assets, and determine where you stand with regard to the cost of long-term care, and we can help you set up a plan for dealing with the cost of long-term care, that might involve setting up a different kind of trust, because it’s important to remember, actually that there are a lot of different kinds of trusts, for different purposes. A revocable living trust is an excellent estate planning tool for a lot of people; I have one myself, but its not intended to protect my assets. It does happen that when I’m gone, it will protect assets for my spouse, and for my children, but it won’t protect my assets for me now.
Thank you for joining me today, and if you need assistance in your elder care journey, please give us a call at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:
“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 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
