Practice
Long-term care and Medicaid
Nursing homes and memory care cost more than most savings can cover for long. Planning decides what a spouse keeps, what the family can do with the house and when Medicaid starts to pay.
Care is still years away
Powers of attorney that allow planning, a trust that fits, and a review of how the house and accounts are owned.
A move is coming soon
A spending plan for the months before the application, and what a healthy spouse keeps by law.
A parent has already moved
The application itself: five years of statements gathered, questions answered and the eligibility date set.
A parent can’t sign any more
If no power of attorney exists, a guardianship petition lets a family member act. We file it and go to the hearing.
What we’ll ask you for
Medicaid looks back five years at every account. The application is mostly paperwork, and the paperwork is where most delays start.
- Bank and brokerage statements for the last five years
- The deed to the home and any mortgage statement
- Life insurance and annuity policies
- Income letters: Social Security, pensions, IRAs
- The care facility’s admission papers
A flat fee covers the spending plan and the application. We quote it after a first meeting, once we know how many accounts there are.
Medicaid and care questions
Will Mom have to sell her house?
Not always. Whether the house counts, and what happens to it later, depends on who lives there and how it’s owned. That is one of the first things we work out.
We gave my brother money last year. Is that a problem?
Gifts in the five-year look-back can delay eligibility. Tell us about them early; some can be explained or undone, and the timing of the application can matter.
Do you meet clients in care facilities?
Yes. Hedda meets parents at home, in hospital or in a care home across Sarasota and Manatee counties when they can’t come to Main Street.
Call before the admission papers
A first meeting before a move leaves the most choices open. After a move, we can still help.