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Getting older comes with many challenges, and one of them is figuring out the best way to manage your assets. You’ll want to preserve as much as you can for your own future as well as for the next generation. You also need to remain eligible for important benefits if you need them.
Smart estate planning lets you put the legal tools in place so that you protect more of what you have spent a lifetime building. Our asset protection planning lawyers in Broward can review your situation and help you devise a strategy tailored directly to your wishes and goals.
Our team at The Siegel Law Group, P.A. has more than 100 years of combined legal experience assisting older Florida residents and their families with the legal challenges that come with aging. Call for your free consultation and find out how our estate planning lawyers in Broward can help.
Protecting Assets While Planning for Medicaid
It is a common misconception that a nursing home will take someone’s home and assets to cover the cost of care. Nursing facilities lack the legal clout to place a lien on your assets, and it typically isn’t in their best interests to do so. However, the government can.
Medicaid is a health insurance program run jointly by the state and federal governments. When nursing home residents can’t pay for their care, they must apply for Medicaid. This requires meeting strict income and assets limits.
Many nursing home residents need to spend down their assets in order to qualify. You can’t just give assets away; you must disperse them in accordance with Medicaid regulations. This usually means paying for your cost of care until your money is nearly gone.
For a free legal consultation with an asset protection planning lawyer serving Broward, call 561-955-8515
Medicaid Estate Recovery
When a Medicaid recipient passes away, the state of Florida may look to recoup costs from remaining assets through the estate recovery process. This can even include a cherished family home, which can be heartbreaking for the surviving family.
Hopefully, you will never need to move into a nursing home or need Medicaid. But if you do, it is vital that you are eligible for these medical benefits. Our asset protection planning attorneys in Broward can help you maintain eligibility without losing all of your assets.
There is a five–year lookback period involved, meaning assets you owned over the past 60 months still count. The protections you establish through legal documentation must typically comply with this timeline. Get started as soon as possible.
Broward Asset Protection Planning Lawyer Near Me 561-955-8515
Important Asset Protection Planning Documents
While Medicaid is a primary concern for many older people, a solid asset protection plan provides security from lawsuits, creditors, and other challenges. Our team can help you draft documents that will work best for you. These may include:
- Medicaid Asset Protection Trust: A type of irrevocable trust used to remove assets from your ownership while permitting limited benefits, such as income.
- Florida Homestead Declaration: Florida law may protect your primary residence from most creditors and exclude it from Medicaid eligibility calculations.
- Lady Bird Deed: A kind of life estate deed that allows you to retain control during your lifetime, with automatic property transfer upon death.
- Spousal Transfer: A legally allowed transfer of assets to a spouse that does not trigger a Medicaid penalty
- Irrevocable Funeral Trust: Prepaid burial arrangements held in an irrevocable trust that are earmarked to cover funeral expenses without affecting eligibility requirements.
- Qualified Income Trust: Also known as Miller Trusts, these hold excess income beyond Medicaid limits and may be used toward approved care-related expenses.
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When to Start Planning
Many people advise seriously considering an estate plan once you reach retirement age. In reality, the time to prepare your estate plan is as soon as you have assets and people to protect. This can be at any age, but it becomes more important as you get older.
Our Broward asset protection plan lawyers can help you understand the best approach given your age, financial situation, and goals. Disaster can strike at any time, but you can rest easy knowing you’ve got your plan in place and your bases are covered.
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Talk to Our Asset Protection Planning Attorneys in Broward
It is always wise to be prepared for whatever life throws at you next. That’s true at any age, but especially when you get older. An expected illness or injury could mean your family must scramble to find ways to pay for your care, leading to confusion and conflict.
Our asset protection planning attorneys in Broward can help you draft the appropriate documents and legal tools to safeguard your assets. When done correctly, you can remain eligible for Medicaid and other important benefits, but that means taking action as soon as possible.
For more than two decades, Siegel Law Group, P.A., has served families, seniors, and their loved ones throughout South Florida. Can now schedule your free in-office consultation, where we can get started creating a tailored plan to help you protect your assets.
Call or text 561-955-8515 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form