An elder law attorney in Springfield, MO, can help seniors and their families with nursing home planning. An experienced lawyer can help you plan for, pay for, and obtain long-term nursing home care. Part of nursing home planning in Missouri includes planning for Medicaid eligibility to assist with paying for the nursing home. Medicaid in Missouri is known as MO HealthNet.
Why Is Nursing Home Planning in Missouri Needed?
Whether or not your loved one will ever end up in a nursing home, it is wise to plan for that possibility in case a nursing home is necessary. Medicaid assistance to pay for the nursing home may never be needed by most people, yet it should become the focus of your long-term care planning to ensure someone can qualify for Medicaid if the do end up in a nursing home. The costs of long-term care are expensive, and planning in advance for how to qualify for assistance can avoid costly pitfalls.
Don’t listen to what you might hear about needing to sell the family farm to go into a nursing home. There are techniques and tools we can use to help preserve your wealth as you age to protect assets if you someday move into a nursing home.
How Does Medicaid in Missouri Work for Nursing Homes?
Medicaid (MO HealthNet) has what’s called a 5-year look-back period. This means any gifts or transfers of assets occurring in the 5 years before applying for Medicaid will affect a person’s eligibility to receive this benefit.
Every action a person makes within the 5 years prior to entering a nursing home should be taken with caution. If you have an estate planning attorney, this person can help you with strategic nursing home planning in Missouri. Proper planning for long-term care expenses, including the nursing home, can assist your elderly loved one and your family in protecting certain assets.
How Can I Pay for a Nursing Home in Missouri?
Understanding how Medicare, Medicaid, VA pensions, and insurance works for your unique situation is the crux of creating a sensible nursing home plan in Missouri.
Many people don’t realize that Medicare is focused on medical assistance and will not pay for long-term nursing home care. Medicare was not designed to permanently fund a person’s stay in a skilled nursing facility.
Because of this, people end up tapping into their retirement savings to pay for nursing home care. Nursing home planning in Missouri, well in advance, can protect the bulk of your retirement savings when wanting to leave a financial legacy to your children.
However, everyone has a different goal, so it is important to realize that nursing home planning in Missouri is based entirely on what each individual person wants to accomplish. Our focus as an elder law attorney in Springfield, MO, is to help make these goals a reality.
What Are Your Goals for a Nursing Home Stay?
Some people want to stay at home as long as possible, and their plan may include deliberately spending their own retirement funds to pay for care. Their goal may include setting up funds to place another person in charge of paying the bills, such as with a simple trust. They also may wish to sell off assets in order to accomplish their goal. However, once they require nursing home care, they want a plan to preserve as much of their remaining wealth as possible.
Others may have a primary goal of protecting assets or real estate for their family and want to seek assistance programs to pay for as much of their care as possible. This often requires advanced planning, but also can sometimes be accomplished in a crisis depending on the situation.
Nursing Home Planning in Missouri Includes the Entire Family
Families often come together to formulate a plan for long-term cars. This includes family members caring for elderly parents for as long as it is medically possible. These plans might include paying those family members for caregiver services or payment of rent if a parent moves into a child’s home.
This is more complex planning than most families realize. Specially worded contracts prepared by an elder law attorney and doctor certifications must be used in order to avoid problems down the road if Medicaid becomes necessary or a nursing home is the next logical step.
Turn to the elder law attorney in Springfield, MO, to prevent these problems. Making payments to family members without the proper paperwork will likely be treated as gifts, which can create penalties or cause Medicaid disqualification in the future if nursing home planning becomes necessary. We have techniques that can avoid certain traps with the Medicaid system.
Nursing Home Planning From Our Elder Law Attorneys in Missouri
Are you passionate about shielding your assets to preserve them for your children? Do you not want to have your children act as your caregivers and alleviate their burdens?
We can help you determine if Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts or gifts to children created 5 years in advance of entering a nursing home can be a part of your plan. There are also options for saving assets at the last minute when entering a nursing home without prior planning.
To get started working with an elder law attorney in Springfield, MO, and discuss your options, contact us or give us a call at (417) 887-4170.
If you have questions about these services or would like to schedule a consultation with our attorneys, please give us a call today. We would be honored to assist you.