Protecting the Home

Proficient Medicaid Planning Attorneys Serving Kentucky Residents
You have undoubtedly worked long, hard years to pay for your home. If you anticipate entering into a nursing home in the future, you likely wish to leave your home to your loved ones. With a program like Medicaid, you can receive assistance with the cost of nursing home residency and medical expenses. However, nothing is ever free. When you pass away, Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services will attempt to seize your home, preventing your loved ones from inheriting your most prized and valuable possession.

If you, like millions of other Americans, believe you will need assistance with covering the costs of nursing home care, Medicaid is your best option for reducing these steep expenses. However, with Medicaid enrollment comes the risk of seizure of your home. To prevent this, you need the expertise of an experienced Medicaid planning attorney. The attorneys at Goeing Goeing & McQuinn, PLLC can explain your options, advise you on the best course of action, and assist you in protecting your home. Contact Goeing Goeing & McQuinn, PLLC today at (859) 904-2045 for a free initial consultation.

Estate Recovery
If you received benefits through Medicaid such as nursing home coverage, Kentucky will attempt to collect anything it can from your estate in order to recoup some of those costs when you pass away. This is known as Medicaid estate recovery. Due to Medicaid’s limits on assets, most Medicaid enrollees have only their primary residence left as an asset at the time of their deaths. This means that Kentucky may attempt to seize your home or if your home is sold, seize a vast majority of the proceeds from the sale.

Life Estate
A life estate can help you protect your home from state seizure during estate recovery. A life estate creates a joint ownership scenario between two or more individuals in which all have a separate ownership interest in the house. However, these separate ownership interests can only be exercised one at a time. Thus today, as one owner of the joint property, you possess and live in the house. If you appoint your child as the other owner, when you pass away, your child will be able to exercise his or her ownership interest and possess the house. This means that at the moment of your death, you no longer own the property. Your child does. This protects your house from Medicaid recovery because it will not be a part of your estate.

You do run the risk of Medicaid penalties for selling or gifting a life estate interest. A skilled attorney can assist you with working around the rules and penalties.

Trusts
Another way to protect your house from Medicaid estate recovery is to place the deed of your house into a trust. The trust must be an irrevocable trust. This means that you cannot reverse the process, but the trustee could sell the house and purchase another house and you will retain the life estate.

Again, selling your trust or transferring your deed to a trust may trigger Medicaid penalties. It is best to consult with an experienced attorney about your options. Trusts are incredibly complex and involve confusing tax laws. A trained attorney can explain the procedure for you to help you determine if it is your best course of action.

Knowledgeable Medicaid Planning Attorneys Ready to Guide You
Medicaid planning is an extremely complex area of law that requires expertise, experience, and lengthy training. Our attorneys at Goeing Goeing & McQuinn, PLLC will work tirelessly to help prepare your assets for Medicaid enrollment. Our goal is simple – to protect your assets and maximize your coverage. Call Goeing Goeing & McQuinn, PLLC today for a free initial consultation – (859) 904-2045.