I am 88 years old. I am trying to determine what type of expert I need to advise me on how best to protect my assets for my heirs if I go into a nursing home or require long-term care. I have no insurance for this type of situation. I have a reverse mortgage on my home with approx $125,000 in equity. I have stocks, mutual funds, savings account and checking account totaling about $75,000... nothing complicated. Is there a way to shelter these assets? Everything is in revocable trusts listing my son and daughter as heirs. Who should I consult?
You need to speak with an estate planning attorney to discuss transferring your assets to an irrevocable trust. I warn you, however, that these trusts can put onerous restrictions on you and the transfer of the house with the reverse mortgage may trigger the due on sale provision of the reverse mortgage.
An elder law attorney would be able to advise you on this. But you might be better off spending those resources that you've saved for your care. That's what they're for.
Your best bet is an elder law attorney in your state. The Medicaid qualification rules vary by state, sometimes dramatically. The type of planning that you are able to do will vary depending on what your crystal ball tells you about when you might need to go into a nursing home. Your options are greater if you are planning more than five years in advance versus, say six months in advance. Mainly your attorney will help you determine how you can maximize non-countable asset. If you don't know where to start to look for an elder law attorney, try www.eldercounsel.com.
Depending on the state, revocable trusts can help shelter already non-countable assets from reimbursement requirements, but other than that they are not the estate planning tool of choice for Medicaid planning, which is more about gifting strategies along with maximizing non-countable assets and minimizing countable assets. It is a different, but related, type of planning than regular estate planning, which is more about avoiding probate, minimizing taxes, ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes rather than the laws of intestate succession, and non-Medicaid disability planning.
