First let me tell you that many of my clients, about this time, decide they just want to know if I can save them money? If they are likely eligible for benefits?
They want to cut to the chase and find out now what their own personal bottom line is. If that’s you... if you want to know now how you might become eligible and how much you might save, then call my office at (954) 726-6602 and let’s explore whether or not you’re likely to qualify and what you might be able to protect.
You may have assets in lots of different places. You might have insurance policies, checking and savings accounts, IRA's, 401k's, CD's, a car, a boat or RV, an annuity or a home. Let me show you how the Medicaid officials view your money and assets differently. They focus on dividing your financial assets into three different categories:
1. Available Assets
2. Exempt Assets
3. Unavailable Assets
Let's look a little closer at each of those three types of assets:
Category number one, available assets, is made up of assets that you could cash in and use for your own nursing home care. Available assets are also referred to as "countable resources." The Medicaid views your available assets as the ones you should send every month to the nursing home - at a whopping $7,000 to $8,000 a month.
The second category is referred to as Exempt Assets. The Medicaid Department allows you to keep these assets - even though you may qualify for Medicaid services. If an asset is exempt, you do not have to cash it in to pay for your nursing home bill.
The third category may sound a little bit strange, but it's called Unavailable Assets. Those are assets which appear to have some value, yet for one reason or another, they are not available to be spent on long term care. One of the best examples of an unavailable asset is an irrevocable prepaid burial insurance policy.
Prepaid burial insurance policies are a relatively straightforward insurance product in which a person spends money now for the future promise to pay for burial cost. Typically the burial insurance product is put together so that it is irrevocable and non-assignable (that just means that once it's done, you can't change it). It's only available for one purpose - to pay a funeral home for your final expenses. After all, even the Medicaid department doesn't want to deal with all these buried bodies... so they've been generous enough to allow you to prepay for your funeral. Even if you paid $12,500 for that particular policy, it's just plain unavailable to you for nursing home care.
If you'd like to learn more about how the Medicaid department views your money, give us a call at (954) 726-6602. Our experienced team of attorneys can show you how Medicaid "sees" your assets. Transform some of your "available" life savings into exempt or unavailable assets.
Hope to hear from you!
Alice
Alice Reiter Feld, Esq., PA, CELA,
Board Certified Elder Law Attorney
Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld, PA
5701 N. Pine Island Rd.
Suite 260
Tamarac, FL 33321
(954) 644-7270
areiterfeld@senioradvocates.net
http://www.florida-elderlaw.com/
Legal Disclaimer
This information has been provided for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute specific legal advice. Do not take any action based on your understanding of the legal concepts presented in this letter except to call a qualified elder law attorney. The receipt of this information does not establish any attorney-client privilege. Proper legal advice can only be given upon consideration of all the relevant facts, circumstances, and laws.
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