Financial Planning - Qualify for Medicaid

People of any age can use a Pooled Income Trust to become financially eligible for Medicaid and receive at-home care or long-term care.  It’s unique in that it allows recipients to hold on to their assets while still qualifying for Social Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. People of any age can become beneficiaries of Pooled Income Trusts.

The great thing about this type of trust is that the trustee can still use their money to pay for recurring non-medical bills. utilities, home payments, new credit card charges, food receipts, and more can be set up on a monthly payment schedule. Their bills get paid, which gives any loved ones at home the peace of mind that they are still financially secure.

It’s possible to simply transfer your home deed into your spouse’s name in order to qualify for Medicaid. It can be transferred to your spouse, or any number of eligible people, without affecting eligibility or putting your home at risk. 

If one spouse needs Medicaid and nursing home care, they are considered the institutional spouse. The spouse at home is referred to as the community spouse.  Contact us to learn more.

If you decide a deed transfer is the right option for you, an Emics Elder Care Medicaid Planner will coordinate and liaison with one of our trusted attorneys to arrange the legal details.

Medicaid seekers with a large amount of assets should consider an irrevocable trust. With the guidance of an attorney, an irrevocable trust allows you to transfer any assets into a trust permanently. This legally moves the ownership of those assets from your hands to the trusts, and thereby prevents those assets from counting against you for Medicaid eligibility. The grantor cannot make changes or reverse the trust once it’s been set it place. In this instance, an Emics Elder Care Medicaid Planner will coordinate a liaison with one of our trusted attorneys to arrange the legal paperwork. 

Spouse refusal is an option of elders who have a loved one who still lives at home. In the state of New York, if the community spouse refuses to put any income towards the costs of the institutionalized spouse, Medicaid is required to solely consider the assets and income of the institutionalized spouse.

Contact us for more details and to discuss your unique situation. 

A Medicaid-compliant promissory note is another creative option available to gain Medicaid eligibility in New York. A promissory note is a legal document in which one party promises another party to pay a certain amount of money. It can be paid on-demand, or in installments by a certain date. In order for this to be set up properly, the loan must include a gift of assets or a non-exempt transfer.

Initially, setting up this gift of assets will cause you to become ineligible for Medicaid for a penalty period. However, the assets in the promissory note can then be used to pay the nursing home facility costs during that penalty period. 

An Emics Elder Care Medicaid Planner will help to coordinate this which will allow you to ultimately become Medicaid eligible, while also keeping the spending of your own resources to a minimum.