Medicaid Asset Protection Trust

12 May 2024 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, the speaker explains that Medicaid will place a lien on a beneficiary’s home to recover costs paid for long-term care, making it essential to plan ahead to protect assets. He illustrates the issue with a client whose mother entered a nursing home and was required to provide a deed for her home. The speaker advises that unless one can afford the high annual nursing home costs ($80,000‑$90,000), early planning is crucial. He recommends placing the home in an irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trust, noting that if the trust is established at least five years before the need for long-term care, the home becomes fully protected from Medicaid’s recovery actions.

Chapters

A lien will be put on your home to recover any benefits paid by Medicaid for long-term care. I had a client recently who put his mother in a nursing home and applied for Medicaid benefits. The first thing they wanted from her, a copy of the deed for her home. Unless you are capable of paying $80,000 to $90,000 per year minimum for the nursing home bill, you need to plan early to preserve your assets from Medicaid recovery. One of the primary ways I help people to plan early to preserve their assets from Medicaid is to put their home in an irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trust. If your home is in a Medicaid asset protection trust for 5 years before you need long-term care, it will be completely protected from Medicaid recovery.