Save 500k or give it to the government

16 Jan 2024 · 1 min

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1:01

In this advisory monologue, Jerry Taylor presents two options for a mother who has $500,000 in a bank account and is concerned about Medicaid claiming the assets if she later needs nursing‑home care. Choice A involves protecting the money by either gifting the full amount to her adult children (or sister) and waiting the five‑year Medicaid look‑back period, or by placing the funds into a Medicaid asset‑protection trust and also waiting five years, after which the assets become shielded from government recovery. Choice B is to retain the $500,000 and use it directly to pay for the mother’s nursing‑home expenses when needed. Taylor asks viewers for their opinion, explains the mechanics of each approach, and offers his services to help implement the chosen strategy.

Chapters

Here are two choices. Which one should you make? Choice A would be to protect the $500,000 your mom has in a bank account and for your future inheritance, or Choice B, plan to use that $500,000 to pay for your mom's nursing home care if she needs it. Tell me what you think about this situation. Your mom is getting older. She's got $500,000 in the bank. She doesn't need this money to live on, but she's worried about what might happen to this money if she doesn't do something to protect it from Medicaid. If one day she has to go into a nursing home, Choice A would be to take that money out of that account and go ahead and put it into you and your sister's accounts. Once it's in your account for 5 years, it's protected from the government if your mother needs nursing home care at some point in the future. In other words, if you do this and 5 years passes, the government will pay for your mom's nursing home care, and they can't come back and try to get the $500,000. Another way to accomplish Choice A is to put this money in a Medicaid asset protection trust. Once it's been in the trust for 5 years, it is protected. By the way, if you'd like to work with me on this