how can I protect my parents assets and get my dad qualified for Medicaid in the!

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There are ways to protect assets but these things must be handled by an qualified estate attorney. In FL a Medicaid Nursing home patient may only have $2000 in total assets and income per month ($3000) if married. If his home is under 'homestead' it will be excluded as well as one vehicle. Otherwise, he may have a prepaid burial (Irrevocable) of any amount and either a life insurance policy with CASH (not face) value of no more than $2500 or a burial account of $2500.

A estate attorney may be able to set up a trust fund to shelter some assets but beware that any money left in that account will be claimed by Medicaid. the only other option they have is to set up a Personal Service contract if they want a certain amount of money to go to someone in their family.

Whatever you do, do not give money away now in order to qualify for medicaid in the near future, this is considered a gift and will automaticly disqualify them.

Good luck

Social Worker - FL

Medicaid will look back 3 years to see if he disposed of any assets, such as putting them into your name or removing money from bank accounts and his income must be below the guidelines in his county. If he has no assets other than his home, they wont count the home when qualifying him for Medicaid, but you should be aware that if he passes away, Medicaid will lien his estate to recover whatever they pay out for his care. In California, single person can have only $2000 in assets.

A good Medicaid planning company can help you protect your assets and go through the Medicaid qualification process. Elder Planning Alliance is one of the best companies you can deal with in Florida. Their web site is www.elderplanningall.com. Another website that will give you all kinds of information about this is www.nursinghomemedicaid.org.

http://elderplanningall.com
http://nursinghomemedicaid.org

Lilly Jones: That isn't going to happen if your talking about your the home,car and anything with his name on it. That's all stuff that has to be taken care of years in advance of his getting coverage. The State isn't going to pay when there are assets they can claim, and sell to get their money back when he dies. There are plenty who have absolutly nothing, car, home, or money that they suck up the cost for. Good Luck, Steve

Thanks Rick, I looked up those sites and they are packed with great information. My dad is about to go into a nursing home and this is very valuable info. Everyone should know about these websites and this company Elder Planning Alliance.

http://elderplanningall.com
http://nursinghomemedicaid.org