• 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      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?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 » Resources » Frequently asked questions » Medicaid Planning

Medicaid Planning

      • Why would Medicaid be relevant if I will qualify for Medicare as a senior citizen?

      • This is a very good question.  Quite often, the concept of “Medicaid planning” seems counterintuitive. Since Medicaid is a program for people with limited financial resources, you would never intentionally try to put yourself in a threatening financial situation. While this is true for the most part, there is a reason why many elders seek Medicaid eligibility late in their lives. The Medicaid program will pay for a stay in a nursing home, and there is a Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waiver that will pay for in-home care. Medicare does not cover the custodial care that nursing facilities provide, and it will not pay for in-home care that is provided by a home health aide.

      • Is long-term care expensive?

      • Yes, and costs have been rising over recent years. According to the state, the average annual cost for nursing home care in Oklahoma is about $65,000. The United States Department of Health and Human Services tells us that the average length of stay for an elder in a nursing home is one year. This being stated, over half of people that receive paid care need it for more than a year, and 13 percent receive paid assistance for more than five years. If you are married, you and your spouse could potentially be forced to deal with two different sets of nursing home bills.

      • What is the Medicaid asset limit?

      • There is a $2,000 limit on assets you can hold or own in your name.  That said, there are some types of property that do not count. Wedding rings, engagement rings, and heirloom jewelry are not counted.  In addition, an applicant can maintain possession of one motor vehicle. Furniture and other household items and personal belongings are not counted, and you can have unlimited term life insurance and up to $1,500 of whole life insurance. The same amount can be saved for final expenses, and prepaid burial plots are not countable assets.

      • What about your home?

      • If you are a homeowner, the property does not count as long as its value does not exceed the equity limit. At the time of this writing, the equity limit exceeds $600,000, and the figure is updated annually to account for inflation. There is no equity limit if a healthy spouse is remaining in the home. The fact that you can qualify as a homeowner is positive on the one hand, but it is a situation that you want to avoid. In most states, Medicaid will seek reimbursement from the estates of deceased beneficiaries, so they could place a lien on your home if it is in your possession at the time of your death.

      • Does a healthy spouse get to keep their assets?

      • Aside from the exempt property, all of the property that is owned by each individual in the marriage would be counted. However, the healthy spouse is entitled to a Community Spouse Resource Allowance (“CSRA”). The CSRA is half of the countable assets up to a limit that is just over $130,000 at the present time. There is also a Community Spouse Resource Allowance that is in the $26,000 range. Income that belongs to the spouse that is in a nursing home must be contributed toward the long-term care costs that are being incurred.  However, there is an exception made when a healthy spouse is relying on the income. The at home healthy spouse can continue to receive a Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (“MMNA”) up to a maximum allowance of approximately $3,200. We are not giving exact figures because once again, these numbers are indexed for inflation each year.  In some states, if the Community (at home) Spouse’s income is below that amount, they can re-allocate a portion of the income of the nursing home spouse up to the MMNA limit.

      • Can you make gifts to qualify for Medicaid?

      • You can make direct gifts or fund an irrevocable trust by gift to transfer assets out of your name with Medicaid eligibility in mind. However, you have to act in advance, because there is a five-year look back period. All divestitures must be completed at least five years before you submit your application for Medicaid coverage.  If the five years has not lapsed, there will be a requirement to spend down assets.

Schedule a Consultation Today!

We are here to help if you are ready to work with an Oklahoma City elder law attorney to develop a nursing home asset protection plan. You can send us a message to request a consultation appointment, and we can be reached by phone at 405-843-6100.

Medicaid Planning

At Parman & Easterday, our legal team believes you deserve to keep the money, property, and assets that you have worked all your life to acquire. These assets should serve as your legacy and you should be able to hand property down to your loved ones or use your money to support charities that you care about. Unfortunately, if you need to go into a nursing home and you do not have a Medicaid plan in place, that might not happen.

Nursing homes are extremely costly, and not covered by private insurers or even Medicare in most cases. Medicaid covers the cost of care, but only if you spend down your assets or if you make an advanced plan to protect them.

Our Medicaid planning lawyers in Oklahoma City, OK and City, KS, can help you to create your personalized plan. Give us a call today to find out more about your personalized solutions for protecting your assets and qualifying for Medicaid and to get answers to questions including:

  • What is involved in Medicaid planning?
  • When should I begin the Medicaid planning process?

What is Involved in Medicaid Planning?

Medicaid planning is a process of trying to get Medicaid to cover you sooner than the program otherwise would. Medicaid is a means-tested government benefits program, which has strict qualification criteria. It is also one of the only sources of nursing home payments available, as Medicare and most private insurers simply will not pay for routine custodial care in a nursing home.

Because Medicaid may be your only chance to get nursing home care covered, not being able to qualify for Medicaid benefits could destroy your legacy. You could be forced to spend your entire life savings and even sell property if you end up needing nursing home care as you get older.  

You would eventually be able to qualify as you spent down your resources and came below Medicaid’s permissible asset level that is required for you to qualify for benefits. The problem, of course, is then your savings would be gone and you would not have a legacy to leave to your loved ones.

The Medicaid planning process involves making sure your assets and property can be protected. You can structure ownership of this property in a smart way so that the assets and property you have in your possession are not actually counted as your possessions when assessing eligibility for means-tested Medicaid benefits. The assets will not be disqualifying if you do Medicaid planning correctly, and on paper you will not have resources, so Medicaid will begin to pay for nursing home care when you need it.  

You can do this process by using special types of trusts, and by making strategic transfers of assets. It is is imperative that you follow all legal guidelines for doing the process correctly to protect your assets, so you should strongly consider getting help from a legal professional.

When Should I Begin the Medicaid Planning Process?

Medicaid has a rule in place called the five year lookback rule. The purpose of the rule is to make sure that people do not transfer or give away property just to qualify for benefits. Medicaid will look back five years from when you require nursing home care, and will see if any assets were transferred. If so, you’ll be disqualified from Medicaid for a set number of months equal to dividing the value of transferred assets by the average monthly nursing home cost. During the disqualification period, you will likely have to pay out of pocket for nursing care.

To protect the maximum assets, this means you should try to create a Medicaid plan five years before you require nursing home care. If it is too late, you should act as quickly as possible to protect the maximum in assets.

How Can an Oklahoma City, OK Medicaid Planning Lawyer Help?

Parman & Easterday has a long track record of providing comprehensive Medicaid planning help to clients in and around Oklahoma City, OK. When you are concerned about the legacy you will leave behind and you want to make sure your assets will not be lost due to the bills for nursing home care, you need to take action.  

Give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 in Oklahoma City to begin the Medicaid planning process. You can also contact us online to speak with a member of our legal team and learn how to start protecting your assets so you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing a nursing home won’t drive you broke and leave nothing for you to give to the people you love.

Medicaid Planning

March 14, 2012 by Larry Parman, Attorney at Law

Here is another denial zone for most people entering their retirement years.  When you think about your retirement, it is natural that you would create a mental picture of a life of free time. You can travel, play golf or tennis, dine out, work in the garden, and otherwise enjoy your golden years in the way that you always envisioned when you were busy traversing a career path.

(more…)

Filed Under: Nursing Homes, Pet Planning Tagged With: Probate, Veterans Benefits Planning

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