The team from Bratton Estate and Elder Care Attorneys are here to help if you have concerns about how your family will pay for nursing home or long-term care in Moorestown, NJ. We know how Medicaid benefits work as well as the legal strategies that could help you qualify for this essential coverage sooner. Let us help you and your family protect your assets while getting you or a family member the care you need.
Call our team today at (856) 857-6007 to learn more about how we can help you. Our team includes asset protection lawyers, social workers, certified dementia practitioner and a registered nurse. You and your family will meet with an attorney to talk about your needs and preferences before we make any legal recommendations.
Medicaid Covers Nursing Home and Assisted Living Care
Nursing home care and placement in other long-term care facilities like assisted living facilities are expensive. Most families cannot afford these costs, and private health insurance and Medicare do not help cover these costs. Medicaid is the only option for many families. It allows them to provide their loved one with the around-the-clock support and care they need.
Understanding How Medicaid Works
Medicaid is a public benefit program that you can qualify for based on need. To get these benefits, you must meet very strict income and asset limits. For many families, they spend down their nest egg and sell off their assets to pay for their loved one’s care before they can get Medicaid. This ensures their aging family member gets the care they need, but at what cost?
Our legal team believes you should not have to spend the inheritance you saved for your children and grandchildren just to meet the Medicaid requirements. We can help you develop a Medicaid planning strategy that fits your needs and preferences, and helps you protect more of your assets. With planning, your loved one can qualify for Medicaid sooner, and your family can continue to live the same quality of life.
How Moorestown, NJ, Medicaid Planning Works
When you plan for your Medicaid needs in advance, our attorneys may be able to protect all or most of your family’s assets. If we put a plan in place five years or more before you need nursing home or assisted living care, protecting your assets is relatively simple. We may be able to:
- Create a trust to hold your family’s assets
- Gift valuables or money to your heirs early
- Move money into your child’s or grandchild’s account
- Donate money to a beloved charity
- Take other steps to get your assets out of your name, so Medicaid cannot count them
In many cases, families who reach out to us need help with Medicaid today. While this is not as easy as planning, we can still help. You may need to spend down some of your assets, but we can often develop a legal strategy that protects a portion of your assets.
Our Medicaid specialists will work to minimize the spend down, maximize your protected assets, explain the Medicaid penalty you face, and help your loved one get the care they need as soon as possible.
Leave Medicaid Planning to Experienced and Knowledgeable Professionals
You do not want to try to manage Medicaid planning on your own. Medicaid rules are complex, and you could face significant penalties even with a small misstep. We recommend always working with a Medicaid planning team to ensure you avoid the pitfalls of this process.
When you apply for Medicaid coverage, you must meet the strict income and asset limits. Also, they look back at the last five years of your financial records. If they find that you gave away, moved, or sold any assets, your benefits could be in jeopardy.
Medicaid will penalize you based on the value of the assets you moved. They do this by making you serve a penalty period before they allow you to file a claim for benefits. This means you will pay out-of-pocket for care longer. We can often help clients minimize or eliminate this penalty period using legal strategies to protect assets.
Our Process Sets Us Apart From Other Moorestown, NJ, Asset Protection Attorneys
The team from Bratton Estate and Elder Care Attorneys do not have a one-size-fits-all asset protection and Medicaid planning program. Instead, we create a unique plan that works for your family’s financial situation. We learn about your needs, as well as their preferences and financial situation. That level of detail and care is why investing in Medicaid planning services is important.
By getting to know each family, we can best create a plan that helps their loved one get the best support and care while we also protect their hard-earned assets. Our attorneys are compassionate and understanding and know how to make these stressful financial discussions easier.
Let Our Legal Team Take Over
Once our social workers learn about your family’s needs and financial situation, our asset protection attorneys can begin building a plan that will work well for you. We know what Medicaid looks at to determine eligibility, how they look back at your financial statements, and the legal strategies we can use to protect your nest egg.
Let our attorneys help your loved one receive the Medicaid benefits they need sooner while also protecting as many of your assets as possible. We know how to navigate the Medicaid laws and can build a strategy for you based on your individual situation.
Talk to a Medicaid Planning Lawyer in Moorestown, NJ
If you need help with planning for Moorestown, NJ, nursing home or assisted living care, the team from Bratton Estate and Elder Care Attorneys can help. Let our attorneys review your family’s current situation and future needs and discuss your preferences and priorities. Then we can go to work developing a Medicaid plan that gets your loved one the care they need while also preserving as many assets as possible.
Call our office today at (856) 857-6007 to learn more about our Medicaid planning services.
