• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Parman & Easterday

Oklahoma Estate Planning Attorneys

Call Now: (405) 843-6100 |
(918) 615-2700

Attend an Education Program-Oklahoma City Area Attend An Education Program in the Tulsa Area
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • What Our Clients Say
  • Estate Planning
    • Asset Protection
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • IRA and Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • Powers of Attorney
    • Probate
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration and Probate
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Elder Law
    • Emergency Medicaid
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Asset Protection Worksheet
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Edmond Elder Law
        • Oklahoma City Elder Law
        • Overland Park Elder Law
        • Yukon Elder Law
      • Medicaid
      • Nursing Home Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • An Overview of Estate and Gift Taxes
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Alzheimer’s FAQs
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Elder Law
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Inheritance Planning for Minors
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Nursing Home Asset Protection
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Newsletters
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • Probate Checklist
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
    • Probate Resources
      • Midwest City Probate
      • Moore Probate
      • Oklahoma City Probate
      • Overland Park Probate
    • Published Books
    • Pre Consultation Form
  • Communities We Serve
    • Edmond
    • Midwest City
    • Moore
    • Norman
    • Oklahoma City
    • Yukon
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
Home » Nursing Homes » Can You Give Away Your Wealth To Qualify For Medicaid?

Can You Give Away Your Wealth To Qualify For Medicaid?

March 6, 2018 by Larry Parman, Attorney at Law

Overland Park Medicaid Planning

If you require costly long-term care that other kinds of insurance will not cover, our Oklahoma City Medicaid planning attorneys can help you make plans to qualify for Medicaid.  Millions of seniors rely on Medicaid to supplement their Medicare coverage and provide payment for services that Medicare does not pay for – specifically, your stay in a nursing home. If you will need Medicaid to pay for your nursing home or at-home care, it is important that you work with an experienced Medicaid planning attorney to make the right plans to get care when you need it. 

Parman & Easterday has helped many clients access means-tested Medicaid benefits without having to impoverish themselves in order to gain coverage. We can work closely with you to keep as much of your wealth as safe as possible depending upon your specific circumstances, including when you need Medicaid to help defray nursing home expenses. You should give us a call today to find out how we can help you qualify for Medicaid coverage and discover whether making a Medicaid plan is important for you.

Can You Give Away Your Wealth In Order To Get Medicaid Coverage?

Medicaid is one of the only sources of payment for nursing home care or at-home long-term care that seniors may need. Medicare does not pay for any kind of nursing home care except in very limited circumstances, perhaps for up to a maximum of 100 days, and only if you meet very stringent qualifications.  Bottom line – don’t expect it and certainly don’t depend on it.

First, let’s be clear about custodial care.  It is the kind of care that most seniors need because sickness or infirmity makes it impossible for them to handle basic activities of daily living (referred to as ADLs).   Custodial care provides the services and supplies for ADLs that can be provided safely and reasonably by individuals who are neither skilled nor licensed medical personnel.  You will not be covered by Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, or private insurance for custodial care.  Medicaid is typically the only source of a government payment for this care.  Of course, some of you may have purchased comprehensive long-term care insurance which will cover some of your nursing home costs.  It is often too expensive for most people and frequently contains coverage limitations that make such policies impractical for use.

Unfortunately, when you try to qualify to have Medicaid pay for nursing home care or at-home care, you may discover that you are ineligible because you have too many assets. If this happens, it is tempting to just give away your wealth to heirs or beneficiaries because you don’t want to have to spend all of your money on nursing home care and lose the opportunity to leave a legacy.

Generally, to qualify for Medicaid, you have to be broke – no more than $2,000 in total assets, other than a few items such as an allowance for your house, a car, some personal items and other minor tangibles.  The problem is, you cannot just give away wealth to qualify for Medicaid coverage. In fact, if you try, you could end up disqualifying yourself from being eligible for Medicaid for a period of time.  Then, when you apply for Medicaid to cover your care, a five-year lookback rule applies.  If you made a transfer of assets for less than the fair market value of any asset during the previous five years from the time when you are trying to get covered by Medicaid, you’ll be temporarily prohibited from receiving Medicaid coverage to pay for nursing home care.

The period of disqualification is based on a calculation that determines the number of months that you will be prohibited from getting benefits. To find the number of months of disqualification, divide the value of transferred assets by the average monthly cost of nursing home care in your area. For example, if you transferred $20,000 and the cost of a nursing home in your area is $5,000 monthly, you would be disqualified from being eligible for Medicaid coverage for a period of four months.  If you transferred $250,000 you would be disqualified for 50 months, a period that may exceed your nursing home stay.

How Can Oklahoma City Medicaid Planning Attorneys Help You?

Parman & Easterday has a team of highly qualified Oklahoma City Medicaid planning attorneys who will work with you to make sure you do not make Medicaid planning mistakes that could jeopardize your ability to get Medicaid coverage. We can also help you to determine if making a Medicaid plan is the right choice for you or if there are other approaches that you should consider to fund your long-term care.

To find out more about the Medicaid planning services that we provide, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 or contact us online to get started on your personalized Medicaid plan.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
Founder and Owner at Parman & Easterday
After helping his own family deal with a lengthy probate and the IRS following his father’s untimely death in a farm accident, Larry Parman made a decision to help families create effective estate plans designed to reduce taxes, minimize legal interference with the transfer of assets to one’s heirs, and protect his clients’ assets from predators and creditors.
Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
Latest posts by Larry Parman, Attorney at Law (see all)
  • Why Do You Need an Elder Law Attorney? - January 31, 2023
  • Inheritance Planning for Blended Families - January 26, 2023
  • 4 Things Trusts Do That Wills Can’t Do - January 24, 2023

Filed Under: Nursing Homes

Other Articles You May Find Useful

How Do I Pick the Best Nursing Home for My Father?
How Do I Pick the Best Nursing Home for My Father?
Coronavirus and Nursing Homes
Coronavirus and Nursing Homes
Overland Park medicaid planning attorney
Will You Have to Move to a Nursing Home?
Overland Park medicaid attorneys
3 Ways Medicaid Helps Protect Seniors
Oklahoma City nursing home
Oklahoma City Nursing Home Resident Dies after Altercation with Another Resident
Overland Park medicaid lawyers
What Can Go Wrong If You Don’t Work With Overland Park Medicaid Lawyers

Primary Sidebar

Parman & Easterday, LLP

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE ESTATE PLANNING CHECKLIST

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Where We Are

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
13913 Quail Pointe Drive, Suite B
Oklahoma City, OK 73134
Phone: (405) 843-6100
Fax: (405) 917-7018

MAP

parman_sidbr_map

Where We Are

TULSA, OK
Memorial Place 7633 E. 63rd Place
Tulsa, OK 74133
Phone: (918) 615-2700

MAP

parman_sidbr_map

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Footer

footer-logo

The information on this Oklahoma Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Oklahoma City Estate Planning Attorneys at Parman & Easterday offer estate planning services in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and surrounding areas. Contact us for help today.

Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys


© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube