Aging is inevitable, and the most worrying part about it is the lack of ability to function independently as time passes. You may need to enter a nursing home care in Nebraska or need assistance with daily functions due to physical or mental health conditions. Medicaid planning strategies are available to help you and your family financially manage long-term care costs and protect your assets from high nursing home fees.
Asset protection trusts
This is a legal entity that allows you to set up a plan that can protect your assets. You will pick someone known as a trustee to manage your properties and transfer them to your loved ones in due time, according to your wishes. Since they’ll take ownership of the assets you place in a trust, Administrators for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) won’t count those assets as yours when determining your eligibility.
Medicaid-compliant annuities and promissory notes
A federal elder law enacted in 2006 provides a way for seniors to purchase an annuity and convert their assets into income. The idea here is to create a cash flow from your assets that you can use to pay nursing home fees before Medicaid kicks in.
Similarly, a promissory note is an agreement between two parties where one (the lender) agrees to loan the money to the other (the borrower). The lender will still retain ownership of their assets and they’ll qualify for Medicaid because a promissory note that’s due in a time longer than a year is a non-current asset.
Spousal transfers and refusals
One sweet loophole of the Medicaid laws is that they allow transfers between spouses without regard to the look-back period. Alternatively, you can refuse to contribute to your spouse’s nursing home expenses, rendering you both eligible for Medicaid.
Medicaid planning strategies are available to help you and your family manage long-term care costs, especially if you or a loved one needs nursing home care in Nebraska. Qualifying for Medicaid is a complicated process, but you do have options. Asset protection trusts, annuities and promissory notes, and spousal transfers are some strategies you can use to ensure you are eligible for government assistance.
