Evan H Farr, CELACertified Elder Law Attorney, Farr Law Firm · Certified Elder Law Attorney, Estate Planning Attorney, Asset Protection Trust Expert, Medicaid Planning Expert, Probate Attorney, 4-time Best-Selling Author, Creator of the Living Trust Plus®️ Asset

Life Care Planning & Medicaid Asset Protection

13 Dec 2012 · 2 min

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2:28

In this presentation, certified elder law attorney Evan H. Farr explains how life care planning and Medicaid asset protection can be used to preserve a family’s wealth while qualifying for Medicaid nursing‑home benefits. He outlines when planning can begin—either while the individual can still make decisions or via a power of attorney—and notes that most clients seek help when nursing‑home care is already needed. Farr describes the primary motivations for asset protection: maintaining quality of life, safeguarding assets for a healthy spouse, providing for disabled children, and preserving a financial legacy or minimizing tax liabilities. He emphasizes that each plan must be tailored to the client’s specific income, assets, expenses, health status, and family situation. By employing a range of legal, ethical, and moral strategies, families can obtain Medicaid without depleting life savings, allowing spouses to retain marital assets and income, single or widowed clients to enjoy the best possible care, and parents to leave a legacy while still qualifying for benefits.

Chapters

Hi, I'm certified elder law attorney Evan H Farr, and today I'm here to talk to you about life care planning and Medicaid asset protection. Life care planning can be started while you're still able to make legal and financial decisions for yourself, or it can be initiated by an adult child acting as your agent under a properly drafted power of attorney. The majority of our life care planning and Medicaid asset protection clients come come to us when nursing home care is already in place or is imminent. Why do people do asset protection planning? There are many reasons, but most of our clients are interested in protecting their assets for themselves to be able to enjoy the highest quality of life possible within the confines of a nursing home. For our married clients, asset protection is typically done for the benefit of the healthy spouse, who will be remaining at home. And for some clients, asset protection may be done for the benefit of their children, especially children who might be disabled. Some people have specific goals relating to disabled beneficiaries or related to their home or to federal and state income taxes or federal and state gift taxes. The bottom line is that every plan must be customized to achieve your specific goals on the basis of your specific situation. Your income, your assets, your expenses, your health condition, and your family. Our firm can help families obtain Medicaid assistance without having to deplete their life savings. With life care planning, a spouse who is able to stay at home can keep all of their marital assets and much or all of the marital income while Medicaid pays for the nursing home. With life care planning, a single or a widowed client can enjoy the highest quality of life possible in the event that you're forced to enter a nursing home. With life care planning, parents can, if desired, leave a financial legacy for their children while still qualifying for Medicaid. The reality is that families do not need to go broke paying for nursing home care. There are dozens of legal, ethical, and moral strategies that we can use every day to protect assets in connection with life care planning and Medicaid asset protection.