How To Protect Your Assets from Nursing Home Costs 

It’s still 5 years in FL & there’s no look back period in CA.

​@Jen-ur4ut dang I wish I could afford to live in California! Sounds awesome! Do they have a very good home hospice care? Problem here is we only make $2500 per month together but received $100k. Don't know what to do with it. We currently rent and have OLD cars!

@@Jennifr1966. What do you mean you don’t know what to do with $100k? Drawing down on it only supplements your income by $4-5k a year. Spend it.

If services are provided under Medicaid, the state where services are provided will have a claim against the estate. That claim is not exercised in the case of married persons where one (the "well spouse") is not receiving Medicaid services. That claim will be exercised when the well spouse dies.

How about the adult child caregiver who lived in the home while taking care of their aging parent? Will Medicaid force them out of a home they had been living in as a caregiver?

@@deanahodell7815 This is what I went through and now going through Hell trying to recover from it all because it left me with almost nothing and have one foot out of the door almost homeless! Whoever the wise guy was in Congress who came up with the Medicaid crap wasn't sealed too tight and that's putting it lightly. Angers me to no end. They didn't take into consideration people like you and me when an adult child giver is living with the aging parent. And you'd better not put your name on the Deed to the House because they will come after you to pay the bill or they will take the home while you're in it. Either way you're screwed while your parent is living and when they die when it comes to taking the home because they want that $$$$ to pay that bill while they were residing in the N.Home. Evil Government and people who are in it needless to say. I don't expect "taxpayers" to pay for anything in my life and would rather DIE than for that to happen as well. But Congress could've put more empathy and thought into coming up with a better solution re: medicaid and people who have to go into nursing homes. Empathy can take people a LONG way to happy and balanced solutions on both sides for both parties involved!

Home health is a Medicare program, as is hospice, although Medicaid will also pay for this. If the home health is provided under Medicare, there is no look-back. There isn't any look-back for any Medicare-provided service.

​@@philnewton2011well I hope you're right, but everyone including medicaid requires says that there is look back. 🤔

There is a 6 year lookback for Medicaid programs. There is no lookback period for Medicare. Medicaid is public assistance. Medicare is not, and therefore there is no lookback feature. @@gottaprepordie

@@gottaprepordie. No look back for Medicare. You have to actually apply for Medicaid and then they look back at 5 years of your bank or investment account statements.

Irrevocable trust

give everything to them 5 or more years before going into nursing home

@@commonsense3055 you never know when someone will go in a nursing home You can’t predict

yes...give the money away to your kids at least 6 years before you need it and then you can take advantage of a government program that most people doing this will vote against.

poetmaggie1 ... I totally agree! It's just all about money nothing more or less just the money! One word: GREED! How many average hardworking people have nursing home care funds to put aside through out their lives along with daily living including mortgage/rent? I rest my case! It's just all about taking everyone's lifelong hard earned money and the family member who cared for them well just throw them in the streets to become homeless! No one cares about you as a human. It's all about the money ... that's the main concern. Sorry but no Nursing Home is worth $5,000 or more per month for the services they DO NOT render to the poor patients then to have the audacity to turn to the person who was that patients loved one and who cared for them to be thrown out in the streets because they need the house too in the end!!!! I know all of this because I'm going through it now and it's literally eating me alive. Just the stress of this and knowing I'll be homeless soon is enough to kill anyone. Let me see now my options suicide or homelessness in -10 degree weather as we're having now? Yes choices, choices and all because of the nasty most incompetent non caring politician who passed such a bill on our nation's citizens. Now don't forget. We the American citizen get treated like subhumans but all of the illegals coming over get free everything from our Government. Right! 😡😕Sad thing is, it's beyond hard and next to impossible to fight Medicaid or the N. Home's especially when you didn't "plan ahead"! Just unreal!!!! Sad very sickening and sad. Someone needs to change this sick "law" with Medicaid and the N. Homes.

@@EmeraldJade66 while I agree with a lot of what you said, costs are tied to wages and lawsuits. Liabilities are causing these high rates

@@EmeraldJade66 I agree we treat our children (day care expensive) and our elderly (very expensive) very poorly. We in America a country that is ready to send billions of dollars to other countries treat our elderly and young as we do shame on us. Elect political leaders who leave office with millions and are looked after to time of their death, we the people need a voice for these two groups, not acceptable in a nation of wealth.

@@EmeraldJade66 If people have money, they should use that before making the taxpayers pick up the bill.

@@EmeraldJade66 You pay for services.

If you are concerned about paying for nursing home costs, a revocable trust is not the way to go. There may be an estate planning reason for a revocable living trust in Pennsylvania, but it would depend upon your specific goals, assets, family dynamics and other factors. An individualized consultation would give you the best answer.

@@MarshallParkerLaw I am located in North Carolina. Understand this is not a cut and dry question as well. Currently have a revocable trust but rethinking if that was really a good idea. Thanks for your reply.

Hire an elder law attorney immediately. Rent out the NH house. It won’t count against assets. Unfortunately you should have planned long ago. Might have been able to keep the NJ house.

That's life........ Either you want your mum to be well looked after or you bring her home and look after her yourselves! My mother-in-law looked after her father for thirty two years as he didn't want the family home sold to pay for his care. She then inherited the house and lost it when she suffered from dementia and had to sell it to cover her own care home costs. When the money finally ran out, the council came after her family to pay for her care which just wasn't feasible at over £1,100 a week. Transferred into a basic council run care home although by this time, she new nothing about anything and had totally forgotten her own family. Quite a sad ending but one that happens every month with government cleaning out savings, property, shares etc until there's nothing left. The alternative is to hide the cash and property away in trusts which will of course stop it being used to provide a nice care home for your parents who worked hard to accumulate it all. Who cares what happens to them just so long as the kids get their hands on "their inheritance "?

The expense is outrageous! Stop defending robbery!

​@jeanninegodwin2285 No excuse

Don't do it.

If you are a Pennsylvania resident, we would be happy to meet with you and develop an individualized plan after we know some more about you, your health, your family situation and other pertinent facts. Contact webmail@paelderlaw.com to set up an appointment.

Most people are in the middle - not enough to pay but just enough to not qualify for aid.

​@Jen-ur4ut Sometimes paying a few years privately in good nursing home, will get them to keep you on Medicaid afterwards.