Elder Law Services
One of the biggest shocks for many people as they approach the end of their lives is discovering that Medicare won’t cover assisted living costs when they can no longer care for themselves. After working their whole lives, hoping to pass something down to their loved ones, some of whom may have been providing years of caregiving services at great personal and professional expense, they learn they must spend down everything they have before qualifying for Medicaid. It’s a huge blow, especially when you consider the fact that inheritance is the #1 way people break into the middle class and stay there these days. We can help people to qualify for Medicaid and/or VA Pension benefits while maximizing what can be given to family, without reverse mortgages and without Medicaid recovering funds from your estate. With enough time before assisted living is needed, we can also pre-plan with Medicaid and VA trusts to preserve your eleigibility.
From Candice:
“I’ll never forget my first time helping a client qualify for Medicaid after she learned that Medicare wouldn’t cover her much-needed assisted living. Not only did she have to endure a barrage of uncomfortable questions about her ability to care for herself, but she also found out she’d need to spend down most of her assets before qualifying. This meant paying caregivers out of pocket until her savings were depleted. We managed to craft a spend-down plan that involved gifting some assets to her daughter, but one thing she said has always stuck with me: “My husband and I worked our whole lives to save enough to live comfortably and leave something for the kids. We thought we had it all figured out. I’m glad he’s not here to see this.” It hit me hard that many seniors face this same disheartening reality, and their families suffer because of it.”
We help people plan ahead to protect their assets so that when they need assisted living, they can qualify for Medicaid and/or VA benefits while preserving their hard-earned savings for their loved ones. If you have an immediate need, we create spend-down plans that maximize allowable spending and strategize gifting to loved ones, even if it means paying a penalty to make it work. These are complex legal matters best handled with professional guidance.
We offer a complimentary 15-minute phone call to answer your initial questions. If Candice is available to take your case, you will then schedule a detailed Elder Law Planning session for $525.00. During this session, we’ll review your medical diagnoses, health concerns, income, assets, family information, and long-term care wishes to determine if pre-planning for Medicaid and VA benefits is right for you or if you need a spend-down plan to qualify sooner. We can assist with the application process for these benefits.