Contact Doug Koenig Law for Medicaid Crisis Response:

Medicaid Crisis Response

Medicaid Crisis happens quickly. Sometimes it happens like this ... a client is a spouse who worries about his wife who just had a medical issue. He might say that she has fallen, broken a hip, and is now in rehab. The facility told them that his wife, given her frailty and advanced age, is unlikely to be able to return home. Once the rehabilitation benefits under Medicare have reached 100 days, her care will no longer be covered. What then? The patient is then required to pay privately for their own care. This can cost between $8,000 and $12,000 per month.

If the above scenario is your current situation, or anything similar, you need to talk with us about Medicaid Crisis Response. Usually, there are only a few days in which to put together an asset protection plan for the ailing parent or spouse, so it is imperative that the client obtain sound legal advice. A wrong move can jeopardize all of the loved one's assets.

What can be done? It very much depends upon the family situation. If mom and dad are married, and if mom is in a nursing home and dad is living at home, many tools and strategies can be used to protect the money they have saved over a lifetime. We can also help with the income. It is possible that he will be able to retain over $100,000 of their combined assets even though mom may only have $2,000 in her name. In some cases, he may be able to retain all of her income, so that she pays little or nothing for the cost of her care. If you don't do anything, or worse, if you do the wrong thing, all your wealth might be consumed by the high costs of long term care.

Even if the parent is widowed or divorced, there are still strategies that can be undertaken to minimize the cost of nursing home care.

In some cases, family members have been living with and taking care of mom and/or dad. This can expand the options available. For example, if the daughter has been living with and taking care of mom, then perhaps the house could be transferred to the daughter under one of the exceptions to the Disqualifying Transfer rules. If a child is herself disabled, the mother could transfer the house to the disabled child. In some cases, if mom is under 65, we might be able to utilize a Pooled Trust which would provide benefits for mom and if any assets remained at her death, they would pass to North Carolina Medicaid.

There are many situations and every case is different. Here is what it would cost in most cases:

Medicaid Crisis Response

Crisis Involving Medicaid Benefits -- $5,000 -$7,500

• This includes a discussion of your current income and assets
• Discussion of your situation and the timing for Medicare and Nursing Homes
• Summary of the current qualification criteria (it changes regularly!)
• Assistance working with a particular facility
• How to qualify for the specific facility sought (how you can manage funds for immediate qualification)
• Short-term strategies for getting you or your loved one to the qualification point and safely into the facility you need
• Completion of Trusts and other contracts that secure your hard-earned money

Let us help you. Call us today and we will begin the journey to your peace of mind.

Your preliminary consult is free, so, give us a call, and see what we can do for you!

Contact Doug Koenig at 919-883-2800, or Email Me

Contact Andrew Bullard at 919-228-9130

This site (c)2010-13 - Doug Koenig Law .
Last Update: October 7, 2013